I love children’s ministry conferences. I love checking out all the new products and ideas, hearing what others doing in different places, and rubbing shoulders with people who understand the unique challenges and rewards that come with working in the realm of children’s ministry. Plus you get to meet some people you have previously only networked with on Facebook or Kidology.

The recent Children’s Ministry Expo — which took place July 15-16 — had all these facets but with some very different twists. While there were some learning moments, like the Sit-ins and the Scoops, this conference was not really a conference but primarily a place to check out a ton of different resources available to children’s ministry peeps. This was the first time I was on the exhibitor side of things, so it was a new perspective for me. I got to meet tons more people than I normally do, and it was so great to hear how God is working in their lives and calling new people into the field of children’s ministry.

However I didn’t get a chance to check out as many of the other booths as I normally do, and see all the great tools, trinkets and toys at our disposal! My wife got to walk around with our kids more, so she told me some cool things. One booth, Warrior316, talked about their upcoming launch of some amazing online gaming for kids. Another booth gave a glimpse of a cool new virtual puppetry (think “Turtle Talk with Crush” or the “Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor” if you have been to Walt Disney World). The River’s Edge booth had some fun new science tricks.

The best thing about the CMExpo for me was being able to  tell people about Kidology’s newest endeavor – Kidology to Go. I loved talking to kid’s pastors whose faces lighted up with excitement about the possibility of a quality children’s ministry training coming to their church at a very affordable cost. After 18 years of being a children’s pastor, I know first hand the desire to bring in some quality outside training for my leaders and volunteers. I also understand that sometimes the cost is just too prohibitive, especially in a down economy. This is my passion with Kidology to Go. To help ignite an excitement in children’s ministries across North America, to bring some great ideas and some practical helps to those who minister “in the trenches” to kids and their families, without breaking anyone’s budget for the next three years.

I think this one of the reason’s the CMExpo was a success in its first year. People are craving new ideas, some training and encouragement, but they need it at an affordable cost. What a winning combination!

If you missed it, you can check out our Twitter feed, or the pics from our Twitpics!