July 2008

Welcome to Connect, the monthly e-newsletter for those who minister to children in small Sunday schools, midweek programs, and new church plants. To invite your ministry staff members and volunteers to receive Connect, click here.

Want to learn more about Kid Connection? Join a free webinar on July 30, August 5 or August 19! Go to www.KidConnectionOnline.org/webinars to register today!

KC now has a group on www.cmconnect.org! Join the Kid Connection group and get connected with others using KC and serving in children's ministry. Click here to join (free membership required).

It’s curriculum order time! If you or your church received a curriculum reminder packet, note that if you place an order for Kid Connection by August 1, you’ll receive a FREE copy of a Walk With Me Christmas unit of your choice (a $13.95 value). If you have questions or need help ordering, just call 1-800-333-8300. Click here to view your choices for the Christmas unit.

A Note on Music

When I was a kid we sang once a year in Sunday school. Each December we’d be herded out of the sanctuary and into the fellowship hall to learn a selection of songs sketched onto a jumbo-sized sheet of poster board. While Ms. Noord banged the tune out on an ancient piano, Mrs. Wilting would tap the beat with her ruler—an instrument that did double duty as a drum stick and a “pay attention” prod. On Christmas morning we gathered in the fellowship hall for a final run-through, were shown our post performance reward (clementines and candy), and were led up the back stairs and into the sanctuary where those of us who could be seen from behind the poster board of lyrics waved at our family and sang our hearts out.

The church I serve in today meets in a rented community center and we don’t have a piano but we do just fine cranking up the tunes on our CD player when singing with the kids in our children’s ministry program. We learn the words to the praise songs the same way we learn the songs we love on the radio—by hearing them over and over again. Like our favorite radio songs, we’re okay with knowing that we don’t always get all the words right, and when we’d like a few extra instruments to add to our joyful noise, we clap, snap, stomp, jump, or whip out our “air guitars”! Our singing is less about performance (although we’re happy to participate in church when asked) and more about letting loose and praising God!

As Kid Connection editors we had praise and participation in mind when selecting songs for each session. We also wanted to provide you with a variety of songs to choose from—those with words and music that have stood the test of time and those that are part of kid culture today. That’s why we included songs from our Sing With Me Children's Songbook and songs that we and kids love from other sources. And, knowing that many modern sanctuary songs are a hit with kids, we also included music by artists like Chris Tomlin and Brian Doerksen.

The downside of desiring to provide Kid Connection leaders with the best possible musical selection is that purchasing recordings and printing music is costly, and that added expense was not compatible with our other goal—to keep Kid Connection affordable for all churches. That’s why, although you’ll find a recording for every Kid Connection song on our unit CD’s you won’t find the lyrics for songs not in the Sing With Me Children's Songbook. Instead, we’ve provided the links to almost all of those lyrics online! Simply go to www.kidconnectiononline.org/about/music.asp and you’ll find a listing of every Kid Connection song from year one along with a link to their lyrics. We’re updating this page with links for the songs in years 2-4, so bookmark the page and be sure to check back. (And be sure to pass the link on to your leaders.)

One more thing. The best way you can teach a song is by being prepared. Learn by listening. That means playing the songs you’ll be leading over and over again during the week—on your computer, in the car, in your CD player. Then, teach the kids the same way—by playing the song and singing along. Knowing the song without having to hold the words allows you to sing with enthusiasm and to pass that excitement on to your kids. Most kids will pick up the words just fine after saying them aloud, then singing them along with you. And don’t worry about the middle school kids in your group—some will sing, others will be too cool to try, but that’s okay! We were all preteens once and can remember being trapped in a body that wanted to have fun but look cool all at the same time. After they survive their teenage years they’ll be back and will be full of memories of their role model—you—participating with kids and praising God.

Karen DeBoer
Kid Connection Editor

Recommended Resource

Sing With Me Children's Songbook contains hundreds of biblical songs, simple accompaniments, instrumental music, and more. Featuring fun melodies to help children “get the wiggles out,” it also offers more peaceful songs that touch on many complex situations children face today. 

Click here to view samples or order online!

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