Family Worship Resources Family Worship Resouces Email Newsletter
In This Issue: June 2005 
•   Welcome to the newsletter
•   Kidszone and Prayer Zone
•   FW site attracts record numbers of visitors
•   New article from Smile Puppet Ministry
•   Get into the Word - great reviews and response so far
•   More site updates coming soon, and some kids' wisdom to close
Welcome to the newsletter
It's been a while since we last sent a newsletter, so if you're a new subscriber then a very warm welcome. It's been a busy and exciting year so far and we've included an update on a number of areas below. Please do email any feedback, or better still post in the online forum where your comments can be shared more widely.

Visit the FW online forum

FW site attracts record numbers of visitors
As a non-profit, grassroots ministry, we're always amazed by the huge number of visitors to the website, so thanks for visiting. Perhaps the key reason for the popularity is the large number of free resources we provide, particularly the songs, with free MP3 and sheet music downloads, especially at a time when much of the Internet is moving to a "pay for content" model (which we have no intention of doing!)

The popularity of the site is demonstrated by a top ten listing in the UK's most visited christian websites, a high Google ranking (search for "worship" for example and the FW site appears in the first page of results), and in March this year, over 50,000 people visited the site, a new record. Thanks again for visiting the site, and do let us know how to keep it useful and engaging.

Check out the list of the most popular UK Christian websites

Get into the Word - great reviews and response so far
We're really excited about the response to the latest FW CD, "Get into the Word". If you haven't heard the songs from this recording yet, then do check them out. You can also read independent reivews of the CD, and see why one reviewer described it as "an excellent piece of work". Spring Harvest have already selected three of the songs for their best-selling "Kids Praise" series, and a number of the songs are finding their way into churches around the UK, the USA and worldwide.

As well as the songs and details of the fun interactive bonus CD that comes with the product, the CD mini-site features a great "online Bible bookcase", a link to our secure online shop where you can purchase the CD, and much more.

Check out the Word minisite

Get into the Word minisite
Kidszone and Prayer Zone
These are 2 really popular sections of the site, visited by hundreds of children daily. We wish we had more time to update the kidszone regularly, but one page we do keep on top of every week is the prayer zone.

If you ever have a moment to visit the prayer zone and check out some of the prayer requests from children and teenagers, then it can be a moving and rewarding experience. You can use the submission form on the page to add your own prayers, or words of encouragement to the children. Thanks in advance for your participation and prayers.

Check out the Prayer Zone

New article from Smile Puppet Ministry
We're really pleased to have a new article online, written by Ella Havell, director of Smile Puppet Ministry, based in Colchester, Essex here in the UK. Ella and the team have won numerous awards for their excellent ministry to schools and churches. Do check out the article, which describes how they have used a number of songs in particular ways. Also make sure you follow the link to the Smile website for more information on their activities.

Check out the new article

New article on puppets
More site updates coming soon, and some kids' wisdom to close
We're getting on top of updates to the site, and in particular have a large number of exciting new artists we're adding to the popular Songwriters' Showcase section. Plans are afoot for more articles, and perhaps even a blog section (any keen bloggers out there - please do drop me an email with any hot recommendations for blogging software - thanks!)

To close, here's some of my favourite kids' Sunday School answers:

Children's Sunday School wisdom:

- Noah's wife was called Joan of Ark
- Solomon had 300 wives and 700 porcupines
- A Christian should only have one wife - this is called monotony
- The 7th commandment is: Thou shalt not admit adultery
- Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day & a ball of fire by night
- Unleavened bread is bread with no ingredients

That's all for this edition - more in a month or two...

This newsletter is written by Mike Burn and is published by Family Worship Resources, London, UK. Copyright 2004, Mike Burn.

Inclusion of links and quotations does not imply full endorsement of the contents. The newsletter may be forwarded or reproduced in full or in part providing that the source is acknowledged.

Send comments or queries, or suggested articles or links for inclusion in future newsletters to MikeBurn@familyworship.org.uk

Thanks for reading, and if you've made it this far, or even if you just skipped to the end before hitting delete, blessings to you in Jesus' name

Mike
 FWR