In full disclosure, I like change. Change is evidence of the movement of the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is moving, I want to be in the middle of it.

I also like learning new things. The best way for learning new things is to check it out and try new things alongside other disciples who are trying new things.

At last Thursday night’s Family VBS we enjoyed the company of three kidmin leaders from a local church over an hour away who wanted to see what it looked like. They travelled together, arrived early, listened to me rattle on about loving our kids to Jesus and the spaghetti we throw at the wall to help Christian discipleship stick with our families ‘as they go’ (Deuteronomy 6) choosing deep over wide. They helped stage the event and chatted with our volunteer team before, during, and after. They praised and danced before the Lord with our families. They even stayed for the dine-out that followed to further debrief and enjoy some amazing fried okra.

Around that BBQ table we asked lots of questions of one another about what both churches were doing and family trends we were both discovering. There is nothing like the glowing countenance of kidmin leaders sharing how their team is knocking it out of the park. I’ll be heading their way for one of their family events with my team this fall.

I can read about stuff and even hear about stuff others are doing. And I do. I’m a visual learner and fascinated with logistics, timing, and church family dynamics. I see that best in-person, arriving early, staying late, and with other Jesus gals/guys who understand the WHY we do what we do as disciple-makers and not event planners.

I’ve served at other church’s VBSs after my own was ‘in the books’. We would meet at our monthly network lunch and make the summer tour to one another’s churches. It sharpened me as a disciple-maker, inspired me to think of other best practices, and the kidmin champion who led each church didn’t have to recruit for the area where I served because I was just as much over the top for her kids as I was with mine…and I was experienced. We didn’t share just resources and VBS backdrops. WE were the best shared resource for one another.

Christians are meant for community. Community connections inside and outside our own house, er church, make for better disciple-makers. Disciple-makers are meant for even a greater community of disciple-makers and we have to get out to make the most of it.

Get out. Make the connections. Take someone up on the invite to ‘come see’. Don’t wait for a conference. Just ask, “May I come see?” Get out of your own house and check out what others are doing. Arrive early. Stay late. Be fully-present. Learn all you can. Bring back what excites you. Be a blessing to one another with your ministry of presence. Be inspired by the most amazing Jesus guys and gals in their house and come home with ideas to edit your own stuff to excellence.

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” Luke 8:16

Ambassadors is the leadership team of 4th & 5th graders who serve in our local church. I offer training each August for new and experienced ambassadors. This was the jumping-off point for the Ambassador Road Trip.

The Ambassador Road Trip is a spring retreat for 4th & 5th graders born out of a faithful group of children’s ministry leaders’ desire to prepare students for future youth retreats and connect them to a greater Body of Christ than their own local church. Frankly, a middle schooler leaving unmentionables in the public bath house is devastating. For a 4th grader, it’s no big deal and just like home. There are so many life skills to learn when kids go on retreat for a night or two. 

The Ambassador Road Trip is held at Indian Springs State Park in Flovilla, Georgia. We arrive on Friday night, stopping for dinner on the way. We are housed in huge cabins and share several buildings on campus secure from other areas of the park.

Music and a large group gets the party started in the dining hall, well-lit to begin the habit of taking notes in the prepared handbook. We bring our own kitchen team and rotate serving and cleanup among the churches and students in attendance. Students discover what we’re eating at each meal by searching the scriptures on their own time as part of the handbook which makes for some interesting group time in the cabins before bed. Early to bed because sleep matters.

Saturday is filled with large group #2, workshops (worship art, group games, Bible study), lunch, discovery time, large group #3 to finish the night with sticks and s’mores and outdoor games like 4-square-in-the-air, etc. Sunday morning is breakfast, large group #4, cleanup, and dismissal before noon which gets my kids home by the time church lets out.

The Ambassador Road Trip is inexpensive at $100 person for two nights (covers all expenses with enough to make the State Park deposit for the following year) and the content is on a two-year cycle since it includes only two grade levels. I charge a little more to cover chaperones, gas, and Friday night dinner along the way.

Year #1 – AMBASSADOR acrostic

• Ambassadors based on 2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are Christ’s ambassadors.” We spread the letters over the four large groups, review before going on, look up every scripture, take notes in our handbooks.
• Workshops: Bible Ninja Skills, Worship (Lord’s Prayer/Gloria Patri focus learning sign language), Outdoor games, Worship Art (each workshop is designed by and presented by two kidmin leaders collaborating from different churches)
• Two hour discovery time (puttputt, hill climbing, walking, playing ball on the lawn, unstructured but planned) right after lunch.

