Mike Johnson

Elevate Year 4 Map Will Be Unveiled Soon…

Hard to believe but Year 4 of Elevate is upon us! We are in the stage of developing the concept drawings for the Year 4 map. If anyone can guess what the seven series are from this image I have something pretty cool that I will send you. The offer is only available until I post the next concept drawing. Come on, give a guess...what have you got to lose?

Three Words That Make Me Cringe

They're... just... kids.

To hear these words sends a streak down my spine. It's normally used as an excuse for poor performance or low quality in ministry. When people are too tired, too overwhelmed, or... dare I say... too lazy to do something great for the next generation, they say, "They're just kids, they won't know the difference." Where did this idea come from anyway? If you want to make any major change in the world, you have to start with the children. They are the adults of the future. They are the difference makers, the risk takers, the dreamers who have yet to be. Why in the world would we sell short our children, the group of people most open to hearing ideas of change? In churches all over the country kids are relegated to the "basement" of ministry. This un-supported, under-funded, just-keep-them-quiet mentality could very well be the ruin of the church as we know it. If the children of the church grow up and believe that it is irrelevant, boring, and lacking in quality, then the first chance they get, they are out of here. If that happens, the church will die.

I know we cannot all do the same level of work, but we can all have the same spirit behind the work. Let us all embrace the next generation and give our best to them with the resources God has given us.

Check out this video from C3 Kids 2009 that touches on this idea:

 

 

Elevate Family Overview

Elevate Family Is Here!

After months of work, I'm excited to announce the arrival of Elevate Family. As a parent I know how hard it can be to do any kind of regular, formal spiritual teaching with your kids, but I also know how important it is to teach them about God on a daily basis. From this problem was born a passion to find a simple way to help parents lead their kids closer to God. Our answer is Elevate Family.

We designed Elevate Family to create teachable moments that will allow parents to bring biblical and applicable teaching about God into the intimate setting of their home. Elevate Family is designed to give you confidence in sharing the principles of God’s Word with your children in a clear, concise way. Each week the Elevate Family series will provide a Bible story on DVD, application activities for your whole family to participate in, conversation starters to help create teachable moments, and personal Bible study cards for your child. These elements will help your children understand the Bible in a new way and allow the teaching of the Bible to become a centerpiece of your home.

 

Don’t let teachable moments slip through your fingers. Make God and His ways part of your everyday conversation. When you do, you will see in your children what only God can provide…supernatural results!

 

Check out Elevate Family for yourself at creativepastors.com or your campus Source store!

Ball Carrying and Blocking

When you’re on a team, everyone needs to work together to reach the goal. If a play is called and you’re the one carrying the ball, then everyone else on your team needs to block for you. They need to be looking out for you, seeing things you may not see, clearing pathways so that you can score.

As a staff member or a volunteer, always work for the good of the team. That’s how the team gets the ball across the goal line. If no one blocks for the guy or gal carrying the ball, more than likely he or she is going to get hit and possibly fumble. When the fumble happens everyone scrambles and the whole team usually ends up going backwards. Then, if they are lucky enough to recover the ball, the team now has to regain the yards they once had. Everyone suffers. But if great protection is given to the one carrying the ball, if paths are opened through great blocking, the ball advances and the team advances with it.

In ministry, as in any area of life, you aren’t always going to be the one “carrying the ball.” You won’t always be in charge or be in the spotlight. But just because you’re not carrying the ball, that doesn’t mean you don’t have a job to do. Put your pads on and get out into the thick of the battle. You are part of a team and as a team everyone needs to work together. Remember, when one person crosses the goal line with the ball, the whole team scores.

The Two Minute Drill

In a children's ministry, it's really important for all of the staff to be in their respective areas when the parents are dropping off and picking up their kids. Those two minutes are going to shape a parent's impression of you and your children's ministry. The parents need to know you. You need to be out there shaking their hands. If that means that you have to find someone else to do whatever you usually do during that time, find that person. You need to be out establishing relationships with mom and dad.

A huge benefit to establishing those relationships comes when you are recruiting new volunteer leaders (which is always). When a parent gets a call from the church to volunteer, they will respond more positively if the person calling is someone they have a relationship with. Instead of the husband saying to the wife "Yeah, some guy from the church called and he wants us to volunteer in the children's area. I don't know who he is... I told him we were too busy", he says "Mike Johnson called from the church today. He's enjoyed getting to know us and he thinks that we would be great volunteers in the children's area. I told him I wanted to talk to him more about it this weekend when we see him." See the difference?

The key is relationship. The church is not just a big corporation or organization, the church is people in relationship. When people know you, they will give more thought to what you are asking of them. And when they do, the door is wide open for you to share with them the opportunities you have available. Then, when they step over the line and start to serve, your relationship with them can grow deeper, which will keep them around longer. That's a win all the way around.

Remember, it's all about relationships. And relationships begin during The Two Minute Drill.

Curriculum Essentials - Teaching the Bible

"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

The Bible, to me, is an inspirational book. The Bible is where I learn about God and how He wants me to live. The Bible is a place where I hear life-changing messages directly from God. The Bible is...holy. It is set apart. There is no other book like it and no other book can have an impact on this world like the Bible can. So when I teach the Bible, I want to reflect that. I want my audience to be inspired and awed at what God did in the Bible, and hopefully by what He can do in their own lives. When teaching the Bible I like to use musical underscoring, because music can set a mood like nothing else. I like to use visuals, because my learners respond to them better than just looking at a speaker. I like to teach the Bible in such a way that the learner gets swept up in the story. In fact, when I teach the Bible, I like to get swept up in the story, so that the audience can get a glimpse of what I feel. 

That's how I like to teach the Bible. It may just be me, but I'm not one for off beat Bible story presentations. The kind with a goofy wig and bad bathrobe. To me, that makes the Bible seem silly. Now hear me please, I think comedy has its place in children's church; it can be used for many fun activities that kids will enjoy, making them want to come back for more. But when it comes to teaching the stories of the Bible, the goal should be to inspire, to allow the Word's penetrating message to do the work. Then, when God's message settles into the heart, we must help the child see how to use that message to make a difference in their world. When we impart God's Word into the hearts of our kids, it will not come back void. 

The Bible is God's word. Listen to it, obey it and most of all respect it. After all, the Bible is...holy.

The Birth of an Elevate Series…It All Starts Here

To develop Elevate, Elevate Jr., and the new Elevate Family products there are three major departments:

• Pre-production (brainstorming the series, writing the series)
• Production (filming, art construction, animation)
• Post production (editing, scoring, DVD production)
  

Each series begins here…the Deadline Meeting. It’s here that all the departments come together and work out all the kinks of doing what we do in just 8 weeks. Basically, in a nutshell, the agenda for the meeting is “who needs what and when?”

Currently we are in pre-production of “City Streets – The Musical”. Yes, I did say musical. This will be the most ambitious series yet. We’ve got some very talented High School kids who will be playing the leads…which makes for some interesting shoot times in the studio (all in the evening after sports and school). Should be lots of fun!