Special Needs Kids Part One

If you want to reach kids, you have to be ready to reach them where they are at.  How do we reach kids with the life giving Word of God if they have special needs?

First I think we need to think about what needs to change (if anything) to meet a 'special needs' child's needs.  I think we need to embrace this as an opportunity to show the love like the Lord Jesus and recognize that ALL people have special needs, some are just more evident than others.

I think that our first change is in ministry mindset.  Are we prepared to serve the EGR (extra grace required) kids first? Are we ready to do that with love, kindness, time, and reflection?  Then we need to see each child as a whole person, and look for how to serve each person fully. This will be thinking about their personality, learning style, life, experience, and then their physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual needs.

But when a child has a set of known or complex needs, that can be daunting, or it can be an opportunity to serve? which way should we approach it?

As an educator, I think we need to remember that what's good for a special needs child is likely good for ALL.  We all need support, clarity, repetition, love, and time to learn and grow.

So how can we think what are simple things I can do to help ALL the children in our ministry/home learn best?  That brings us back to where we all should start- let's get to KNOW our children.

Well- what are our needs? I believe this takes us back to child development. What is normal for each age/stage.  

These two resources do a great job helping you grasp what's 'normal' or average development.

Sunday School Changes Everything by Henrietta C. Mears (Gospel Light Publishing)



A focus on the family resource: Spiritual Growth of Children   

Missions and Serving

How do you teach kids to serve? How do you help them understand what a missionary does? How do you help them explore cross cultural experiences and even appreciate the diversity around them?

You start with people who excel!!
Missions is easy- Wycliffe, New Tribes, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Slavic Gospel, and some denominations like Southern Baptist... (links below)

But your baseline examples would be found in the Bible-- which characters in God's book exemplify service, missions, and sharing the gospel sacrificially?  Who teaches us to appreciate each person and their unique design? The answers are found in the Bible...

start with the Tower of Babel, look at Ruth and her sacrificial story, Queen Esther, King David, Daniel and his life, Joseph, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, John, Disciples, Saul/Paul, Simon, Priscilla/Aquila, parables, Mary/Martha, Great Commission, the fruits of the Spirit, Christian Living...

It's our call to Know, Love and Serve the Lord Our God with our hearts, souls, and minds, and love our neighbors (both here and abroad!)...

Then work to help your children look at life beyond their own home and experiences, it's a big challenge to even get young adults to stop thinking about me/self, and be ready to think about others. Spend time helping others- serve at a food bank/pantry, help the homeless,  help refuges, help missionaries: send them mac and cheese/choc chips, and whatever else they can't find, make calendars to send overseas, purchase trade products made by women hoping to support their families, mission trips, pray for missionaries, write/email missionaries, expand their horizons... help them see the WHOLE world. Skype with a missionary. Host an international dinner and have foods and customs from another person, invite college students over from a local school that are from overseas, just look around you and be intentional!

A favorite book to teach kids that people exist beyond their comfort zone is

Window to the World  


Missions materials are all over the place. The best way to help children learn to serve, to lead and to give sacrificially is through role models.  So missionary visits when they are home on furlough are helpful, as well as local adults/teens who serve right where they are, visiting and sharing a story or testimony can be a bigger motivator than any curriculum on serving God.   But there are some great tools out there for direct skill teaching and even role playing or simulations!  Here are some I am aware of, this is just a few!

• New Tribes Mission have Children's Resources Some are free, most are purchased.
• Wycliffe Translators Kids Resources Many are free downloads, but can also be purchased, and they have picture books and curriculum guides as well. Fact pages, games, centers, and lessons! They even teach kids about Bible translation.   
• Recommended by Wycliffe (List) 
• Akebu to Zapotec a book of Bibleless people
• CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) has stories of famous missionaries and also christian life/ doctrinal materials. 
• Southern Baptist has a blog, and resource directory. Haven't fully explored it, but I will some day!
• Slavic Gospel Association has a free mission kit. The lessons are engaging and teach different dimensions of service. 
• Public Schools use materials from Free Spirit Publications for social and emotional needs. They have some great ideas of what kids can do as service at different ages/stages in their materials which many public libraries have.

