Ashley's mom cornered me after church. "What's your teaching strategy?"
I almost spit out my coffee. Strategy? My strategy was hoping kids remembered something about Jesus between the glitter explosions and goldfish cracker fights.
That was seven years ago. I went home and cried. Then googled "how to be good at kids ministry" until 2 AM.
Found some stuff that actually helped. Like, really helped. Not just "here's another craft idea" but actual help becoming less of a hot mess every Sunday.
Grow Curriculum (The One That Saved My Sanity)
Okay so three years ago I'm literally on the floor of my living room surrounded by printed Pinterest ideas and half-finished lesson plans. It's Saturday night. I have no idea what I'm teaching tomorrow. Again.
Find this thing called Grow Curriculum. Figured it was just another lesson book. Whatever, I'm desperate. Buy it.
Y'all. It's not just lessons. It's everything. EVERYTHING.
Like, Marcus never sang. Ever. Just stood there every Sunday looking at the floor. Third week using Grow's worship videos with the hand motions and the kid is full-on dancing.
The dance videos teach the kids for me. Do you understand how beautiful that is? I don't have to pretend I know my left from my right while teaching motions. I just copy the screen. Badly. But the kids watch the video, not me, so it works.
Sarah asked me last month how I have time to make parent resources. I don't. Grow makes them. I just print. But Sarah thinks I'm super organized so I'm not telling her.
They plan everything. Easter. Christmas. VBS. Not like "here's an idea, good luck." Actual plans. With times. And supply lists. And backup activities for when things go wrong because things always go wrong.
Remember when Tommy threw up during the Christmas program? Right in the middle of Silent Night? I used to panic during stuff like that. Now I just move to backup plan B. Or C. Sometimes D. Grow has all the backup plans.
The volunteer training videos mean I don't have to pretend I know how to train people. Just press play. "Watch this. Now you're trained." They actually include the video scripts if I wanted to film all the training myself lol maybe I'll have time later.
I know what we're teaching next year. NEXT YEAR. Parents ask about our scope and sequence now and I can answer without making something up. It's weird. Good weird. But weird.
Stuff You Can Use Facebook Group (For When You Need Ideas & Encouragement)
Found this group during a Saturday night panic. It's midnight. I have nothing for tomorrow. Again.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/stuffyoucanusekids
Posted "HELP does anyone have a last-minute Abraham and Sarah activity??"
Four people responded within ten minutes. AT MIDNIGHT. With actual ideas. Not just "praying for you!" but like "here's a PDF" and "we did this last week and it worked."
It's 33,000 children's ministry people who get it. They've all been there. Someone posted a picture of their craft fail last week - supposed to be Noah's ark, looked like a melted brown blob. 147 comments of people sharing their own disasters. I felt so seen.
Best part? People share everything. Games that actually work. How to handle THAT kid (you know the one). Megan posted about finding pool noodles at Dollar Tree in January and now half of us have a pool noodle stash.
Fair warning: you'll get addicted to scrolling through it. "Just checking for ideas" turns into an hour of reading about someone's Easter egg hunt disaster. But you'll also find that perfect game when you need it most.
Planning Center (Because I Can't Remember Everything)
Used to wake up at 2 AM panicking. Did I remind Jennifer she's teaching? Is it Mark's week for games? Who's doing snack?
Now everyone gets automatic reminders. Not from me. From the app. So when Jennifer forgets, she can't blame me. The app told her. Four times.
$14 a month. That's like three coffees. Worth it to sleep past 2 AM.
Check-in actually works now too. No more handwriting "Aiden - allergic to everything" on stickers while his mom lists seventeen more allergies I'll definitely forget.
Seeds Family Worship (When You Need Different)
Sometimes Grow's music is too much energy. Like when it's been raining for three days and kids are already bouncing off walls.
Seeds is just scripture. Put to simple music. Kids sing Bible verses. Parents don't realize their kids are memorizing scripture. It's sneaky and I love it.
Emma knows all of Psalm 23 because of these songs. She's four. FOUR. I don't even know all of Psalm 23.
Canva (So I Don't Have to Use Markers Anymore)
Made announcement slides with actual markers for two years. On poster board. In my kitchen. At midnight.
Now I use Canva. Takes five minutes. Looks like we hired someone. We didn't. It's just me and templates.
The pro account lets you resize stuff. Game changer. Make it once. Use it for Instagram, Facebook, printed stuff, whatever. No more making the same thing seventeen times.
Still finding old marker-drawn posters in the supply closet. We use them as scratch paper now.
Dollar Tree (Don't Judge)
Linda took me to Dollar Tree for VBS supplies. Changed my life. Not exaggerating.
Pool noodles for sword fights. Foam boards for everything. Prizes that don't break the budget. Craft supplies that I don't cry about when kids waste them.
Spent $50 last VBS. Had prizes for every kid every day plus stuff left over. The same stuff would've cost $200 at the teacher store.
Buy holiday stuff after the holiday. I have Easter eggs for next three years. Got them in April for 50 cents per dozen. That's basically free.
The Part Nobody Tells You
These resources saved me from quitting. Was ready to quit seventeen different times. Usually on Saturday nights when I had nothing planned and no energy left.
But having actual help? Changes everything. I'm not making this up as I go anymore. Well, not completely.
Still have chaos. Last week during worship - right in the middle of the dance moves - Lily spills an entire bottle of glue. ENTIRE BOTTLE. While we're doing the "raise your hands" part. Glue everywhere. Kids are still dancing. In glue.
But I had margin to handle it. Because I wasn't stressed about the lesson. Or the craft. Or the game. All that was already planned.
Start with one thing. Just one. For me it had to be Grow because I needed the whole system. Everything else came later. Dollar Tree happened when Linda dragged me there.
Maybe your list is different. Fine. Just stop trying to do everything yourself. I tried that. Almost died. Metaphorically. But still.
These resources exist because other people already figured this out. Use their brain. Save yours for the actual kids.
Who will spill glue. During worship. While dancing. It's not if. It's when.
Trust me on this.