Jesus Honoured in Local Paper

Think Jesus had nothing to do with inner cities?  Think again.  Bible Story Offers Hope for the Present is an article that appeared in our local paper this week, reflecting Jesus' solidarity with those of us in the inner city.  (note: this article is written in Winnipeg, where the core area is referred to as the "North End")

 

One King

One King spoken word Good Friday message

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I was stopped twice again today, by people asking for spare change.  A commonplace occurrence, except our winters are so cold that it doesn't happen much over the 6 coldest months of the year, so these were the first two people to approach me since last fall.

Giving to beggars is a contentious issue, one everyone has an opinion on and one Christians in particular have a bit of a bone to chew.  It's possibly the number one question I get asked, as an urban minister.  (I usually refer them to some other expert.  The kids I work with aren't usually the ones on the streets begging, so my "expertise" is the same as theirs: trying to live a Christ-like life in today's world.)

I've changed my mind dozens of times on this issue, and likely will change it again, but in this 2-part blog series I will take a look at where I've landed on this issue.  In Part One, I will discuss 3 convictions I have developed regarding responding to requests for handouts, and in Part Two (coming next Monday), I will feature 3 ways to be wise with giving away handouts.

1) It's better to give than to make excuses so the guilt goes away.

There are times that I can say "no" to someone and don't think about it again.  I will make the assumption that those times are based on honest resources: be they time, money or what's at hand, and not based on selfishness or the sake of convenience.  These times I can look the person in the eye, and talk to them as a friend while still saying no.  This is just fine.

There are other times when I can't quite make eye contact, and something nags at my conscience, and the change in my purse feels like it's burning a hole in me.  I say no and walk away and spend the rest of the day justifying it to myself.  These times, I'm learning, are times when I have ignored the voice of the Holy Spirit for the sake of my own agenda and it's NEVER worth it.

2. My responsibility to God has to do with me, not them.

One top reason not to give is because the money will often go to support habits I don't approve of, namely buying cigarettes, alcohol or drugs.  I have no desire to support the drug industry, so I don't give.

I have felt convicted that I have been using this as an excuse to be stingy, not as an opportunity for generosity.  As an opportunity for generosity, I could take that person out for lunch instead, or wait with them and buy their fare on the bus.  See, I am responsible to God for my actions, not anybody else's.  When judgement day comes, I will stand before God and have to answer to why I did or did not give money when I had it and someone else didn't.  I will not have to answer to why the money I gave away was wasted.

So, by all means, give something other than cash.  But please don't stop helping the poor for this reason alone.

3. I would rather be known for foolish generousity than for selfish stinginess.

If I am going to err, I have decided I'd rather err on the side of generosity than on the side of holding too tightly to my resources.  This being said, I still often say "no" to people asking for handouts, and I have a pretty firm grasp on what I can afford to give away thoughtlessly (ie handouts) versus what I can afford to give away intentionally (where charitable tax receipts and the like come in.)  I believe I need to be giving to both, but the vast majority of my giving will be to organizations who are doing a good job in helping people in rough situations rather than giving directly to these people.  Still, there's something to be said about human touch, looking someone in the eye, and giving a little bit in the meantime.  I will make mistakes, probably every single time.  But at the end of the day, I want to be known as the idiot who gave too much away rather than the miser who never gave anything.

 

 

 

7 Quick & Easy Easter Crafts for Kids

Another craft round-up is at hand: here's 7 craft ideas for this Easter that have (mostly) stuff you might already have on hand and will take minutes to set up... perfect for the drop-in!



1.  Finger Puppets

Pipe cleaners, pompoms, google eyes and glue... need I say more?



2.  Paper Plate Lamb

Again, super simple, but with a "Lamb of God" theme, you could go somewhere with this.  Also turns out very cute!  (Sorry, boys - Easter begs "cutesy" crafts!  Wait for my Good Friday craft round-up coming next week for a few more less-girly options!)



3. Toilet paper tube lamb

The only problem is how to find 50 toilet paper tubes in 7 days... !!



4. Fingerprint carrot cards

This one does take a specialty item: an orange ink pad.  So if you've got time to swing by Michael's, it still makes for a cheap & easy craft.  And if you can get the washable ink, it won't even be too messy!  Plus, every kid likes getting his fingers messy!



5.  Handprint Easter Lillies

I remember making these as a kid!  Simply trace your hand on white paper, tape it to a chenille stem (aka pipe cleaner) and tie with a ribbon.  These folks added an extra yellow centre to their lilly which, I admit, makes it look prettier, but depending on the age and attention span of the kids, I might not bother.



6. Paper Bag Easter Baskets

Time to use up those extra foam stickies and pompoms?  Every craft room collects them, and this simple paper-bag-and-glue craft nets a pretty nice basket at the end of the day.  Nothing fancy, but I can see this being a lot of fun!



7. Textured Easter Eggs

These are cute, colorful and mostly involve glue... it might just be me, but I'm seeing cardboard, icing and fruitloops doing the same thing as an edible craft!  Yummm....

 

 

5 Ways to tell the Easter story... creatively!

One fellow minister put it this way: "it's easy to teach kids about the true meaning of Christmas, so why is Easter so much more difficult?"  I hadn't thought of it that way before, but she was right!  Dozens of ideas to teach Jesus' birth were already popping into my head, but Easter...?  I was drawing a blank!

So I rounded up some of the "best of" ideas on the 'net that I thought would work for the various ages of kids I work with in the inner city!  Some of these are written by stay-at-home moms and would need to be adapted for a school-age, daily/weekly program, but still have some merit to them!

