Picking up from yesterday…we talked about the challenges involved in taking your worship experience for kids to the next level. I mentioned a couple of things we have tried that really worked in “Set the Motions” and “Set the Tone.” Today we will look at two more things we tried to give our worship experience for kids a face lift and talk about some different resources that are out there…
Set the Environment
It may sound strange, but an environment can set the tone of a room. Think about a rock concert…people are screaming, dancing, “moshing” and having a good ol’ time! However what we may not notice is how the lights are down, the music is loud and the crowd’s defensives are down because the environment has been set. Anytime you can lower the lighting (on the room), make the music sound good (not too loud, they are kids still) and have your stage lights going (even with some motion to them?) you will notice a difference in your crowd’s energy!
Set the Music
This could probably go unsaid, but…well I want to say it! The best thing you can do for you kids to get them involved in worship is pick the right music! Our younger ones (K-2 grade) like the Be-Bop type fun music while the older ones (3-5 grade) may be ok with that music (at the heart) they seem to prefer a harder more rock sound in their music.
Getting Started
If you were like we used to be with our worship you just want to know…where do I get started and that is a great question!!!! Where this post may (or may not) give some insight to some different things you can do, its still easier said than done! For me, the best place I would recommend getting started is purchasing some good music that will enable your ministry to ROCK!! Here are two great resources I would recommend are:
HillSong Kids
I love these guys!! If you want to see some amazing kids worship you have to check these guys out! Their CDs are amazing and their DVDs are unbelievable! Also, my friend Dave Wakerley is a children’s pastor at HillSong and has a phenomenal blog that is worth checking out!
FamilyWise Ministries
This music is from the Re-Think group and they have so many CDs that are amazing to use! If you want to build up your library with some great worship songs…check these guys out!
There you have it! What worship music do you use? What are some things you have tried? What other awesome kid worship resources out there that I may not be aware of?
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:54 am
Love your work Pudge!
I am checking out the familywise stuff right now!
Dave
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:16 am
I agree with both Hillsong and FamilyWise. Great stuff. We have also used Dave Crowder, Chris Tomlin, etc. stuff that I get from our youth pastor. Check with your youth guys - they have a ton of music resources that you could use! We’ll throw in some of the videos we use from KIDMO time to time too. I love this series of posts you’re doing. Great resource for everyone and very informative. Thank you! (We also use music videos for transition times and for when the kids come into the room and leave it - they LOVE them and it helps with a focus rather than misbehavior.)
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:08 am
Thanks Pudge! The light dimming thing really does matter. We recently started doing that when I came to my current church. At first I think some of the team wondered why I did that, but the results kind of silenced some of the doubts.
I use Rob Biagi’s stuff (VIP to G-O-D and Get Out There - http://www.robbiagi.com). The kids love his stuff.
I also use Ronnie Caldwells music videos and CDs - http://www.ronniecaldwell.com. Ronnie is a great guy and his music is great also.
I use other stuff also, but those are at the top. Thanks for this post!
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Thanks for the great comments guys! I never knew that these couple of posts would be this popular! We will definately have to revisit this talk again more in the future!
pudge