God created us uniquely for a specific purpose so that we could create a unique world around us! The potential that the Lord has invested in us is infinitely great. Religion, not knowing the Lord personally, following people's opinions and beliefs, is what has taken that away from us. The Holy Spirit reveals this buried gift in you! He gives you the strength to move, create, win, and rejoice in sorrow! He who abides in Him will not grow weary or faint!

Whoever controls the development of the minds of the children controls the next generation. From the moment children are born into this world, certain forces are at work influencing their physical and spiritual development. For this reason, both the church and the world actively engage in the battle for the right to educate children and young adults.  In the church, teachers must understand first, the importance of their own education. Do we remember the primary goal of education as it is explained by Jesus? Do we invest enough time in our own education? Do the children follow our example as it is described in Luke 6:40?

Our ministry is a marathon, not a sprint. Sadly we have brothers and sisters that start off with excitement, passion, and clarity but over time they find themselves exhausted, confused, and no longer wanting to serve. We will discuss Biblical principles that God put in place to keep us going for the long run. My desire and hope is for the truth to set us free from the burdens we may be carrying and to be equipped to serve God with joy in the place He wants us to be. 

Camp ministry is one of the strongest ways to spread the Gospel into the lives of kids and teens. It is a short experience, yet the memories will last a lifetime and can bring crucial changes into the lives of those who attend. This workshop will focus on discussing strategies to start this ministry in your church. You will discover how to find the best locations, how to get your church involved, form a team, develop a program, and follow the laws and rules of the country in which we live.  

Biblical truth - part of the lesson that teaches Biblical doctrine based on a story or several texts of Scripture. The degree to which children learn and apply Biblical truth effectively depends on the teacher's ability to create, design, prepare and conduct a lesson with enthusiasm and inspiration. It is necessary for a teacher to skillfully combine spiritual and captivating components of the lesson, and to know and apply the basic rules and steps for conducting a professional lesson.

Capturing Kids Hearts consists of key components to effective classroom management, which is one of the most powerful factors in affecting student outcomes. Here you will find many useful and positive strategies to manage student behaviors and attitudes during instructional time.

As we work with teens, we see the many challenges they face, whether it’s their identity, their struggle with faith, or family hardships. How can we walk alongside them, help carry their burdens, and encourage them to be disciples of Christ? How do we equip them to lead and disciple others?  In this workshop, you will learn to walk alongside these teens, encourage them to love God, inspire them to serve, and equip them to lead the next generation.  

Each of us has been given a gift from God--our personalities. Did you know that your personality style influences how you teach? This workshop will help you understand the way God created you and why you tend to do things the way you do, so that you can better understand your students and relate to them. We will close out the session with some practical tips for how you can meet your students’ needs to be successful in your class.

Who does most of the thinking and talking in your classroom?  If it is you, have you wondered how to place some ownership on your students? During this workshop, we will explore ways to engage all students in productive conversations and not just with a teacher but with each other!  We will analyze barriers that prohibit students from participating and brainstorm ways to remove the barriers. 

The importance of a wholehearted relationship with God when mentoring teens. 

What makes ministry to teens effective? What is the most important thing that teens need? What does a leader's heart have to look like, to be able to make the biggest impact on a teen's life? How to effectively reach the hearts of your teens in order to build the right foundation for their future life? How do you become a friend for your teens, someone they can open their hearts to?

The Heavenly Father has called you to work with a child’s soul. Once you begin, you notice that one heart is like a blossoming flower, another is like a prickly hedgehog,  and the third is like a heavy stone. How do you understand everyone? After all, by understanding the child, you can find the key to his heart. When opening the door of a child’s heart, you can become a conductor of the power of the Lord for the salvation and growth in God of a young soul! And that is the purpose of your calling. In this seminar, we will examine the wise laws of development laid down by the heavenly Father in different periods of childhood: laws of development of a young child’s soul (ages 3-6), laws of development of the child’s soul (ages 7-10), and laws of development of the soul in adolescence (ages 11-16).

Research suggests that play is a critical factor in a child’s development. Today, natural play has been affected by technology. Video/computer games have become the top priority for children when choosing to play. In this workshop, we will discuss natural development through play, how modern play affects a child’s physical, emotional, and intellectual health, and how we can apply and incorporate modern play into our Sunday school programs, effectively. This workshop will provide resources that can be applied in your ministry. 

Thorough preparation and effective execution of a detailed lesson plan is critical to make each lesson comprehensible. These techniques, skills, and practices used throughout the various parts of a lesson will create a class that flows smoothly. In this workshop, you will see an example of a Sunday school lesson for children ages 7-9. Every attendee will receive a detailed lesson plan that organizes the Sunday School lesson. This demonstration will immerse you into a Sunday school classroom specifically designed for children ages 7-9 and demonstrate important teaching skills.