Large group: What does an ambassador of Christ look like; practices we live out? Handbook fillins….
2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are Christ’s ambassadors.”
A – Arrive 30 minutes early to assignments (plenty of time to be ready) Luke 21:38
M – Mature/Can be trusted (dependable, punctual, enthusiastic without craziness, positive attitude/no complaining) Philippians 2:14
B – Bible readers (we pour out what we take in; are you reading your Bible regularly and attending weekly Sunday school?) 2 Timothy 3:16-17
A – Assist by practicing hospitality (kindness to a stranger) (Hi!, hand outs at end of services) Romans 12:13
S – Smile (lets others know you want to be here; makes the best impression on guests and those having a hard time) Philippians 4:4
S – Set up on Sundays, Tour of the Nativities, Christmas Eve readers and lit candle processionals, wherever I’m invited to help Luke 12:35
A – Assist the littles in the K5 & 1st grade Sunday school classrooms and special events Luke 18:16
D – Dress appropriately for the event (flip flops vs sneakers; awards ceremony/representatives; brush your teeth, no gum chewing; clean) 2 Corinthians 6:3
O – Open the doors…of conversation, of encouragement, and the real doors, too. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
R – Respond quickly with kindness; be aware of your surroundings and others 1 Peter 3:15

Year #2 -DISCIPLES based on Acts 11:26 “The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Christians = little Christs; Christians = Disciples = Christians

• We spread the letters over the four large groups, review before going on, look up every scripture, take notes in our handbooks.
• Workshops: Creed (Apostle’s Creed and learning sign language), Group games, Worship Art, Bible Ninja skills
• Two hour discovery time (puttputt, hill climbing, walking, playing ball on the lawn, unstructured but planned) right after lunch

Large group: What does a Christian disciple look like; practices we live out? Handbook fillins….
D – Declare Jesus Lord (in charge) of your life* – 1 Timothy 4:12
I – Invest your time in godly training – 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
S – Super willing to learn – 1 Timothy 3:14-15
C – Creative – Genesis 1:26-27
I – Involved in a gathering of believers – Hebrews 10:25
P – Prayerful in all things – Philippians 4:6-7
L – Leading others to become disciples – 2 Timothy 2:2
E – Establish your heart and mind in the words of God – Psalm 119:11
S – Serve others – Galatians 5:13 

*G= God created us to be w/Him (Gen 1)
O= Our own way; Our sins separate us from a holy, perfect God (Gen 3)
S= Sins can not be removed by good deeds (Gen 4; Mal 4)
P= Paying the price for sin, God’s only son Jesus died and rose again (Matt-Luke)
E= Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone has eternal life (John 3:16)
L= Life with Jesus starts now here on earth and lasts forever aka Kingdom of Heaven (Acts-Rev)

The Ambassador Road Trip is perfect for multiple small churches taking on specific elements to stage together; meet up in a district or local camp/park spot. The 2024 Ambassador Road Trip is scheduled for April due to Easter being celebrated at the end of March and is sponsored by various children’s ministry champions who serve multiple churches and editing to excellence cycle #1 – Ambassadors. Want to be part of the 2024 Ambassador Road Trip team? Contact me directly at dedereilly@comcast.net or our team leader Kate Morris at morriskt@bellsouth.net.

What does a developmentally appropriate retreat life look like for your pre-teens?

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“Taking people away from their regular life for a few days, and offering them a season of activity, intense focus without distractions, peer-to-peer interaction and Bible influence is perhaps one of the greatest investments in people’s lives.” – Henrietta Mears from “Teacher: The Henrietta Mears Story”

Each June and July, we offer a summer jubilee to our regular, weekend, and weekday servant leaders because (1) everyone needs a Sabbath season, (2) a summer jubilee invites our regulars to re-connect with an adult Sunday small group, (3) it invites new servant leaders to test the waters or serve a short season with great intentionality in ministry with children.

Jubilee = a season of emancipation, celebration, and restoration.

Our numbers are typically a bit smaller, but more than what one-room Sunday school can offer if relationship building (with Jesus and one another) is always the goal of Sunday mornings.

What do we do?

I begin asking questions in January/February and listening for what folks in our church are individually working on and invite them to share what they are learning with our littles in June and July. What are they talking about when I ask, “Hey! What are your doing right now that brings you joy?”

Large group is led by me and includes another group game and/or another song along with the Bible study part extending our time from 20-30 minutes. This summer, students are then dismissed to two classes for 30 minutes:

#1 – Building with power tools for 3rd-5th graders
A fabulous general contractor comes with power tools and several projects to build over the summer. I reimburse his supply expenses. The first year/season, I recruited his ‘assistants’. This year I asked him to invite some of his buddies to join him as his ‘assistants.’ With safety goggles, aprons (I provided) and nail gun and table saw (he provided) students learn and practice safety and more with his four (FOUR!) assistants. And by golly, he made sure everyone had gone through Safe Sanctuary training, arrived early, and staged his Sunday classroom on Saturday. First year, do the task. Second year, invite others to join the journey and build a team.

