How did we ever do KidMin without the internet? Better yet, how did we do ANYTHING without the internet? There are so many resources online that can help KidMin leaders reach kids and families with the Gospel. Unfortunately, the internet is BIG! How big? Currently, 4.43 billion pages big. And it approximately doubles in size every 2 years. That can make finding those resources tough! Not to worry, though. I'm going to help you cut through some of that digital clutter by telling you 7 of my favorite online resources that can help you KidMin better. 1. Freepik
site: freepik.com
cost: free, paid option $7.50/month for 12 months
Freepik is exactly what it sounds like. It's a huge resource of downloadable pictures, vectors, and illustrations. The images are free, although you have to give credit to the author when posting the images online. I have a paid account which allows me to forgo giving credit and opens up even more images. 9 times out of 10, I can find what I'm looking for on Freepik. For example, the computer and mouse in the title image to this post--it's from Freepik.
2. Deeper KidMin
site: deeperkidmin.com
cost: free, paid options vary per product
This is the brainchild of Brittany Nelson. She's a KidMin rockstar who posts tons of free KidMin downloadables--games, activities, object lessons, admin forms, volunteer resources, VBS stuff, and more. Coming soon, Deeper KidMin will be launching a marketplace where KidMin leaders (like yourself) can post and sell original materials.
3. Audacity
cost: free
Audacity is a free, downloadable, easy to use audio recording and editing software. It works for both Windows and Mac OS X. There's a slight learning curve early on, but considering how complicated audio editing can be, Audacity is surprisingly intuitive and easy to navigate. The native export file is .wav, but you can easily convert it to .mp3 within Audacity. 4. Canva
site: canva.com
cost: free, paid option $9.95/month for 12 months
Canva's drag and drop features allow you to easily create amazing graphics, social media posts, presentations, documents, and more. They have thousands of professionally designed templates to get you started, but from there you can edit things to suit your needs. The free version will most likely meet your needs, but if you require more images and functionality, you can sign up for the paid version.
5. Kidology
site: kidology.org
cost: free, paid option $10/month
Kidology is your one-stop for all things KidMin related. It's almost impossible to describe everything you can find on Kidology, but here's a sample--object lessons, holiday ideas, games, puppet scripts, gospel magic, training videos, crafts, and much, much more. Karl Bastian (a.k.a. the Kidologist) also blogs and podcasts on a regular basis. The free starter membership will give you limited access, but you can get an all-access membership for only $10/month. 6. PDF Candy
site: pdfcandy.com
cost: free
If you have curriculum or other documents that come in .pdf format and you need to edit them, PDF Candy is the way to go. It's totally free, very easy to use, and converts to almost any file type. As with most PDF converters, it's not perfect, especially if the doc has a lot of images, but it's better than any other converter I've used. Here's another option: use a curriculum like GO! that comes in an editable file. Problem solved!
7. imdavidrausch.com
site: You're there!
cost: free
Obviously, you've already discovered this one, but if you don't get my emails, you should subscribe so you can get all of my free content straight to your inbox. If you want to do KidMin better, I want to help! You can subscribe here. Overrated: Pinterest
site: I think you know it.
cost: hours of your time and a giant headache
Did you just gasp? I'll bet you gasped! I know I'm an outlier on this one, but I don't find Pinterest as useful as most people. I find it clunky and I seem to click on an endless number of links trying to get the original article. And for every 1 good idea I find, I end up chasing 9 rabbits down an endless hole to the deep recesses of the internet. When I stop relying on other people's "good ideas," I usually discover better ideas inside my own brain.