Ministry Resources for kids

What resources would you add to this list? any companies? programs? books?

here is NO way this list is complete....but it's a start!!  :)  Suggest places in the comments


Pioneer Clubs
http://www.pioneerclubs.org/

AWANA
www.awana.org

Child Evangelism Fellowship
 http://www.cefonline.com/

K Magazine

http://www.kidzmatter.com/

Childrens Ministry magazine
http://childrensministry.com/

Group Publishing
www.grouppublishing.com

Lifeway Publishing
http://www.lifeway.com/Children/c/N-1z141yrZ1z141rs

Lifeway KidMin Blog
http://www.lifeway.com/kidsministry/

252 Basics (from Orange)
http://whatisorange.org/252basics/
http://whatisorange.org/252basics/see-it/

Children Desiring God
http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/index.php

Discipleland
http://www.discipleland.com

Gospel Light

http://www.gospellight.com/

What's in the Bible
 http://store.whatsinthebible.com/collections/curriculum-bundles
 http://www.lemonlimekids.com/curriculum/

D6 family
http://d6family.com/store/curriculumdownloads

Relevant
http://www.relevantchildrensministry.com/

Parenting
 http://www.biblicalparenting.org/

Family
http://visionaryfam.com/

Christian Boyscouts (Assembly of God)
http://royalrangers.com/
Girl version:
http://missionettes.ag.org/

Passport Camp
http://www.passportcamps.org/home/kids/Kids!_2013/Kids!_Program.html
 http://www.passportcamps.org/home/Inc._2013/About_Us.html

LOGOS, a church developed midweek program Camelbak Kids
http://www.camelbackbible.com/connect/kids/


Broader KidMin
http://back2back.org/tag/kidmin/

International Network of Children's Ministry
 http://incm.org/

Children's Ministry (facebook type) group
http://cmconnect.org/

Ministry to Children Website/Blog
http://ministry-to-children.com/about/

List of kidmin blogs
http://ministry-to-children.com/blogs/

Easter
http://www.d365.org/journeytothecross/

Screens and Teens Book Review

Think about this... "whether technology is something you've always known or something you've adapted to, there's no denying that technology has transformed communication. It's also changing our brains."  Culture cultivates the brain...(loc 247/2408 chap 2)

So what is cultivating your brain? 

If you are older than 25, it's your habits, beliefs, attitudes.  But if you are younger than 25, your brain is still forming connections.  So a teen in 2015, then screens will cultivate their brains.

How do we escape the cultural influence?  God can transform our minds! (Romans 8-12)

In Screens and Teens, Dr. Kathy Koch shares some truths that we need to be aware of, and then how screens impact these truths in our teens.  It's a lot of information to think about, and honestly, it's something to think about long before our kids are teens! Our habits impact our kids culture more than anything else!

Want to play two truths and a lie with your teens and their screens? Read #screensandteens to help play with some 'we can' statements to help your teens connect to life.

In the book, Dr. Koch presents five truths we need to be aware of and the lies that we tell to keep up with our wrong thinking.  She explains each one, it's connection to screens, and then shares examples of the truth with simple fixes.  Teens find their purpose, security and identity these days in their social media, and unfortunately so do some adults.  This is the world we are in, and it can seem like it's not going to be an easy fix.  But that's why I loved this book.  We find hope and help to move on!
Dr. Kathy suggests some great ideas, resources, and concepts to help us lead our teens (and maybe even our own minds) toward maturity.   She takes this challenge heartily through the rest of the book!

She gets us to THINK. She gives us a plan for moving on with HOPE and knowing we can overcome.

So how do we 'fix' these thoughts in our kids (or our own brains), read Screens and Teens to find out! It's a fast read, easily comprehended, but probably a book I will re-read on occasion, as imparting the truth into even my brain will be a battle of the old vs new nature in my life.

I've had the privilege to read an advanced copy of this book, and I was asked to review it, but I have to say, it's a book I will read more than once, I found it helpful, inspiring and practical.  So I'd suggest others purchasing it!! And I wasn't required to give the book a favorable review, this is what I believe.

Music Ministry

How do you choose music to whisper the Word in your family or church life?

Here's some excellent resources I know of...and a few my friends love...  (and my list is more for listening than the music or performing part, I don't have a musical skill set other than to enjoy it a lot!)

Prezi on how to think about Music by Ashleigh Wilson with some great thoughts about HOW to evaluate music... 
 http://prezi.com/szxtnjhhy2lr/childrens-ministry/

A book in the Emmaus library with guiding principles (more for a choir)
....a majority of the book deals with what would be good for a children's choir but I liked it in the fact that it divided into Biblical Perspectives, Educational Perspectives, and Contemporary Challenges. It would help you think about music choices when there are so many, how do you choose the best?
by Connie Fortunato

Videos of songs that kids sing... 

Classics...

• Oh how I love Jesus.... 
• a whole list of songs with motions, sung acapella to familiar tunes...and I like her song card/picture idea for young ones! http://missionbibleclass.org/songs/
• another list... and some other links  http://ministry-to-children.com/music/

CD's to purchase

• Seeds Family Worship (scripture to music, each cd has a theme)
• Yancy Cd's, dvds, and apps!  (Roots for the Journey I've reviewed, and I love it!  Taste and See)
• Slugs and Bugs
• Steve Green Hide them in Your heart
• Gettys Songs that Jesus Said
• Colin Buchanan From Australia

What link for a favorite cd, youtube video of a favorite song would you add?