Mr. Mark's Classroom: Recent Episodes
Mark Jones
Through all the years of serving the church I have learned some things that I want to pass on to you over the next few weeks. We don’t have to learn everything the hard way. For me, there have been times of learning when I blew it and was stung so I never forgot the lesson. There were times I learned for my pastor who blew it or shared with me wisdom and I took note and followed that path of wisdom. I’m sure the same is true for you too.
Here are three things to know and practice in your children’s ministry:
- Know your job. Remember what God has called you to do and be sure you are giving that your focus and effort. It is easy to step in and serve in some other ministry (music, students, missions to name a few). We enjoy fun tasks in other ministries especially when you are not the one in charge. It’s okay to assist other ministries and share your talents, but only in spurts or for a short time. If you stay in that setting too long, you might get derailed from your ministry focus and even suffer the criticism of others.
- Children’s ministers work with adults. I know we have interaction with children and build relationships, but our work is leading the adults in our ministry. We also build relationships with parents who are seeking the Lord and we often have times of speaking into their lives too. Don’t be scared of adults and be their friend and coach them how you would lead in a class. If you do not purposefully invest in adults you might begin feeling like the Complaint Department when they come to you with all their troubles. Get ahead of that with your vision and mission so you can speak into their lives and begin affirming them on all the great things you see them doing.
- Find others to do your job. You wear many hats so start looking for other people to take some tasks and carry the load. There are some who will do small tasks and all you need to do is pray for these people to surface and ask them. Allow others to pushback on how they will do the job and accept their creativity so they can own the job as their own.
Lately, I have noticed more churches with wonderful bulletin boards sharing the news of expecting babies coming soon. This shows the heart of your preschool ministry to anticipate and planning for new babies coming to church. In this episode, I speak with Delanee William, Childhood Ministry Specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources. She has great and practical ideas she has used in her ministry. Be ready to take notes and implement some new ideas that will make your baby room shine.
Here is the video version but you can listen to the audio version on my podcast while you drive, exercise or just waiting in a line.
- Download the free iTunes app
- Search for Mr. Mark’s Classroom
- Click Subscribe
You’re done! Anytime there is a new show, it will be there waiting for you. Enjoy!– Mr. Mark
Download the prayer guide: Praying For Your Expectant Child
This post was originally shared on Mr. Mark’s Classroom in September 2017.
| | Bible Skill Boosters – Green Cycle Bonus BookThe Green Cycle Bonus book is finished! This book is filled with fun games and activities for each of the 25 verses, as well as key passages, and Bible book games. Each idea is like a quick recipe with colorful pictures and simple, quick directions. There are lots of pages in the back you may copy to save you tons of time. This book is only available as a file download so you can use it now and not wait. We are looking forward to a fun year of learning our Green Cycle verses and key passages with these fresh new ideas. We hope you will use them too! Find this NEW Bible Skill Boosters – Green Cycle Book in our store. |
I have met many children’s ministers who provided missions education in their program for children. There are few who engage children with regular service projects. My friend, Gina McKean, is a leader and example of serving others. She provides meaningful experiences where kids learn the joy of helping someone else.
Gina is the Children’s Minister of Portland Avenue Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. She reaches children in lower socio-economic neighborhoods with very diverse family units. She loves and cares so completely- for over 29 years now. Gina shares many ideas through Mr. Mark’s Classroom for other church leaders to use.
I interview Gina in this episode so you can get a glimpse of her heart and passion to engage kids in the gospel and serving others. Please excuse my gushing over her, but she is a true inspiration to me and so many others.
This post was originally shared on Mr. Mark’s Classroom in October 2017.
| | Bible Skill Boosters – Green Cycle Bonus BookThe Green Cycle Bonus book is finished! This book is filled with fun games and activities for each of the 25 verses, as well as key passages, and Bible book games. Each idea is like a quick recipe with colorful pictures and simple, quick directions. There are lots of pages in the back you may copy to save you tons of time. This book is only available as a file download so you can use it now and not wait. We are looking forward to a fun year of learning our Green Cycle verses and key passages with these fresh new ideas. We hope you will use them too! Find this NEW Bible Skill Boosters – Green Cycle Book in our store. |
Note- If you would like to listen to the audio version of this podcast during your daily commute, download the Podcast app and subscribe to Mr. Mark’s Classroom for free!*
Here is part two of this encore podcast with Miss Amy Adams. Our ministry hinges on our relationships. Everything God does is through relationships. It is worth stopping and evaluating how you are doing with the relationships God has given you.
Change your negative thinking into positive behavior. You are spending way too much energy arguing with people who are not in the room and even losing sleep over people’s actions. Some people, including the ministers on your staff can be jerks sometimes, but that does not mean you have to be a jerk too. Try thanking people and simply stop talking when others are voicing issues. Don’t join their circus because it only spirals out of control. Don’t be guilty of joining this way of thinking because it will soon define your reputation if it hasn’t already. Here are a few more things to watch for:
- Making excuses about your work.