1. Resurrection Garden

While this mom, from www.impressyourkids.com, made a garden (in a bowl) on Good Friday to watch slowly die, I can see it working just as well to make a garden together one evening (if you're a daily program, perfect, if not, just space this out over 3 weeks), see it dead the next time you're together, and have it come back to life later.  Not ideal for big groups, but an excellent visual as you tell the story!

2.  Resurrection Cookies

Apparently this is an old idea, but it's new to me, and I love it!  The cookies do need to bake overnight, so either make a batch beforehand for immediate gratification, or if you have a daily program, they can wait one day!  I love how every ingredient is necessary for the cookies, and every ingredient tells part of the Easter story.  Vickilynn from Real Food Living gives a complete recipe with Biblical references and devotional points for each step of the baking process.

3.  Resurrection Eggs

Melissa, from Fill My Cup, has taken this classic Easter-telling-story aid and given us an affordable DIY version ($4 to make your own set, she says).  The idea is to put a symbol representing each part of the Biblical story into a numbered set of a dozen plastic eggs.  Hide the eggs around your space and have a traditional Easter egg hunt.  Once all the eggs are found, have children open the eggs in the right order to pull out a symbol of the Easter story, read a slip of paper from inside the egg and tell the Easter story through the eggs.

4.  Passion Tree

Ann Voskamp, author of Trail to the Tree, offers this free tutorial, devotional and printable classic art decorations to make your own `passion tree.` If you`re unfamiliar with the concept, it`s dead branches placed in a vase, decorated with symbols of Christ`s passion (an idea similar to a Christmas tree - you may have seen the more commercialized Easter egg trees for sale at Walmart!)  This devotional is quite liturgical, so may be suited for older groups, but a simpler way of a passion tree is still to place dead branches in a vase - symbolizing Christ`s death - and decorate with eggs - symbolizing new life - to tell the Easter story.  Andrea of Babe of My Heart and Kaylin of A Mustard Seed Journey have also teamed up to provide instructions on making a "lent tree" and more kid-friendly printable ornaments.

5. Scavenger Hunt

Thriving Family, a Focus on the Family publication, has a week of activities for families and children.  Many are very family-specific, but I liked this one: "Send your children on an Easter scavenger hunt. Instruct them to find items that symbolize different parts of the Easter story. Examples: A rock (the tomb), two sticks (the Cross), something black (sin), something red (blood), something white (a clean heart), something green (growing in Christ). Older children can go on a digital scavenger hunt, taking photographs of items that remind them of Easter."

More ideas?  Leave a comment!

Free Lord's Prayer Bookmark Printable

This week is a FREE printable bookmark for kids to colour.  (To turn it into a craft, after coloring, laminate with contact paper, punch a hole in the top and tie a ribbon through.  Add a few beads for a beautiful beaded b0okmark!)

Lord's prayer bookmark

A great addition to 10:10 Kids Bible Lesson series Teach Me To Pray.

Urban Children's Ministry Top Ten

You know you're in urban kidmin when...

• a banana is a bigger treat than a chocolate bar


• you've had to deal with a four year old's excessive swearing habit


• you've seen eight year olds beat up someone twice their size


• shoplifting is a real issue... for your kindergarten class


• you've had to deal with a suicide - for an 11 year old


• the ten year olds have more sexual experience than you did before you were married


• you have social services on speed dial


• the cops know the birthdate of the kids in your ministry, because the day they turn 13 they're picking them up to go to juvie.


• you're used to seeing kids as young as 3 fend for themselves at eleven pm on the inner city streets.


• you've stopped asking "Who's this kids parents, anyway?"


• the parents of the kids you minister to are still in high school themselves

I think one reason why this is such a quiet topic is that it breaks your heart when you see seventeen year olds at this stage... many of us just can't stomach it at an age that is supposed to still be "innocent."

Yet the joys of urban ministry can outrank any of it!  While teens have already hardened their hearts, these kids are still (for the most part) at an emulating stage: they're not doing these things because they decided to, they're doing it because that's what they see!  So when we can emulate a different way of living - it's often incredibly effective.  They're harder than I (hopefully) will ever be in my adult years, but they're still little kids.  They still chase bubbles.  They still love to run through sprinklers.  They still will watch puppet shows with some kind of awe.  Their joys in life are piggy-back rides and jumping rope.  Their eyes can light up when they see you - and they don't feel the need to hide it!  They ask the questions on their mind (with no censorship) and tell you what they think (also with no censorship).  They still risk to love.

 

And one hug, one kid pointing at me at the corner store, saying "Mom, that's the lady from the church!," one hand tucked into yours, one "aha" moment during Bible story time... those are the moments when you know God is smiling!

Losing a generation

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Today, 1/3 of the world's population is under 15.

Only about 17% of the world's population are practicing Christians.

Are we losing this generation?

About 23% of church's population are children.  An estimated 3% of the church's budget is designated for children, overseas and at home.

80% of all those who come to Christ do so before their 18th birthday.

Are we losing this generation?

 

This video is a call to action to dramatically shift our church's focus to reaching kids for Christ.  For those of us in children's ministry, it is an empowering and inspiring video, well worth the 6 minutes it takes to watch it.

Urban KidMin merges with 10:10 Kids!

Welcome to our new site!  Urban KidMin, a blog directed at equipping urban kids ministers, and 10:10 Kids, a curriculum dedicated to bringing quality Bible lesson plans at affordable prices that work in the inner city, have joined forces to better equip urban childrens ministries.

We hope to continue to provide you with current and timely tips, strategies and encouragement for those who minister to urban children through our blog, while providing affordable and inner-city-friendly Bible lessons at rock-bottom pricing in our shop (with, of course, some freebies thrown in!)

We hope you'll like what you see!