Welcome to Kids Ministry Conference’s
Children’s Ministry Track Release!
Including Messages from these Special Guests
Jeremy Carroll
Jeremy Carroll is the LifeWay Kids Ministry Publishing Manager for VBS and Discipleship resources. Before coming to LifeWay, he has been active in local church ministry for nearly 20 years in TN, TX, and AL. Jeremy earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Middle Tennessee native, he and his family live in Murfreesboro, TN.
Klista Storts
Klista Storts serves as an Editorial Ministry Specialist for LifeWay Kids. Before coming to LifeWay, she served as the Weekday and Preschool Specialist at the Tennessee Baptist Convention and as Director of Preschool Ministries at churches in Oklahoma and Tennessee. Klista has a passion for equipping leaders to share the love of Christ and lay foundations for conversion in the lives of kids.
Rhonda VanCleave
Rhonda VanCleave serves as Publishing Team Leader for Vacation Bible School at LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville. She is also a pastor’s wife and has served churches alongside her husband for almost forty years.
Rachel Coe
Rachel Coe serves as content editor for Explore the Bible: Preschoolers resources. She guides preschoolers in Bible explorations every week at her church in Mt. Juliet, TN.
The Discipleship DNA of Kids Ministry
Jeremy Carroll
Featured Speaker: Jeremy Carroll
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
How does discipleship fit into your kids ministry? Let’s think strategically as we reach kids with the Gospel by focusing on discipleship in every area of children’s ministry.
Children's Ministry Breakouts
10 Ways to Start a Special Needs Ministry at your Church
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
During this session we will dive into 10 different things you can do to establish a special needs ministry at your church. These will be ways in which you can add to your current children’s ministry program. They will be appropriate for churches with many children with special needs or for those with a few children with special needs. Prepare to leave this session with hands on materials and ideas to implement in your children’s ministry programs.
Be-Attitudes for Teaching Kids
Featured Speaker: Rhonda VanCleave
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
How to “Be” ready when you teach kids at church.
Behavior Speaks Volumes
Featured Speaker: Klista Storts
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Many times the disruptive or hard-to-teach children in your classroom are trying desperately to tell you something … sometimes using actions instead of words. Let’s dig deeper to find out what we need to hear and how we can help!
Brick by Brick: Laying Spiritual Foundations
Featured Speaker: Rachel Coe
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Seeing the possibilities for every preschooler to learn about Jesus; how do we lead preschoolers to know and love Jesus?
Catch Them Being Good
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Often times behavior management focuses on stopping the negative. In our time together we will discuss ways to highlight the desired behavior from the kids we serve. Understanding why kids often act out and how to encourage the positive behaviors we desire will be topics during this session.
Children’s Bible Drill Procedure
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Maria Brannen teaches about Bible drill procedure like Bible drill commands used, the types of drills, and the mistakes during a drill that you might encounter.
Church Safety for Kid’s Ministry
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Preventive measures for leaders and workers to prevent child abuse. Covers physical room concerns, worker screening, and training.
COVID-19 Protection in Children’s Ministry
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Care and cleanliness of rooms and procedures to protect children from viruses and normally transmitted illness. How to address issues raised by parents and gracefully respond to needs of parents of different viewpoints.
Developing Generation Z Defenders of Faith
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
In a world that seems to keep moving and where there doesn’t appear to be any stability, children need to know God is the only One who is constant. However, are they able to defend their faith? Should they defend their faith? Why should they defend their faith? Join me as we seek ways of developing the next generation apologists.
Does Your Teaching Connect?
Featured Speaker: Klista Storts
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Shouldn’t we teach children in the way God created them to learn? Come discover how to make your teaching connect with preschoolers. Your reward? Getting to watch their eyes light up when they make that connection!
Engaging the Un-Engageable
Featured Speaker: Jeremy Carroll
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Even as the “seniors” of Kids Ministry or as lower classmen of Student Ministry, preteens are often overlooked and sometimes even avoided due to their awkward stage of life. God is using 21st Century preteens in an incredible way. Let’s sit down and talk about how to engage the “un-engageable” preteens of your ministry.
