Even in the midst of Summer Jubilee (same Sunday summer schedule, but it looks different, and lets our regular, faithful Sunday Saints enjoy a season of rest and refreshment) and Vacation Bible School (ours is the first week of June), I’m already thinking about this fall, next year, and five years from now. So to get the collaboration ball rolling, we planned a Children’s Ministry Stakeholder Event. A stakeholder is any individual or group who can affect or is affected by the actions, decisions, policies, practices, or goals of the organization.

We will celebrate where the Lord has taken us, brainstorm to meet the needs of our continued growth, and dream for where we are headed over the next five years. Any and all stakeholders are invited. Dessert is included!

With giant post-it notes in hand, we discussed the parent survey which included the following questions:

What areas of McEachern Kids has your child(ren) participated in over the last year? (check all that apply)…then listed everything from Sunday school, Children’s Church, VBS, Winter Ball, Faith Milestones, everything.

What areas of McEachern Kids would you plan for your child(ren) to participate in over the next two years? (check all that apply)…then listed everything as in the first question.

Please ask your child, “What is one (or more) of your favorite parts of going to church?”

What areas would you want your child(ren) to participate in if offered by McEachern Kids? (check all that apply)…then listed Cherub Choir, McEachern Kids Glee Club, Manners & Etiquette, Self-defense, Book Club, 5th Grade Transitions (cell phone safety, anti-bullying, Wonderfully Made/faith & sexuality, healthy communications, etc.), Life Skills, Other (please elaborate).

What is the best way to communicate with you?…then listed church website, email, text, postcard, Facebook, Instagram, flier, newsletter, bulletin, other (please elaborate). Just to let you know: email is still king!

How can McEachern Kids help you share and build the faith of your family at home? (please elaborate)

How will you serve this year?

The event itself did not turn out the response numbers I had hoped, but those who did attend spoke well of the ministry and what was important to them, championed for their ‘if we only did one other thing outside of Sunday school and Children’s Church what would it be’, and what we can take a break from. I heard each one. As a result, it was more important HOW we did what we will do, and I am so grateful to have had a sounding board for the logistics.

“There is no reason for not having a published twelve-month calendar other than a lack of discipline. A published twelve-month calendar is a huge gift to your families. Parents plan their lives around sports calendars, school calendars, job deadlines, career commitments, and community events. If you don’t get your calendar into their hands, the best you can expect from families is their leftovers.” Annette Safstrom, from Sustainable Children’s Ministry

How have you begun to evaluate the past year and plan for the next school year?

The reason I sign songs is because I can’t sing. When I do sing, it’s usually loud and indeed a joyful noise. So when I came across Emily La Branche Delikat’s paperback “Piggyback Psalms: 100+ Bible Songs to Tunes You Know” at the resource center of North Georgia’s United Methodist Church’s Annual Conference last week, I thought, “Hey! THIS I can do!” The book releases today on Amazon!

According to Emily, a Piggyback Psalm is a song that is based on a sacred song or poem from the Book of Psalms and is written or paraphrased in simple language and set to a well-known tune. Because each Piggyback Psalm is set to tunes that are already stuck in my head, it is perfect for this ‘musically less-than Jesus gal.’ There are 62 songs based on 62 Psalms written to tunes like Mary Had a Little Lamb, She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain, The Ants Go Marching, Are You Sleeping?, Skip to My Lou, One Little Two Little, and more. I was surprised at the number of tunes that are already stuck in my head!

Singing the psalms make the liturgy and vocabulary sticky, interactive, and easy to remember. Emily didn’t just include the psalms of joy, but also offered small portions of psalms of lament and anger. I’m glad. I believe we do our kids a disservice when we let them think that following Jesus means it’s all kumbaya. Even the VBS we used this year shared every day that in the storms of life, Jesus is there. When we sing the Psalms, we teach our children that all emotions are important and healthy. An example would be “When Life is Hard” based on Psalm 14 sung to the tune: Rock-a-bye, Baby:

When life is hard and people are mean, I can trust that God is with me. God is my refuge and my strength. Soon I will rejoice and celebrate.

I bought two copies. One for me and one for my daughter to sing with the grands. I’ll probably get more copies, because this resource is fabulous. Thank you Emily for writing, and Abingdon Press for publishing, this resource!

Bonus: In the back of the book, there is an index to align the Piggyback Psalm with the Revised Common Lectionary. There is also a tune index just in case one of the tunes just gets stuck in your head and it’s one of your favorites!

“You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.” Psalm 118:28

Hannah Harwood, Director of Children’s Ministries serving at Sam Jones United Methodist Church, Cartersville, Georgia is this week’s guest blogger.  Hannah was the Campus Ministry Intern at Reinhardt University when we first met. My daughter followed in her footsteps and we’ve been connected ever since.

