Wednesday 19 December 2007


Children’s Ministry Director Needed (3 days per wk)

We are seeking a creative person who has a passion for ministry to children and an ability to lead ministry teams. Our vision for children’s ministry here at North Beach is “Inspiring children to become passionate followers of Jesus”. Our children’s ministry has many opportunities for the gospel and key to raising up a new generation who. follow Jesus.
We are therefore seeking a Children’s Ministry Director to pursue this vision together with others providing leadership, vision and empowering others in Children’s ministry.

For more information please contact Ps Tony Spencer 94487018
North Beach Baptist Church
10 Groat Street
North Beach W.A 6020

Tuesday 18 December 2007

Harvest West Childrens Ministry

Harvest West is offering a Children’s Ministry stream in 2008 – if you are considering a scholarship application with Kids Vision and you have not yet decided which college to sign up with – please note that Harvest West Bible College is offering units in Children’s Ministry. Applications close 22 February 2008.

Contact - Harvest West Bible College Inc. (08) 94793443 www.harvestwest.edu.au info@harvestwest.edu.au

Sunday 16 December 2007

Age trends


Ruth Powell, director of National Church Life Survey, has written an insightful article about the increasing gap between the age of people in the Australian population and the age of people in churches. A brief summary. . ..

In 1966 there was no discernable difference in the church-going habits of different age groups in the Australian population.

Since then, younger people have been less and less likely to attend church. In the chart above, the darker line shows the shift from the 2001 NCLS data. The curve representing the Australian population is on the left.

Basically, the church in Australia is growing older. Young people are less likely to be involved in Church life. And this is not a trend that is reversing but increasing.

While some denominations (notably the Pentecostals and "Other Protestant" - smaller groups and independent churches) are bucking the trend, this is a worrying sign for the future of church life in Australia and one that every church board and ministry team needs to consider.

Friday 7 December 2007

Kids Vision Scholarships

Just a reminder that we have 6 Kids Vision Scholarships to award in 2008.

Scholarship funding is available to any person working in Kids Ministry in a Church of Christ in WA - in a volunteer or paid role.

Application forms and information were sent to all churches in October. Please check with your church administrator or contact one of the Kids Vision Team if you would like a Scholarship Prospectus pack.

Wanted: Children's Pastor

WANTED:
Children’s Pastor

Warnbro Community Church, located in the City of Rockingham, Western Australia is seeking someone who is able to lead our growing Kids Connection team.

Our vision for this established full-time position is to continue to build the most creative and life-changing children’s ministry in the region so that we lead children (and their families) to Jesus through relevant and exciting programs. Warnbro Church has invested heavily in our kids’ area, and we continue to see this as one of the most strategic areas of our ministry.

We’re seeking a highly motivated, visionary, fun, and innovative person to lead our team of paid staff and volunteers. This role is exclusively focused on children from 0 to 12 years of age, and oversees a wide range of mid-week programs (including our work in 5 primary schools), as well as our Sunday morning programs in our two worship services.

Remuneration will be addressed directly with suitable applicants and may include flexible working hours, study leave and a motor vehicle.

If you feel called to this position, then please contact Mark Jones, Team Leader for Ministry Support on (08) 9593 2133 / 0410 844 880 or mark.jones@warnbro.org.au for an Application Pack. All applications should be made in writing on or before 29 January, 2008, and will be handled in the strictest confidence.

Thursday 29 November 2007

Christmas Resources

Looking for ideas for the Christmas weeks? The Kidology site has heaps of great teaching ideas and video downloads. Check out the Kidology website and click on Toy Box Tales for some great Christmas stories to download and show your kids.

While you're browsing on the web, you might like to check out this very cool site and have some fun. I just made a total elf of myself. Check it out by clicking the link below.
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9625283693

Merry Christmas!

Tuesday 27 November 2007

Kids Learn Love

Folks, you need to see this example of the love of Christ at work in our city.
Imagine what these kids in the photos are learning about the love of God especially after the murder that took place right in their street just a few week previous!

Seriously, if you are wanting someone to come and share with your family, your church, your small group, your youth ministry, your elderly congregation, your play group mums, your craft group, you left wing anti-nuclear group, your right wing people for high morals group, your men's wood working group, ladies bible study group...your whatever group - Jarrod McKenna will bless you and challenge you to think more deeply about living out the message of Christ in 'real life' tangible ways.
email me [Scott Vawser] for Jarrod's contact details.

Click here for the full story.