Careful preparation and effective execution of a detailed lesson plan is critical to make each lesson memorable. The techniques, skills, and practices used throughout the various parts of a lesson will create a class that flows smoothly and seamlessly. In this workshop, you will see an example of a Sunday school lesson for children ages 10-11. Every attendee will receive a lesson plan to help them understand the various parts of the presented lesson. This demonstration will immerse you into a Sunday school classroom designed for the age group mentioned above.

Have you ever had a hard time keeping your students’ attention throughout your lesson? This workshop will explore why a teacher would need to use something other than the Bible, what visual aids God uses, as well as check out the different types of visual aids you can incorporate into your lessons.

Want your church to sing? Then, you must train them when they are still children! Kids should understand the value of worshiping God from a young age, build up this good habit and practice it once they grow up. This workshop will provide the necessary resources to utilize in your church. Those who attend will be able to equip themselves with practical ideas, helpful tools, and creative strategies to help lead and teach with confidence.

One of the most important parts of any project is preparation. Camp preparation and organization are no different. Taking the right steps in the organization of a camp and effectively preparing for camp will ensure its success. This workshop will focus on sharing our camp experience at Smirna Children’s Ministry. It will focus on organizing and executing summer kids’ camps. This last year, our camp included 98 kids, 50+ staff, 6 teams, 4 days (3 nights), and the involvement of church members and parents. 

God calls every person to fulfill His perfect will. We always have a choice. To stay in the goodwill. To walk after Him in His calling is to walk, not stand still, but to walk, fight, and win. Not to be afraid to make mistakes, which will always happen. But His promises are true - He will be with us. Joshua son of Nun is a bright example of knowing the Perfect will, knowing His voice, obedience and mistakes, life in defeat and in victories. My personal examples, mistakes and victories will be highlighted in this topic. 

The central aspect of children’s ministry is the teaching of the Word of God. It is much easier to study and memorize during a lesson when there is a structure; it is especially vital for the effective study of the Word of God. How can you gain interest in a lesson? Which verse should be used? How do you solidify learned material and, most importantly, how do you practically apply the spiritual truths in a student’s life? At this seminar, we will examine how to properly structure a lesson and gain answers to the questions raised above. Remember, our goal is not only to beautifully tell the biblical story but to change the life of our students. Regardless of your experience in children’s ministry, this seminar will help recall what was already learned and teach you something new.

A teacher is a person who is guided by the Holy Spirit to teach the truth of God's Word to children. Teacher transfers knowledge and experience, and influences the development of the child or teenager. This is a person who is a role model, followed and imitated by students, whose opinion is taken into account, and whose ideas are sought to be fulfilled. A teacher needs to know and remember the main areas of his/her influence on the student during the process of teaching Biblical truths. 

Every Sunday school lesson requires dedicated preparation time to ensure a successful and effective lesson. Every teacher, hoping to bring lasting change into the lives of the children they affect, needs to consciously set aside time for lesson preparation. Never forget that lesson preparation begins with your personal preparation and only then, the preparation of the necessary material. Based on personal experience, this workshop will address what needs to be prepared for each lesson. Come to be equipped with academic steps, suggestions, and advice on how to be ready to lead a lesson at Sunday school.

“Teach Like A Champion” (TLAC) offers effective teaching techniques to build confident teachers, engaged students, and positive classroom culture. TLAC techniques are powerful, concrete, specific, and easy to implement directly. In this workshop, prepare to learn how to encourage students to persist in their studies, follow classroom rules and stay engaged. Be ready to acquire skills for classroom management through your words and tone to communicate with students in a positive way. Come prepared to learn and apply TLAC techniques in your classroom.

Oxford Dictionary defines Leadership as “The action of leading a group of people or an organization.”  In this seminar, we will learn the most important traits of a leader and how to become a good leader for your teachers, helpers, and students.  We will focus on what it takes to not only be a good leader but to grow good leaders to follow us.  The only true way to be a good leader is to leave a great legacy for future leaders after yourself.  In the Bible, we read about many leaders, great and not-so-great.  My main focus will be to teach you to be a good leader and give you the skills you need to grow good leaders to follow after you.

How can we show children or teenagers the importance of the Bible in their lives? How to read the Bible, receive answers from God, grow spiritually, make the right decisions in your life, and how we can show this as an example to the ones we serve (children, teenagers, children's ministry workers). What to expect from the workshop: Answers to the questions listed above; Bible visual aids, making new friends, and testimonies. And most importantly, after this seminar, you will look at the Word of God with different eyes. 

In today’s day and age, children are under a wave of social experimentation exercised by the education system, government leaders, celebrities, media, friends, family members, and the list goes on. The social experiment is focused on the heart and mind of every human being. We see the effects of it in our society with the rise of suicides, violence, substance abuse, and hopelessness. This lays a heavy burden on families and the church! This workshop will give Sunday school teachers, teens/youth leaders the passion and tools to equip their students with practical Bible insight on why they matter in this world and to see themselves in the eyes of their Maker.