Archive 2007
Kids Prayer Summit 08[Jan 08]
Why Teach Children...[Feb 08]
Kids Prayer Q & A...[Mar 08]
In the News...[Apr 08]
Uniting in Prayer [May 08]
Jericho Prayer Walks [Jun 08]
Summons to Sacrifice [Jul 08]

 Archive 2007
Kids Prayer Summit 07[Jan 07]
Are They Too Young? [Feb 07]
Empower A Generation [Mar 07]
Kids Prayer In France [Apr 07]
What Is Ministry [May 07]
Global Day of Prayer... [Jun 07]
P.I.A. Summit 2007... [Jul 07]
Informed Prayer [Aug 07]
All Night Prayer-Part 2 [Sep 07]
Back-to-School Rally [Oct 07]
Kids Ex-Plosion [Nov 07]
7 Essentials Report 07 [Dec 07]

 Archive 2006
Kids Prayer Summit [Jan 06]
Bangladesh Report [Feb 06]
State of Kids Prayer [Mar 06]
Mixing It Up [Apr 06]
When Children Pray [May06]
High Schooler's Conf... [Jun06]
National SOP Report [Jul 06]
All Night Prayer [Aug 06]
Going Deeper [Sep 06]
A Global Call for Kids [Oct 06]
Healed by Simple ... [Nov 06]
7 Essentials Report ... [Dec 06]

 Archive 2005
Prophetic Words [Jan 05]
Deep Impact [Feb 05]
Why...Kids Prayer Min [Mar 05]
The Gift of Prayer [Apr 05]
Anna [May 05]
The Key [Jun 05]
Empowered Conf [Jul 05]
Who Will Pray...? [Aug 05]
The Joys of Waiting [Sep 05]
Saturday SOP [Oct 05]
Children at Risk [Nov 05]
Preschoolers & Prayer [Dec 05]

 Archive 2004
Kingdom Praying [Jan 04]
The Power of One [Feb 04]
Kids Prayer-Zimbabwe [Mar 04]
Shekinah Kids [Apr 04]
Prayer Giftings [May 04]
Update (March) [Jun 04]
Soul-Saving Prayer [Jul04]
Use Me too! [Aug 04]
KidsPrayer in Africa [Sep 04]
Intergen Prayer Mtg [Oct 04]
Kids Praise & Worship [Nov 04]
Intercession [Dec 04]

   Are you interested in starting a kids prayer ministry in your local church? Then finding out more about the Shekinah Kids curriculum may be a great place to start.
   I stumbled across this curriculum while at a national prayer conference in Colorado Springs. I went to a workshop that was to show me how to teach kids to pray. I'd been doing what I call "Missions Emphasis" praying with kids for about 5 years and was looking for something a little more substantial and different.
   When M'Linda began explaining her prayer class at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, I was hooked. She had tried a few recommended curriculums out there, but nothing seemed to grab the kids' attention for an extended length of time. Finally, she came up with a solution by preparing Scripture prayer cards and teaching kids to systematically begin learning to pray Scripture.
   As soon as she had copyrighted her curriculum, I bought it and tried it. I'm still using it today. What's so revolutionary about this curriculum? It's durability, ease of use, and kid-friendly activity.
   After about 6 months of using the curriculum in a limited way (30 minutes a week on Wednesday nights), I had the opportunity to see M'Linda's group of Shekinah Kids in action. I was relieved to find that her class worked a lot like mine. After setting out the Scripture Prayer cards, pens, and "paperwork," students are trained to be self-motivated and work with each other to obtain literally THOUSANDS of points in a race that usually lasts for three months. As you can imagine, a room of 4th-6th graders (curriculum is designed for 3rd-5th grades) working together can get very busy and sometimes a little loud. It's amazing to me (and at times difficult to accept) that these kids can do three things at once. As a mentor, I don't do much more than facilitate and keep an eye on the kids. Today, the class is held for 90 minutes each Wednesday night.
   We've been using this curriculum now for nearly 18 months and the kids are still enjoying it. They are just now catching a glimpse of the possibility of learning "all" the Scripture prayer cards (about 126 in all) and are beginning to push the envelope. Parents have been taking notice for the past six months and in the past three months, my Shekinah Kids group has received a standing invitation to pray for the missions offering in "Big Church" on the first Sunday of each month. This month, we are expecting at least eight to participate...we started in January with four.
   For those wanting to start a kids prayer ministry, I would suggest starting with a volunteer training program like the Shekinah Kids class, then have corporate prayer sessions with kids from K-6th grade where Shekinah Kids can assist and lead certain aspects of the session. Include elements of missions prayer to spice things up and don't neglect prayer requests that are close to home. Supplement the curriculum with other training and prayer tools that are available from some of the websites we link to.
   If you want to get started, now is a good time. Make an inquiry about starting such a programme from your Children's Leader or pastor. Obtain the curriculum, sign up volunteer students grades 3-5 (or 4-6), secure a room, pick a time, and start meeting.
   If you have any questions along the way, feel free to get in touch with some of us who have been doing kids prayer for a while. If you need a live demonstration, contact KidsPrayer.com staff to book someone who can come and personally assist you or make plans to visit a Shekinah Kids group to see it in action.
   The Shekinah Kids curriculum is available for ordering from their new website, www.shekinahkids.com.  

Submitted by: AC (c) 2004