Sunday 4 November 2007

The Golden Compass

Many of you may have been alerted to the 'dangers' of this movie via email. The movie release date is December 7th so there are no actual movie reviews circulating on the web yet.

I read through all 3 books in the series last week. There are indeed elements to be very concerned about for those working in kids and youth ministries. Whilst many children may not pick up on the anti-church elements, they are likely to be intrigued by the daemons that are an integral part of every person's character. Daemons are animals that reflect the human soul. In young children they can change shape at will, often according to how the child is feeling or what they are facing.

There is no clear distinction in the books as to right/wrong; good/evil. Alliances between witches, angels, animals and people groups (mythical & human) shift and change through multiple worlds. The overall plot of the stories move from the 'kingdom of heaven' to the 'republic of heaven' - in other words, the overthrow of "God".

I personally love fantasy books and this series is indeed a rivetting read. But it is disturbing and has the real potential to pull children away from the truth of the Gospel.

Thursday 25 October 2007

Fantastic Online Training

Karl Bastian at Kidology has developed a terrific online training resource. Check it out at the Kidology website. Kids Vision highly recommends a membership to this site. There are heaps of terrific free resources and ideas for ministry. For a small annual cost, you can access even more resources and receive discounts on things like the online training package.

Kidology online training is useful for those in kids ministry leadership as either a personal development resource or as something to share with the team. The training package includes a downloadable PDF outline, powerpoint outline and movie files. Register with a professional membership and the first training pack can be yours for about US$10.

Change to Childsafe Training

Childsafe training previously advertised as 18th November will now be held on Sunday 25th November 2-4pm @ South Perth Church of Christ. Email Tania if you are interested in attending. This is basic training suitable for all volunteers serving in children's and youth ministries. Childsafe training is strongly recommended for all Churches of Christ in WA.

Sunday 21 October 2007

Kids Vision Country Link Team


Kerry Cross is our Country Link Team Leader for the South-West region. Kerry is going to give us a pic of herself soon - but in the meantime, we'd love you to get to know Kerry! If you are involved in kids ministry in the south-west, Kerry is a great person to contact for a chat or for kids ministry info.

For the past 5 years, Kerry has lived in Busselton with her husband, Graeme and children, Natasha(12), Ben (10) and Anna (7). Paraburdoo, Geraldton, Carnamah, Kulin and Lake Grace have all been called home in the past 22 years.

Apart from managing the day to day functions of an active family, Kerry heads up KIDZONE, the children’s ministry of Cornerstone Church of Christ and teaches at Cornerstone Christian College. Kerry loves taking ballet lessons and aerobics classes. She is an avid reader, being part of a book club and also loves running the ‘Desperate Staff Wives’ prayer group. Her ‘Life Group’ helps keep her connected with her church family as Sunday mornings are usually spent out with the children.

Kerry’s greatest desires are to see her own children and those in the church family grow in Christ-likeness : to be on their guard; stand firm in the faith; be people of courage; be strong and do everything in love. (1 Cor 16:13) She sees reading the scriptures and prayer, particularly praise, confession, repentance and forgiveness as great weapons given by the Lord for the spiritual battle.

Childsafe Training

Looking for an easy way to do Childsafe training at your church? South Perth Church of Christ is conducting one last session for 2007 on Sunday afternoon (2pm-4pm) 18th November. Email Tania if you and/or your team would like to join in.

Recommended Reading


"Children's Ministry in the 21st Century", Craig Jutila, Jim Wideman and others.


This is an easy read with heaps of practical applications at the end of each chapter. Covering topics like understanding the contemporary world of kids, parenting, special needs kids, preprimary and primary ministry, you'll find helpful insights and ideas for implementing into your ministry straight away.


"Children's Ministry in the 21st Century" will be available from the usual bookstores, but if, like me, you can't wait ... then get a copy online!

Friday 5 October 2007

Rocfish Concert


As a part of the 60th Anniversary Celebrations of the South Perth Church of Christ, Rocfish are appearing at a Kids Concert on Saturday, 10th November at 3pm. Tickets are $5 per child (adults free). For information and tickets contact Dianne.

Kids Vision Scholarships 2008

Be on the lookout for a Kids Vision pack which is being given to all COCWA Churches at the AGM on Friday 26th October. the Kids Vision pack contains prospectus details for our 2008 scholarship programme. The scholarship programme is aimed at providing financial assistance to those who wish to undertake study at diploma/degree level for 2 units of children's ministry specific training. Information about the Bible colleges offering relevant courses will also be included in the pack.

