KidMin with Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia

In this last episode of 2023, Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia are prayerfully going into this Christmas season asking God to orient our hearts away from the busyness of the season and find a worshipful and loving way to focus on God and share Him with our people.   Friends, thank you for all of the encouragement and support you have shown us this year!! We look forward to spending time with you again in...

Children's ministry is so busy during the holiday season. Join Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia as they discuss some things we can do to prepare our ministry so we can focus our hearts and minds on Jesus.   #kidmin #childrensministry #preschoolministry #christmaschallenges #christmasevents #planning #administration

A time may come where we find ourselves in need of an extended leave of absence from our ministry. Whether it is unplanned like an illness or family emergency…or a planned leave for a sabbatical or maternity leave…there are many ways we can prepare our staff and volunteers to keep the ministry running smoothly in our absence.   Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia are excited to be talking with Lauren Jackson...

Today Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia are sharing their Thanksgiving thoughts. Life has been busy and stressful…and that can be how we find the weeks leading up to the holidays in children's ministry. This week provides us the wonderful opportunity to share joy, love, and peace to our kids and their families…and to take a moment to remember God's Word and His faithfulness.   #kidmin #preschoolministry #c...

How can we help teachers and leaders that serve in our KidMin create and maintain a positive and effective classroom environment? Welcome to the second part of our discussion about Basic Classroom Management. This week Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia share strategies for handling big emotions, discuss a Calm, Care, Coaching process learned from the Reach Hurting Kids Institute, and talk about how to thin...

There are many challenges when leading any classroom and when you have children for such a short time in church each week the challenges can be even greater. In this episode, Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia discuss how teachers can create the basic foundation for classroom management by providing a positive teaching environment, engaging students, setting expectations, and developing strategies to minimi...

Every child is created by God uniquely. They have special gifts, talents, and ways they naturally learn. Kicking off a new series (that will not appear in any specific order) Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia talk about 8 special ways to learn based on research done on Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner. They begin this series with information on how Kinesthetic learners process information and give...

The constant struggle in Preschool and Children's Ministry is not only finding the right people to volunteer in the right position but also helping them stay. Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia discuss the basic things we can do to help retain our volunteers and encourage them to commit to being a key part of the ministry.   #kidmin #preschoolministry #childrensministry #recruitment #retention #volunteers #...

Sometimes it is the small things that make the biggest impact. In today's episode Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia share 5 Little Things that can help you make connections and build relationships in your ministry with the kids and church families.   #kidmin #childrensminstry #preschoolministry #buildingrelationships #administration

Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia pull out all of their favorite Bible Skills Activities to share with you this week. These are easy to prepare games that focus on Bible verses and Books of the Bible - created with inexpensive materials that can help you share the Word of God with Preschoolers and Elementary aged kids.   #kidmin #preschoolministry #childrensministry #bibleskills #Biblegames     Be sure to...

What do we do when we face challenges in our ministry and are not sure what to do next? We all find ourselves in seasons of waiting sometimes in our lives and ministry…they may be short or longer that we expected…either way it is hard waiting on directions from God. This week Val and Virginia discuss what they are learning about waiting and how to discover the next right thing to do.   #kidmin #pr...

None of us are going to be in our leadership position forever…when God leads us to our next place of service it is important to be prepared to leave well. Join Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia for Part 2 as they continue to discuss how to prepare our ministry, our church family, and ourselves for this inevitable transition.   David is a pastor in Macon, GA with his wife Liz and son Caleb. With over 15 yea...

None of us are going to be in our leadership position forever…when God leads us to our next place of service it is important to be prepared to leave well. Join Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia as they discuss how to prepare our ministry, our church family, and ourselves for this inevitable transition.   David is a pastor in Macon, GA with his wife Liz and son Caleb. With over 15 years of experience in min...

Building relationships as an adult is not always easy, especially if you are an introvert or have an insanely busy schedule. Today, Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia talk about how important it is in KidMin to be intentional about finding support, encouragement, accountability, and a person you can trust just when you need to vent.   #kidmin #preschoolministry #childrensministry #networking #mentors #suppo...

Join Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia this week as they discuss our identity in Christ, the stress often found in Children's Ministry, and how important it is to protect our personal relationship with God.   #kidmin #childrensministry #preschoolministry #stress #identity #relationshipwithGod #spiritualgrowth #worship

Every church has a different philosophy and design for kid's worship. Whether your church has a dedicated children's worship service or if the kids worship with their families, listen in as Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia discuss how important it is to be intentional with every minute we have with our kids - from birth until they are ready to move into student ministry.   #kidmin #childrensminsitry #pres...

Last week we discussed preschool ministry…this week we are sharing advice with directors of children's ministry. Whether you have been doing this for a while or it's your first week...listen in as Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia discuss all of the tips they give to new preschool ministry leaders just starting out.   #kidmin  #childrensministry #administration

No matter how much experience you may have…that first day in your new office as the director of a preschool ministry will be overwhelming…it is hard to know where to start. Whether you have been doing this for a while or it's your first week...listen in as Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia discuss all of the advice they give to new preschool ministry leaders when they are just starting out.   #kidmin #pres...

New notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils, the smell of a new box of crayons…it is time to get ready to go back to school!! We are all preparing to restart programs that have been on a break during the summer, planning promotion Sunday, and trying to support our families as they kick off a new school year. Listen in as Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia discuss how they prepare for the return of the school y...

Welcome friends! Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia are back from a very busy summer break and we are excited to be chatting again! Join us as we discuss a few lessons learned from VBS and share some of the exciting things we have for you as we begin our second season!!   https://linktr.ee/kidmindoctor  

Summer is here! Listen in as Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia give some encouraging words, discuss some of the most popular episodes from the year, and share a few exciting updates.

Trigger Warning: We just wanted to let you know up front there is some discussion regarding trauma that mentions sexual abuse in this episode.   In this episode Dr. Virginia talks with Robert and Lori Crosby, authors of the book “Trauma-Informed Children’s Ministry: A Practical Guide to Reaching Hurting Kids.” Statistically, 2 out of 3 children will experience a traumatic event in their childhood....

This week Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia continue their conversation with Angela Lewton, a Child Safety Expert with KidCheck. Angela discusses how to create an Emergency Action Plan for your ministry including health and behavioral emergencies, important components to include in an EAP, and plans to maintain a safe environment.     Angela Lewton Child Safety Expert KidCheck   https://www.kidcheck.com/be...

Joining Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia today is Angela Lewton, a Child Safety Expert with KidCheck. Angela will be discussing how to create an Emergency Action Plan for your preschool and children's ministries. Having a written procedure for responding to emergencies is an important necessity that can be overwhelming to create. In Part 1 of our interview, Angela will discuss how to prepare for emergenci...

There are so many needs that must be met in children's ministry. Bible study, music, games, administration, scheduling, safety and security - the list goes on.  No one person can do everything. Join Dr. Val and Dr. Virginia as they discuss how we must serve our children and families through our strengths and God given talents. Learn how to serve as you in your ministry and recruit others to use th...