Learn
Professional Christian Educator Resources
CouRSe
We have free development classes for church staff and laity. Please click here to enroll in CouRSe if you want to learn more about our Children’s Ministry course Worship for All! It is free!
Christians Engaged in Faith Formation
CEF is an organization of laity and clergy who…
- work or volunteer in faith formation ministries
- connect with others in similar roles or ministries in peer learning environments
- work collaboratively within the organization to collect, create and share knowledge and experience within and between communities.
The mission of CEF is to develop leaders in faith formation to equip people of all ages to live as disciples of Jesus Christ.
For more information about National CEF membership, events and resources, go to cefumc.org.
Beyond! Handouts
Beyond! 2014
- Retreat – Mary Jane Pierce Norton
- Worship
- Beyond Imagination
- Box Clock Countdown
- Juice Box Christian (video short)
- Beyond Me
- God Pie (video short)
- Beyond Here. Beyond Now.
- Change the World (video short)
- God of this City Arkansas (music video)
- Beyond Imagination
- Created by God – Karen Anderson
- Games – Jeremy Carter
- KidMin 101 – Mary Calcote
- Lent Make and Take – Karen Swales
- Methodist Family Health 2014 VBS Mission Packet – Maggie Beeler
- Special Needs Ministry – Shannon May
- PowerLab Science Lessons – Kristin Ellis
Beyond! 2015
- Pre-Conference – Mark Burrows
- Worship
- Prayer/Devotionals
- Administration
- KidMin 101 – Penny Lee
- Marketing Your Ministry – Sean Dunbar
- Curriculum
- Created by God – Karen Anderson
- Curriculum: Choose It and Use It – Jeremy Carter
- Missions/Outreach
- ARUMC Kidz Mission/Outreach Pinterest Page
- Destination: Mission – Denni Palmer
- Destination: Mission Facebook Page
- Dover’s Child Hunger Initiative – Roy Beth Kelley
- Additional Resources
- Safe Sanctuaries®
- Safe Sanctuaries® in a Virtual World – Karen Swales
- Book available here (Amazon)
- Safe Sanctuaries® in a Virtual World – Karen Swales
- Special Needs Ministry
- ARUMC Kidz Special Needs Ministry Pinterest Page
- ASD 101 – Tracy Whelan
Beyond! 2016
- Keynote Speaker – Tanya Eustace
- Arkansas Conference Camping Ministries – Michelle Moore
- Arkansas Conference Children’s Ministries – Karen Swales
- Created by God – John Shirron
- Destination: Mission – Laura Stinnett and Denni Palmer
- Methodist Family Health
- Mt. Sequoyah Summer Camps – Denni Palmer
- Pack Shack – Bret Raymond
- Prayer Stations – Karen Swales
- Safe Sanctuaries – Karen Swales
- Tween Ministry – Pam Snider
Beyond! 2017
- Keynote Speaker – Melissa Cooper
- Workshops
- Cuba Volunteers in Mission – Nechi Fullerton
- Helping Children Worship – Tammy Felder
- Prayer Stations – Karen Swales
Beyond! 2018
Keynote Speaker – Melanie Gordon
- What Every Child Should Experience in UMC (link to entire document)
Arkansas’ Ministries for and with Children
- 200,000 More Reasons
- Camping Ministries
- More information: arumc.org/our-ministries/camping-and-retreat-ministries
- Individual Camp Websites:
- Cokesbury
- Facebook: facebook.com/Cokesbury
- VBS Facebook: facebook.com/CokesburyVBS
- Website: cokesbury.com
- Methodist Family Health
- Facebook: facebook.com/methodistfamilyhealth
- Website: methodistfamily.org
- Safe Sanctuaries
- More information: arumc.org/our-resources/safe-sanctuaries
- Link on Discipleship Ministries website: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/leadership-resources/safe-sanctuaries
- Brochure
- Wonderfully Made (formerly Created by God)
International/Interfaith Ministries
- Mission: Cuba!
- Interfaith Friendship Camp of Central Arkansas
- Facebook: facebook.com/friendshipcampofcentralarkansas
- More information (ITSSM): theinterfaithcenter.org/friendship-camp
- More information (ARUMC): arumc.org/our-ministries/childrens-ministry/teach/
Miscellaneous Resources
- Opening Worship PowerPoint
- Video links for Opening Worship
Beyond! 2019
- Marilyn Sharpe Ministries
- Faith Formation with Melinda Shunk
- Interactive Prayers
Beyond 2021
- Children First
- Racial Inclusion in Early Childhood Education (coming soon)
- From Pandemic and Beyond: Caring for Families and Children
- Caring for Families Going Through Divorce
- “Something Happened In Our Town”
- Know Your Gospel Discipleship
- Disability Ministry
General Resources for Ministry
Online Freebies
Please Note: Always check each site’s TOU (Terms of Use) for use of photos, graphics, clip art and more. Just because something is on the internet, does not mean it’s available for use! (Ethics matter!) You can read more about copyright issues at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright. Another great article about plagiarism & the church can be found via SermonCentral.com. Meant for sermons (written or spoken), but the same principles and thoughts work everything related to ministry!
Fonts
- dafont.com
A huge collection of free, fun and funky fonts for every occasion. (Each font has its own TOU. Remember to respect it!)
Graphics
- phillipmartin.info/clipart/homepage.htm
This site includes graphics for just about every imaginable area. Cute and colorful! - ebibleteacher.com/images.html
This site includes maps, photos and PowerPoint backgrounds. - creationswap.com/gallery
This site includes multimedia graphics; many of which are free.