The pack also contains a DVD which has some useful resources for your church and team. Amongst the material on the DVD is a brief interview with some of our fantastic kids ministers talking about the highlights of their ministries in 2007.

If you would like any information regarding the Scholarships or the Kids Vision pack, please email Tania Watson.

Term 4 Network Gathering

Our final Kids Vision network gathering for this year will be on Thursday 22nd November at 10am at South Perth Church of Christ. We've got some wonderful cake and coffee organised! Please RSVP to Tania Watson.

Saturday 8 September 2007

Rejuvenate Weekend

Rejuvenate is an overnight training and networking retreat for Senior Children’s Ministers. You will be pampered and inspired to take your ministry in your church to another level. This all expense paid weekend is on Friday and Saturday 9th + 10th November 2007.
The Package includes, staying overnight at the 4½ star Seashells Resort in Mandurah, feasting on delicious meals including Dinner on Saturday at Sunsets Cafe in Rockingham as well as being inspired by some brilliant teaching sessions by leading ministers in Perth.
Information about Rejuvenate is sent to the Senior Pastors of churches. If you've not heard about Rejuvenate and are interested in attending, please check with your Senior Pastor or email Sharon Ahern at Kids r Us.
To those of you already planning to go, be sure to thank your Senior Pastor and Church for their kind generosity and we will see you in Mandurah!

Kidshaper - Melbourne 2008





Plans are well on the way already for next year’s conference, Kidshaper FLY 08 - To be held in Melbourne on August 20 – 22 2008. Keynote speakers for next year are Glen Berteau, Rob Bradbury, Stephanie Sewell and Joel Chelliah. We have wonderful new, informative and practical electives lined up to equip leaders right across the board. Planetshakers will be back to lead us in praise and worship as well as the guys from Citikidz.

We are happy to announce, that for the first time we are offering a special Super Earlybird rate of $95.00 per delegate. Delegates can register on line at kidshaper.com or by phoning 03 9896 7925. This special rate ends October 31 2007.

Your leadership, vision and skills will lift to a new level.

We are extremely excited about next year’s conference and invite you and your team to join us in Melbourne for Kidshaper FLY 08!

Remember Senior Pastors always attend Kidshaper for free.

See you and your team at Fly
Rob Bradbury
National Director
Kids R Us


To register, please contact:
info@kidshaper.com
OR
Kidshaper 08 Conference
PO Box 641
Box Hill VIC 3128
(03) 9896 7925


For accommodation info, please contact:
Planetshakers Travel
(03) 9896 7930
travel@planetshakers.com
OR
Sharon Ahern—kidsruswa@globaldial.com

Thursday 6 September 2007

Traning Opportunities 2008

Kids Vision will launch a new training initiative in October at our COCWA AGM. We will be offering to ANY person involved in ANY kids ministry activity associated with Churches of Christ to apply for scholarship funding to study kids ministry in 2008. We have 6 scholarships to award.

Kids Vision has recently met with colleges offering units of study and we recommend that you take a look at:
Baptist College of WA,
Bible College of WA,
Harvest West.

Information regarding the scholarship funding programme will be given to churches at the AGM - or sent out in the post for those churches not able to send a representative. Country people please note that colleges do offer flexible learning methods and so we strongly encourage you to make the most of this opportunity!

Childsafe Training

Childsafe training is being hosted at Bunbury Church of Christ on Sunday 23rd September at 1:30pm. Contact Andrew Johnston (08) 9791 1586 for further information.

Friday 31 August 2007

"The Fabulous Reinvention of Sunday School"



This is a terrific book written by Aaron Reynolds - particularly for those of you working with primary aged kids. Ever wondered how you could tell a Bible story with greater power, passion and punch? Then this book is for you. check out the deal available through the Willow Creek Association and receive the bonus DVD master class session.


Kids Vision Country Link Team

We recognise that the needs and challenges of ministering to kids in country areas are unique. Kids Vision is committed to helping churches in country areas as much as we can ... and so we are pleased to introduce kids ministry leaders from two of our churches who are prepared to offer help and support. Sheryl O'Sullivan is available to churches in the northern region and Kerry Cross is happy to help churches in the south-west.

Our Country Link Team is committed to helping communicate information and resources.
In this blog, we would love you to meet Sheryl O'Sullivan from Northam ...