- Blaming others for the way things are going, this includes past ministers or lay people.
- Winning too much. Do you have to win all the time? Why? That repels people away from you.
- Sarcasm might be your humor, but often it sounds negative and it’s not funny.
- Proving “I’m right, you’re wrong” to make yourself feel superior.
- Voicing unneeded judgments.
- Putting in your “Two cents” all the time.
- Speaking when angry.
Try shifting into neutral and apply the brakes. You can improve being nice if you just stop talking, especially when you are not asked anyway. I suggest, change from a “To Do” list to a “To Stop” list and see if your relationships improve.
What other relationship issues do you encounter in the church office?
Yesterday, I spoke to a children’s minister in Kentucky. She is wanting to introduce Bible Drill during the summer and I cautioned her. Yes, I believe the kids should be memorizing Bible verses and learning the books of the Bible, but have a soft launch during summer. Begin with learning how the Bible is organized (Old and New Testaments, divisions, chapters, verses). Start in the beginning with the first five Books of Law for a few weeks then add the next 12 Books of History and then continue. Always play games that race to find books and verses. Teach a memory verse with a great reward like a water gun fight outside when everyone can recite Genesis 1:1 then move to more challenging verses.
Below is a printable copy of the sword drill that we used this year. It will give you the script for calling the drills. This could be great fun for the summer and might even continue into the fall with LifeWay’s Bible Skills, Drills and Thrills. These are available in your local store and online. Bottom line- Have fun learning Bible Skills and they will come back and learn more.
Printable: Sword Drill
Bible Skill Resources
| | |
If you would like to listen to the audio version of this podcast during your daily commute, download the Podcast app and subscribe to Mr. Mark’s Classroom for free!
Knowing how preschoolers learn is the biggest issue with our early childhood classes. It feels like teachers are moving toward childcare rather than Bible teaching. The problem is understanding how preschoolers learn. If we could understand this part, it would make more sense why we set up the classroom a certain way and the activities we teach that lead toward our Bible content.
I want to share with you the “Eight Ways Preschoolers Learn.” In this video I will discuss the first four ways and next week I will cover the last four. In case you want to see it again or recommend it to fellow teachers, you can search the podcast archive or I will put both of these video links under the resources tab for quick reference.
Train your workers so they can know how their students learn and they will be effective in the classroom.
Mr. Mark
Note- If you would like to listen to the audio version of this podcast during your daily commute, download the Podcast app and subscribe to Mr. Mark’s Classroom for free!*
Here in Oklahoma, we are used to frightening weather. It can still scare us. We had a tornado hit our house just a couple of years ago. It ripped off part of our roof and proceeded to rain like crazy and flood that part of the house. The damage was terrible but we were so […]
Hi friends. Welcome back to Mr. Mark’s classroom. I want to share with you some ideas that might help with classroom management. As I’m observing in the classes that I have here at my own church, I see there’s a couple of things that we really could pay attention to that maybe we have been neglecting. And […]
Hey, friends. Welcome to Mr. Mark’s Classroom. I want to continue this conversation about how we’re going to guide our classrooms. I was observing on Wednesday, and I saw Ms. Cathy. She was like, “Boys and girls. Boys and girls.” I was like, “Come on, Cathy. Use your big voice, your outside voice. We can’t […]
Hi friends. Welcome to Mr. Mark’s classroom. I’ve really been experiencing some teachers struggling with classroom management and I thought maybe we better talk about this a little more. So, I want to put together a few of these in a series that might help with what is happening in your classrooms as well. Or if you are a minister, […]
Here are ten tips for greeters. Remember, it is more than a handshake. Smile. Personal warmth. Look like you enjoy welcoming people. Fresh Breath. (Enough said) Make eye contact – Read their body language. Take initiative and speak to the guest. Don’t ask “Are you new?” or “Is this your first time?” Say,” I don’t […]
In this episode, teachers will discover the value of listening to children and building relationships. Evaluate your ministry to see if you are a good listener. Make adjustments to be able to connect to kids, parents and other workers by taking time to listen. See this blog post under leadership or by clicking here. How […]
I have met many children’s ministers who provided missions education in their program for children. There are few who engage children with regular service projects. My friend, Gina McKean, is a leader and example of serving others. She provides meaningful experiences where kids learn the joy of helping someone else. Gina is the Children’s […]
Lately, I have noticed more churches with wonderful bulletin boards sharing the news of expecting babies coming soon. This shows the heart of your preschool ministry to anticipate and planning for new babies coming to church. In this episode, I speak with Delanee William, Childhood Ministry Specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources. She has great and […]
Listen as Mr. Mark discusses advice he shares with interns before stepping into their first kid’s ministry. These five keys will help you step out on the right foot as you begin (or restart) your ministry to kids and families. Write down a “90 Day Goal.” Do your research. Join a group of like-minded peers. […]