I am currently in a very busy season serving in my first full-time Children’s Director position. It has been a learning experience navigating the ropes of a new position as well as being mom to a very precious Kindergartner. The other day I had a light bulb or face-palm moment. I had just finished leading a chapel on John 15:5 and was talking with one of our children’s ministry leaders. He happened to mention that he had a whole field of grape vines. He went on to discuss a lesson he had learned when he first started planting grape vines. In the winter months he had a tendency to plant several new vines and because they were so small and easy he would plant several more than expected. However, by the summer months the vines were huge and needed pruning and daily care. His neat and orderly rows of vines had turned into a jungle.

Immediately I realized how quickly I seem to fall into the grape vine trap when it comes to ministry and even my personal life. I LOVE to dream about ministry and enjoy brainstorming and creating new programs. I often carry around my dream journal as I write down different ideas that I get from a podcast or conversation with another Kidmin Champion. Surely something good like a new program or new great idea can’t be a bad thing…. Right? But just like the grape vines needed daily care and pruning so do the programs in our ministries. When we are dreaming and thinking of new ideas in those calm-er seasons during the year it is very easy to think that we can handle adding even more to our and our church families’ plates. In most situations projects can seem very small and simple in the beginning.  As more details get added and volunteers provide needed feedback what took such a small portion of our to-do list is now taking up more and more time, energy, and resources.

Looking back at John 15 we can find the answer to the age-old question of when to say, “No” and when to say, “Yes”. We find the section of scripture in the midst of advice Jesus is giving to his disciples prior to being arrested and crucified.

Jesus says to his disciples in verse 16 and 17 “You did not chose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: love each other.”

I believe that Children’s Ministry is a calling. A very crucial and important one. We have to remember that because we were called; our command is to bear fruit. When our schedules begin to look like jungles and need pruning we have to ask ourselves, “Does this program bear fruit? Is it helping connect our children and their families to Jesus? Is it fruit that will last or one more thing on our to-do list?”

At the close of my conversation, Mr. J turned to me and said “don’t forget to ask for help if you need someone to take care of different fruits.”  I think my grapevines are going to do just fine and I can’t wait to see the amazing things GOD does.

I am the vine: you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Thanks, Hannah! If you’d like to connect with Hannah, reach out at hccoady@gmail.com.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Congratulations, Michelle McLeroy! Michelle is the winner of both Glenys Nellist’s books from last week’s book review and giveaway.

In preparing for a Children’s Ministry Stakeholder’s Meeting, I asked a 2nd grader what were her favorite parts of church over the last year. Her response surprised me. She replied, “When we read aloud books.” There are many more flashy things we do, but she shared immediately how we end our time in Children’s Church most Sundays. So when I heard Glenys Nellist had written two new rhyming books focused on mommies and daddies, I picked up several copies right away and she didn’t disappoint.

Published by Zonderkidz, these two irresistible padded-covered board books are a MUST for any child’s and children’s ministry library. In celebration of Father’s Day, I’ll focus this review of God Made Daddy Special. With a lilting rhythm, children will hear of the precious characteristics of a polar bear, skunk (my personal favorite because it is laugh-out-loud funny), giraffe, octopus, lion, flamingo, bat, and elephant. The last pages elaborate on human Daddies. I LOVE books that share the laughter, playfulness, joy, strength, and humor of daddies with their kids. Even a pre-teen enjoys hearing the reminders that their dads are amazing creations of God and ‘a precious gift to me.’

Both books are illustrated by Estelle Corke, who uses traditional paints and watercolors making every parent-animal an absolute visual delight. The images and even the print was intentional: The heart-shaped ‘O’ on the cover of God Made Mommy Special is the publisher’s response to Glenys being from England. In England, they don’t call Moms ‘Mom’, but rather ‘Mum’ making the marketing on both sides of the ocean relative.

Glenys is indeed an accomplished author of children’s books pointing families to the Lord. Might there be something on the horizon about Grandmothers and Grandfathers? This Mimi would be thrilled. Stay tuned!

Want to get BOTH books for your library for free? Comment below with what you’ve planned to do for your Dads and their kids in your ministry with children. We’ll be enjoying donuts with Dad in the Children’s Welcome Center. This pair of books are perfect for a preschool classroom, too. You must be over 18 years old and have a US street address. The giveaway ends on Tuesday, June 12. I’ll announce the winner on that day. Thanks, Glenys! Thanks, Zonderkidz!

To connect with Author Glenys Nellist, find her across various social media @GlenysNellist and visit her website. To connect with Illustrator Estelle Corke, check out her Facebook page.

“Every good and perfect gift is from God.” James 1:17