Sheryl is the Children’s Ministry Team Leader at Northam Church of Christ. As well as overseeing the Sunday morning children’s programs, she runs a playgroup, teaches SRE and supports the Salvos in the after school and holiday programs. She enjoys writing her own programs for children. Sheryl is excited about the future direction of the local church as they prepare to run new programs for children and parents in the new Bridgeley Community Centre. Sheryl has a heart for equipping other children’s leaders and being able to support and resource them. She is the Kids Vision contact for the northern and eastern country churches. Her motto? Loving Him by loving His kids.

Kids Vision Network August Meeting


We had another great network time together on Thursday 29th August at the Baldivis Church. Thanks Danny for hosting us and for Julie for the great lunch and cookies!

One of the outcomes of our dicussions was that we are going to review the timing of network get-togethers. We recognise that few of us are availble to meet during the day and so we would love to hear from you if a night meeting would make it easier for you to attend. Network gatherings are for anyone involved in leading and serving in a kids related ministry area in a church, school or outreach setting. They provide a terrific opportunity to be encouraged and resourced in ministry. Email Tania if you agree that a night meeting once per term would suit you better.

Julie and Kylie from Warnbro shared their shopping exploits from the Kidshaper Conference in Melbourne last week. They recommend:


  • The new DVD packs from Planetkids. These are sensational all-in-one ministry materials for Australian kids. Rob Bradbury and his team are committed to working together as ONE church to reach kids. The "4" DVD sets have fun, generic branding which means that they will fit into any church setting (in other words, they are not branded as Planetkids products). Check out http://www.planetshakers.com/ for details. Thanks Rob for your Kingdom heart!

  • Andrew Shepherd has written a book called "Honey I Shrunk the Kids Ministry!". Andrew is Children's Pastor at Crossways Baptist in Melbourne. Take a look at Crossways Kids @ http://www.crossway.org.au/. The book doesn't seem to be available as yet - so keep your eyes open.

  • Have you seen the series of books for preschoolers called "Lost Sheep"? These excellent books are now available in GIANT size and also come in a story telling kit. Take a look at http://www.lostsheep.com.au/.

Tuesday 21 August 2007

Childsafe

Over 30 of our churches have begun the process of adopting Childsafe. Childsafe is a tool which enables churches to promote, develop and maintain best practice principles for working with children and young people in all aspects of ministry.

Implementation of Childsafe is underway in some of our churches (Kalgoorie, Baldivis, South Perth ...) COCWA is presently working on a simple implementation plan + a basic training package. Facilitators for the basic team training presentation are Scott Vawser (Youth Vision) and Tania Watson (Kids Vision). Contact either of these two people or Nigel Pegram at COCWA if you would like further information. Please note that the training package covers BOTH youth and children's ministry ... so its easy to get all of your teams together for the one training session!

Information regarding Childsafe Online has been emailed to churches this past week. User details will be sent out in the near future once ChildSafe has finished setting up our sub site.

Thursday 16 August 2007

August Network Meeting

Our next network meeting is at The Baldivis Church on Thursday August 30th, 10:30 - 1:30pm. Lunch is provided. Please RSVP to Julie Newcombe (julie.newcombe@warnbro.org.au) by August 26th if you are going to be there.

Kids Vision network meetings are open to anyone who is involved in, or interested in children's ministry. We look forward to seeing you soon and enjoying the terrific kids facility that The Baldivis Church has built.

Wednesday 15 August 2007

Meet the Kids Vision WA Team


Tania Watson is on the pastoral team of South Perth Church of Christ. Tania’s passion is to be an advocate for children and for those who work with them in our churches. Her desire is to see children’s ministry incorporated and integrated deeply into the life of faith communities so that children’s faith in Jesus Christ is affirmed and nurtured at every stage of their development.



Julie Newcombe is the Children’s Pastor at Warnbro Community Church. Julie loves working with children of all ages, whether it is in Toddler Jam, Sunday Kids Church, Junior Youth Groups, Kids Camps or local primary schools. A high priority for Julie is building effective teams and reaching children through relationships.





Danny Marwick is the Children's Pastor at The Baldivis Church. On Tuesday mornings you will find Danny playing in the sandpit with the playgroup kids ( he has become an expert at sandcastles). He also enjoys meeting kids at the local primary school under the Kids Hope mentoring banner. School breakfasts are another time where Danny works with other volunteers from the church. What Danny enjoys the most in his week is worshiping with all the kids in Kids Church - jumping around,and singing praises to God and hearing about what God is doing in their lives.

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Welcome

This is the very first post on the Kids Vision blog - Welcome!!