http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/f/fuzionfrenzy/

It combines the qualities of being an extremely simple game to control (I play it with 5 year olds) as well as being highly entertaining.  It includes more than 45 mini-games which can be played with 1-4 players.  It is a game that only last 1-2 minutes with a clear 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th display which makes it easy to rotate players quickly enabling your whole children’s ministry to be involved.

It is also a great social game for your leaders…Dave Wakerley and I have a fierce rivalry when it comes to this game.  Now usually I am not one to boast, however, after one year of Dave being the undesputed champion of Twisted System (one of the mini-games) I have finally climbed my way back from a great form slump to sieze the record by posting a massive score of 180 on twisted system!  I know, I know.  The word proud doesn’t do justice to the feelings I am having!!!

If you have posted a massive score on this game please let us no as Dave needs some encouragement that I can be beaten!  You could also enter a comment offering Dave some sypathy regarding his massive defeat!

Also as Dave mentioned we are just about to launch into Kids Fest and our album recording on the day.  To check out a little bit about it click on the link.

http://www2.hillsong.com/kids/default.asp?pid=1038

This morning I attended the funeral of a child who died just minutes after being born three months premature.  To see the love the parents showed towards that child and the impact his little life has had on our world in such a brief time was absolutely amazing!

This event really made me sit back and gain perspective on this amazing gift we have of life.  Not only did I think about my life but the thousands of young lives I come into contact with every week.  It inspired me to keep living for something bigger then myself.  Keep sacrificing so I can see others find the same life I have found in Christ Jesus.  Keep loving even when I don’t feel like it because I know the value of one life!

I know that next time I have another night out ministering to children or meeting with leaders that it’s all worth it.  Next time I have to give up my day off to Pastor my kids that I have not wasted my time.  Next time I ask my self the question “Why do I do what I do?”  I will quickly answer with confidence “I do it because God has given me the revelation of the value of one life!”.

We as ministers to children are truely blessed and have the greatest opportunity to take the kingdom of God forward.  Be excited that you are part of changing this world and ALWAYS REMEMBER WHY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO!

Obviously I can’t be at two places at once and cannot personally run 10 programs so to take our ministry forward I have a Key Team of 14 people who oversee either a service each or a specific area of our ministry such as New People or Pastoral Care.

 The one thing however that caught my attention last week was the type of people I am building on.  Naturally when you are looking for someone to step up and carry the extra load of your children’s ministry you look for someone with a passion for children but also someone who has enough free time to come in to the office and make things happen mid week.  If this is the case then I would say you are closing your eyes to the very people that God has placed in your church who can take your ministry forward!  That’s right, the biggest leadership lesson I have learnt in my 4 years of ministry is DON’T NOT ASK PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY ARE BUSY!!!

Out of all my services the four that are run by business owners who work more then most and also have families are the four services I never have to worry about. 

So my challenge to the Chilrdren’s Leaders and Pastors out there is this - Find the most successful business person you know that is also passionate about chiuldren, sell the vision that you have for your ministry to them, get them passionate about the cause and give them an area to own, then sit back and watch the benefits in your ministry.

 Note: This can only be done by a secure leader as this type of person will question any process that doesn’t work and ask 1 million questions all in the quest to make your ministry better!  Only take this challenge if you want things to move forward and are prepared to grow!

In my opinion one of the most important aspects of communicating to children is FUN. In order to capture a childs attention and maintain it throughout a lesson one must take into account how entertaining you are to listen to. Obviously every communicator is different and we don’t all have to be hillariously funny or amazingly crazy but we do all need to be creative in how we communicate so that children listen and learn!

Lately I have been experimenting with a communication style that would be best known as Toy Box Tales. I got this from Ps Karl Bastian after veiwing his website. Basically you take toys and get them to act out the story you are telling to the children. If you have a smaller number of kids you can just do it directly in front of the children, however if you have a large group they will not all be able to see. This is where the technical part comes in. In order to allow all children to see and to avoid a riot of kids trying to push to the front you can use a normal video camera and with the right equipment can link it to your projector screen so all can see on the screens. To see how this is done simply click on the following link.

Like most of you out there, when I started I didn’t have a full set of toys with a background or anything so I just connected with a family from my church who have stacks of toys and planned my lessons by using their toys. When I was on stage however I referred to them all as MY TOYS because kids want me to be into the same things as them…little tip - never refer to the toys you use as your childs toys or a friends toys they must always be YOUR TOYS…this helps you connect with kids!

I ended up getting a castle as a background and used a heap of his figurines and spoke about the armour of God…it was a blast and worked brilliantly! I attempted to record it but like I said i’m prehistoric when it comes to technical things so made a mistake and couldn’t film it! Next time I record it and will post it on the blog for you all to see.

This is in normal time

This is in slow motion

This is a still photo just on initiation of the bolt..
Notice the ground and air bolt feeder strike at the same time.

Well, now that i’m a Children’s Pastor I thought it was about time for me to give making bad jokes a go so here are a few…

1. Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married.
The ceremony wasn’t much, but the reception was excellent.

5. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but
I couldn’t find any.

And finally my recent favourite…

6. A man from New Zealand was recently interviewed after breaking his back from jumping off a cliff holding a chicken by the legs. When asked why he was doing such an outrageous thing he replied “Well i’ve always wanted to go HENGLIDING!”

Well there you have it. My jokes are just as bad as the next Pastor but I know that many of you will cut and paste these on emails to your friends.

As Dave mentioned I’m Nathan McLean the Primary Age Children’s Pastor of Hillsong Church - Hills Campus.

I absolutely love children and Children’s Ministry and could do it for the rest of my life, so that’s why Dave has me joining his blog. I’m not as technical as Dave but I am passionate about leadership and seeing the next generation rise up with a healthy love for God and His Church!

Yes I am getting married in Feb 06 to the most beautiful woman in the world! Jess is the Youth Administrator on the Hills campus for our Youth Ministry, Hillsong United!

Here’s a picture of her and I on the day I proposed to her:

isn’t she beautiful!

Well that’s it for now…I look forward to posting more soon.