Fall is my favorite season and October has five Sundays this year. This ‘celebrates just about everything’ gal is ready to set some spaces and places for our multi-generational church family to gather with hands, feet, smiles, casserole dishes, stories, so that our littles see their bigs share life together.

I saw this idea of sticking around after church on purpose on a social media post of my home church. I was inspired to make it fit our context and spaces available especially during this season of trusting the Lord in big-church business.

After getting the okay to move forward at last week’s staff meeting, collaborating with other ministry areas started, a fabulous graphic was designed, and a children’s moment with kids and sticks offered the first invitation on the last Sunday in September.

October Sunday #1 – Pie & Punch @ the Pit (I and kids like alliteration)
Costco has those huge fall pies out; our senior pastor’s wife offered to make the non-red punch; and we’re serving at the Gaga Ball Pit which will be put away within the next couple of weeks until next Easter. Supplies: paper products; pies; punch

October Sunday #2 – Churchwide Potluck @ Higher Ground (a request by small group leaders)
One of our amazing Sunday school classes set the signup and will do the physical setting up that morning at a location on our campus that has a garage door opening inviting kids to play outdoor games while having lunch. My favorite restaurant is a church potluck! Supplies: paper products

October Sunday #3 – Lemonade on the Lawn (a request by our Senior Pastor)
The Youth Ministry has a lemon press though CountryTime Lemonade will be free flowing. Cucumber lemonade will be what I bring. Supplies: cups & lemonade & paper towels

October Sunday #4 – Missions & Mountain Top Boys Home (bringing past missions passions to present)
We’ll ask for donations of deodorant and toothpaste for the residents of this amazing ministry which has been part of our church’s history for years. Folks will be invited to write a letter/note to a Mountain Top resident and/or one of our young adults who have been registered to receive Jesus Loves You Boxes this fall. The mailbox on wheels made by one our gifted McEachern Saints will be front and center to receive these notes of encouragement and hope. Supplies: note paper, envelopes, stamps, collection bins

October Sunday #5 – Table & Chair set up for that afternoon’s Fall Gathering (getting stuff done together)
The Fall Gathering 4-6pm is an all-hands-on-deck event and many hands will make for light work to set up the back parking lot for the Fall Gathering with food trucks, trunk-or-treat, cake walk, games, and more. 

Why? Community-building where littles and bigs see their church family learning, serving, in holy play, and sharing life together.
Who? Everyone.
What? Stick Around Sunday after the last service in a simple, yet intentional way to build our relationships with one another.
What will be the win? Sticky faith-formation memories for littles where everyone can play, everyone can serve, everyone can learn, and everyone can share life with great joy….and Mrs. McCoy’s homemade fudge.

“I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.” Psalm 45:17

Last week I shared an AirBnB and four days with three amazing kidmin champions at the KidzMatter Conference in Murphreesboro, Tennessee. Yes, we met lots of people. Yes, we learned lots of things (which you will hear more about in the weeks to come as I plan for next year). Yes, we worshiped, prayed, and ate. What else?

Let me introduce you to….

Vanessa Myers – Vanessa is a full-time children’s ministry director serving the folks of Dahlonega, Georgia. She designs simple Bible resources to equip children’s leaders, parents, grandparents, and local churches to love God’s word through Family Faith Builders. Her beautiful resources are developmentally appropriate for preschool through upper elementary. They can be used at home or at church. She’s a graduate of Duke Divinity School and chooses to point littles and bigs to God’s word so they love the Lord with their whole heart for their whole lives. She’s also written two kid’s devotionals I use for large group, small groups, and children’s moments: Bible Food Truck and Breakfast With Jesus. In mid-October another kid’s devotional will be available just in time for Advent: Wondering to Bethlehem. It’s still a devotional for ages 5-11, but this time, kids dive a little deeper into the birth story by using their wonder and imagination. They’ll put themselves into the story at that time in history and use their 5 senses to wonder what was going on around the characters in each devotion. There’s a passport!

Hannah Harwood – Hannah is a full-time family ministry director serving the folks of Dalton, Georgia. She just started at her new church with the goal of equipping leaders to reach all kinds of families. I met Hannah years ago when she served as the campus ministry intern at Reinhardt University and I’ve watched her grow her kidmin skills and her faith as she’s served several churches from part-time to full-time. She’s a professional in every sense of the word and continues to prioritize her networking relationships, prayer, and her family to sustain her in all areas of ministry. 