Everyday Outreach Online
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
We will look at how to create a positive social media presence and discuss ways to build relationships with both parents and students online. Having a clear vision for a social media strategy will make your online outreach more effective and help with the day to day to-do list!
Fill Me Up, I Am Ready to Serve
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Feeling empty, depleted, tired……in this session, we will discuss the potential effects of the current season of ministry many of us find ourselves facing. Join us as we seek to encourage one another in the tasks set before us to serve others.
Four Ways to Do Bible Drill in a Socially-Distanced World
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Learn about four ways you can teach Bible skills in a socially distanced world: at home, online, at church or while discovering the outdoors. Session leaders included Belinda Stroud with the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, David Jennings with First Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, Ala., Maria Brannen with Georgia Baptist Bible Drill, and Deborah Robson with North Carolina Baptist Bible Drill. The webinar was a joint venture between the three state conventions.
Healthy Habits of Kid Min Leaders
Featured Speaker: Jeremy Carroll
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Among planning events, coordinating volunteers, evaluating curriculum, and oh yeah, don’t forget about the kids, it is easy to develop some “bad” habits in our ministries. Let’s pause, take a breath, and talk about some healthy habits kid min leaders should consider and how to implement them into the regular rhythm of life and ministry.
I Love to Tell the Story
Featured Speaker: Klista Storts
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Make your Group Time more exciting as you help Bible Stories come alive for your preschoolers. As kids are involved in the stories, they’ll understand better how the Bible applies to their lives today.
Make Your Class a “Want-to-be-there” Place!
Featured Speaker: Rachel Coe
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Making your class a fun, engaging, and meaningful place for preschoolers and learning how to give teacher and preschooler a good experience at church.
Making Adaptations for Children with Special Needs
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
During this session we will discuss ways to adapt teaching materials, curriculum, and presentation to include children with special needs. We will also discuss ways to take what you are already doing and adaptive for different types of learners. Expect to leave this session with hands on examples of adaptations. We will conclude the session with time for questions and answers. Please bring your questions about special needs ministry from your experiences.
Making God’s Word Real to Gen Z and Beyond
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
It is said that Gen Z does not hold the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. They feel that it has no relevance to their lives and therefore why should they spend any time reading, memorizing or studying it? But God’s Word is real, relevant and life changing. So how do we help the children know His Word? I invite you to come and explore how to make His Word real to today’s child.
Mountain Movers: Establishing a Culture of Prayer in Your Kids Ministry
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Starting a prayer ministry for kids and find out how they can serve through prayer and what adult prayer teams can do for these students.
Pandemic Proof Your Children’s Ministry
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
One of the lessons we can learn from this past year is that the church needs to quip parents to disciple their children. Not only does it work better for temporary closures, but it is Biblical.
Policy Writing 101
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Writing policies for your ministry isn’t the most exciting thing to do, but it is one that we must all take do. This workshop will go through the basics of writing a policy and some policies that are common in most children’s ministries.
Preteen Leadership: Creating & Maintaining A Kids Leadership Program
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Starting a prayer ministry for kids and find out how they can serve through prayer and what adult prayer teams can do for these students.
Small Church Ministry Challenges and Blessings
Featured Speaker: Rhonda VanCleave
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Celebrate the blessings and rise to the challenges unique to kid’s ministries in congregations that hover around 100 or less.
Steps to Salvation
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
The most important decision a child will ever make is the decision to ask Jesus to be Lord and Savior. This class will guide adults to understand better some of the tough questions about children and how to lead them towards a faith journey.
The Magic Formula for Volunteer Recruitment & Success
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Let’s be honest…there is no magic formula. Thankfully, there are several steps and strategies that can be implemented that could enhance the recruitment and retention of Children’s Ministry volunteers. This fun interacting workshop will include the latest research, motivating ideas, and sympathy (We mean prayers) for all who work with volunteers.
Who Do You Think You’re Teaching?
Featured Speaker: Rachel Coe
Category: Children’s Ministry Breakout
Looking at today’s preschoolers and how they learn; how do we teach preschoolers in the best ways to meet their needs?
Contact Our Team
Cindy Middaugh
Children’s Ministry Strategist
Christina Garland
Administrative Assistant for Church Strengthening and Evangelism