#2 – Building our communication skills with sign language for Kindergarten-2nd graders
As part of our 10-hour intern’s winter/spring semester at college, she began taking several sign language classes in the evening. She will teach fingerspelling and songs to our littles to present in three children’s moments this summer. We recruited her ‘assistants’ at the Bring Your Parents to Sunday School and several youth/adults stepped up to learn alongside the littles by seeing the summer class promoted in the bulletin the month before.

Other than the two class leaders, everyone else is a first-time or second-time servant in children’s ministry. The skills they learn will be ones they can use to serve their church.

At the first parenting workshop at my home church a long time ago, the presenter shared: Choose your kid’s extracurricular activities so that your child(ren) can use them to serve/share in the Body of Christ. She continued: If your family is going to invest a ton of time, money, and relationships in an extracurricular that will be a priority for your family, be sure your kids see it as a tool for growing their discipleship. Our experience: music, marching band, and drumming for #1 Son; theatre, travel, and communication for Baby Girl. This filter for which extracurriculars we were sold-out-for was one of the best decisions we ever made.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians directed the apostles, teachers, prophets, and church leaders to ‘equip the saints for good works to build up the Body of Christ.’ Oh we’re building alright. And the saints come in all shapes and sizes, all stages and ages.

What does Sunday morning summer programming look like for you?

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

Last week was the North Georgia United Methodist Church’s Annual Conference meeting in Athens, Georgia. I served as an at-large lay delegate for my district. I’ve been an at-large district lay delegate for many years. Why? (1) To bring back to the local church I serve information and resources available to help them fulfill the mission of ‘making disciples of Jesus Christ’. Resources available and funded by their apportionment dollars. (2) To cast my one vote to represent the laity serving in the trenches of the local church in ministry with littles and bigs in the decisions and movements of my conference.

As an at-large lay delegate for my district, I’m ‘in the room where it happens.’

There is a resource and vendor space with great information (ex: Discipleship Ministries) and multiple opportunities (ex: Camp Collinswood special needs camp). When the ‘room where it happens’ is on break (lunch, bathroom, etc.), it is in the hallways and the Atrium where people gather, chat, catch up, and make connections. Just like church!

Much like the church, rows facilitate receiving information and content. It is around tables and hallway chats where ideas are shared and families are celebrated. This is why children’s and family ministry champions around North Georgia make the trek to Athens to set up and serve at The Pop-up Kid’s Table. We pop-up in the Atrium near the main hallway for greater visibility and accessibility to people passing by. If there is a kid in the room (or a youth delegate) they come and sit-a-spell. These kidmin and family ministry champions didn’t have to be there; it was their day off. OH, how I love the kidmin tribe!

The Kid’s Table has games, books, and people (the church’s greatest resource!) available and accessible. Three champions were wearing t-shirts which read (1) Ask me about Training, (2) Ask me about Safe Sanctuary, (3) Ask me about Family Ministry. Other champions were wearing t-shirts from their children’s ministry and various shared children’s events.

The Kid’s Table also had that sacred and holy of all church snacks: Goldfish. With 150 snack bags in hand, we travelled in twos with Goldfish for an afternoon snack asking “Would You Rather: Bible Edition” questions from table to table AND even at the bottom of the escalator for those coming back from enjoying lunch offsite. Jesus never sent His disciples out one at a time, but rather in twos, threes, and up to seventy.

“I know your tummies are full from lunch, but around 3pm, you are going to wish you had a little snack to get ya to dinner. Will you answer a quick question for an afternoon snack?”

We laughed our heads off and met so many people sharing the joy of the Lord and the gathering of His people. Trivia questions would’ve been stressful and intimating, but asking someone, “Would you rather be in the stable when Jesus was born OR be in the tomb when Jesus was resurrected?” made for thoughtful responses. No right or wrong answer, just thoughtful. Then a Goldfish snack bag for just stopping and giving us thirty seconds.  At a time when folks are super serious, laughter and joy is healthy and contagious.

Last Sunday our church set the table for a celebration of ministry luncheon for our retiring senior pastor and his wife. The line for lunch was long. Really long. Crazy long. Some folks were chatting, but many were in line alone or not chatting. Just waiting; frequently checking to see if the line had moved. So I pulled out those Would You Rather questions and worked my way through the line. I didn’t interrupt those who were chatting, but asked folks questions like “Would you rather have been at the Last Supper or on the hill when Jesus fed the 5,000?” to offer respite, a distraction, and a chance to laugh. All of a sudden, the line didn’t seem so long.

“Would you rather have been a shepherd when Jesus’ birth was announced OR one of the magi who visited Jesus at Mary’s house?”