ChildrensMinistryVault.com - Just came across this website a few days ago while working on my Easter message. It’s got great lesson plans and object lessons for lots of different kinds of Bible stories. Many of them include instructional videos to show you HOW to pull it off.

MoreThanPuppets.com - Steve Adams, the Children’s Pastor at Saddleback Church just launched his blog this week. Steve is an in-the-trenches Children’s Ministry veteran of over 20 years. If you’ve ever heard Steve you know he’s the real deal. You’ll be doing yourself and your Children’s Ministry a HUGE favor by subscribing to his free blog today.

SteveSpanglarScience.com - Not really a Kids’ Ministry specific website, but Steve has got LOADS of cool science stuff that would make great object lessons for any kidmin lesson. Some of them are a bit more work, but they will BLOW your kids away.

What amazing websites have you come across? Post them in the comments below.

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I love organizing. I am one of those weirdos who relishes every opportunity to visit Office Max and Staples. If my stapler’s not consistently at a 90 degree angle, I can sense it from 10 miles away and won’t get anything done till it’s corrected.

Over the years I’ve found a few resources which have helped me bring order to the chaos of life, ministry, and leadership. Hopefully these tools will be helpful to you too:

Remember the Milk
Great service. I talk more about it here, but in a nutshell RTM helps you remember everything (including the milk). It includes functionality to allow you to group tasks by roles, context, projects; pretty much every conceivable way. It has recurring tasks so you don’t have to keep entering the same tasks in again and again. It’ll send you text reminders to your phone and email. I use this every day to keep tabs on all my projects and tasks.

Evernote
I use Evernote to keep track of all my ideas. Simply create a notebook (ie Gift Ideas, Leadership Development, Parenting Tips, etc.) and create a note for each idea that fits in that topic. Evernote is also great because you can upload pictures, video, and audio files to it. I’ll often take snapshots of items my wife likes while we’re shopping and file them under my Gift Ideas notebook. The, whenever I need an idea of something to buy I’ve got a stockpile of things I know she’ll love.

Google docs, calendar, and iGoogle
Google is slowly taking over the world, and I’m OK with it. Google Docs is basically Microsoft Word online for free. With it you never have to worry about forgetting a document on another device because it’s accessible to you from anywhere. Same with Google Calendar. iGoogle is cool because you can create a homepage where all your favorite websites (Remember the Milk, Evernote, Google Calendar & Docs, Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds, the News, etc.) are all stored one easy to use page. It keeps everything clear and together for easy access and retrieval.

Of course my favorite aspect of each of these services is their price: $0. They work on all platforms, they’re mobile, they integrate together, and are super easy to use. Check them out if you’re interested in becoming more coordinated in your task management or are ready to get your black belt in organizational ninjitsu.

What resources have you found that have helped you become more organized?

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As I mentioned here my team and I went to the Orange Tour here last week. I attended a great breakout led by social media guru, guiding light, and geek Matt McKee. Here are the highlights:

Regardless of the medium, context is everything.

We have to get past the media and get to the social.

Kindergarteners are learning on iPads, not chalkboards.

The goal of a business isn’t to be good at Facebook, but to be good at business because of Facebook.

98% of text messages are read.

Over 600,000 apps on the app store

Your message needs to be meaningful and 140 characters or less.

Chances are you are going to leave your church in 3-5yrs. Make sure families are more connected to your church then just you.

Facebook is like a lake. Twitter is like a river.

Facebook can suck your time. Schedule your social media time like a meeting so it doesn’t consume you.

Use social media to interact, not just dispense information.

Social media can help your church impact people who will never walk through your doors.

People remember what they experience, not what they hear.

Don’t just send out press releases.

Create worship experiences outside the church walls.

Move past a weekend mentality.

If it doesn’t build into people then don’t build it.

Technology is not the problem. It’s merely the vehicle. What makes it good or bad is the driver.

Facebook has surpassed MySpace is their willingness to change.

Our job as pastors is to meet people where they’re at regardless of the medium.

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I love to use movie clips in my teaching. I came across this cool app a few months ago that was super helpful with this:

Here’s the description from iTunes:

Clips is all about helping people engage with the Bible by using scenes from great films. Pastors, small group leaders, and youth ministers can all benefit with the tools provided. Clips tells you exactly what scenes to use, what topics to teach, the verses you could use, and even some possible discussion questions. It gives you everything you need to easily find the scene you are teaching from, even linking to it in iTunes.

Click here to buy it on iTunes.

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Blogging has been one of the most rewarding and stressful activities I’ve ever undertaken. It’s great to see my growth as a writer. I’ve loved interacting with my readers online. But sometimes it frustrates me to no end.

Sometimes my posts don’t come out so great. And the ones I really like don’t always get the feedback I had hoped. So what do you do when you feel like your blog is stuck in a rut? Here are three tips that have helped me take my blogging to the next level:

1. Start Slow
When I first started I felt I had to write paradigm-altering posts every day. I quickly realized this is not realistic. Guys in my field like Sam Luce, Jonathan Cliff, and David Wakerly make it look easy, but it’s a lot of work. The best way to start is to start slow. Here’s a great tip from Jon Acuff on the #1 reason blogs die (and how to make sure your blog doesn’t):

2. Know What You Want Your Readers to Do
The point of your post should be action. Your readers should be better at something you’re good at because of your post. Every post should answer one of these two questions:

Every person SHOULD_______________________because of/for______________________
Every person CAN___________________________by______________________________

Beginning with the end in mind will help you write posts people will actually read. If you do this people will keep reading your posts. They’ll like your writing so much they’ll start telling their friends about it. And they’ll start telling THEIR friends. Click here for a template to help you write more focused posts.

3. Write Headlines That Will Interest Them
If your headline isn’t remarkable nobody will ever know what a great writer you are. Headlines are what make us want to read what you’ve wrote. Chances are that’s why you’re reading this post now. Here’s a simple headline writing formula I learned from Jeff Goins:

Number/Trigger word + Adjective + Keyword + Promise = Awesome Headline

Hopefully these tips have been helpful to you. What other tips can you recommend for someone to take their blog to the next level? Post them in the comment section below!

PS – For more blogging tips check out How Get More Traffic to Your Blog by Seth Godin

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