Christen Clark – I was introduced to Christen at Children’s Pastors Conference last January by the fabulous Brittany Nelson of Deeper Kidmin, a Teachers-Pay-Teachers resource website for leaders in faith formation. Christen is the creator and host of Collide Kids Podcast. Christen has led children’s worship at some of the largest churches in North Georgia. Right away I invited her to come to our last two Family Vacation Bible School events last June as a children’s worship consultant. Why invest in a consultant? Because we needed fresh eyes on what we were doing to jack it up and be the most effective. What did we learn? That our folks really stepped up to do their best for our littles and bigs when a consultant was on deck; that we can easily gather families to worship together much more often with the resources (people, places, passions, provisions) we already have on hand; that a different voice can speak truth and permission into service lives before, during, and after an event. Money very well spent as an investment into the future of our local church.

These relationships began because networking is a priority for sustaining an effective life in ministry. “Networking is a lot like nutrition and fitness: we know what to do, the hard part is making it a top priority.” — Herminia Ibarra

Does your blah-blah need a rah-rah? Natalie Runion’s book, Raised To Stay, speaks about finding our Pauls. The Pauls are sainted cheerleaders sharing life AND content. We need these Pauls, ‘but the deal is, we have to keep going and run that ball full court.’ (p139) 

When someone believes in you, let them. Sit with the wise. Build in the margin for growing in relationships with others in the trenches of ministry with children and families always with a teachable spirit. Make some introductions. Be available to make a new friend-in-the-Lord. 

Who is in your networking group? Who is sharpening you? Who are you sharpening?

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

Time to Update is the book to let ministry leaders and communicators know they’ve already started and how to move forward to share the greatest story ever told to a world of littles and bigs who need it. Thank you Brittany Nelson for putting together a guidebook of small steps and giant leaps for digital discipleship in Time to Update: 7 Areas to Integrate Digital Discipleship into Your Children’s Ministry Strategy. I’ve been waiting for a resource like this for years and she’s put it in one place. Thank you, Brittany!

Discipleship is the process of making disciples of Jesus. Discipleship is THE JOB we have in the local church. Digital Discipleship is the process of making disciples through digital methods. We are not talking about live-streaming children’s church or watching a video on a screen to create or share content. Rather, “a digital approach to children’s ministry involves intentionally using technology to enhance and improve various areas within the ministry, from administrative tasks no one ever sees to communication with families to teaching Bible lessons on Sunday mornings.” (pg 3)

The goal of making disciples has not changed, yet our learners have. Digital is what our littles and bigs know; digital makes for faster information sharing; dependence on technology is not going away; digital is how our little disciples are now wired to learn. There was a time when a radio was enough. Television came around and having only the sound on was not gonna cut it now that visual images were involved. The same thing goes for the families we are trying to reach with the gospel. This is where our congregation lives. Why would we not want to go where the people are?

Just because YOU may not be on social media, our families are. A lot! Digital information is at our fingertips. The greatest search engine for the littles we serve is no longer Google, but YouTube. Our families are locating, shopping, driving, ordering, alarming, posting, scrolling, friending, and communicating with the digital devices in their hands. So how do we start leveraging digital resources to make disciples beyond placing Amazon orders?

Brittany clearly lays out chapters dedicated to policies and procedures; evaluating your church’s website (or at least your ministry page); partnering and communicating with parents/caregivers; recruiting, training, and retaining volunteer leaders; how to grow healthy relationships through social media; even using technology to aid in your administration tasks. Each chapter ends with several Action Steps and a ton of bonus tools and ideas.

The title reads ‘children’s ministry strategy’, but this book really is an all-skate. If you are in ministry with and for people for Christ, this resource is a guide for you. Weekday Preschool, Recreation Ministry, Youth Ministry, Family Ministry, Women’s/Men’s Ministry, Christian Education, Hospitality, etc.

There is so much to capture in this book that I’ve decided to lead an online book discussion in October. We’ll read 2-3 chapters each week and chat on Wednesday mornings 9-10:30am. Want to join in? Sign up at https://forms.gle/4ZMw8C41kgHL7qVx9 

“He said to them, ‘Go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'” Mark 16:15 (emphasis mine)

Generational Discipleship is best shared in partnership with families at church AND at home. How do we get resources in the hands of family leads (grandparents, parents, caregivers, teachers, coaches, etc.) for various age levels with various time schedules? One size does not fit all and one resource doesn’t help all.

The Family Resource Wall is the place where we can generously offer resources for families as they go. (Deuteronomy 6:7) The Family Resource Wall is located just outside the Children’s Welcome Center at the bottom of the stairs at the Children’s entrance to the building. It was built by the Junior Trustees (3rd-5th grade Power Tools Class) from wooden pallet remnants. 

We choose what goes on the wall by what’s in our hand. (Exodus 4:2)
* Leftover books shared at Parenting With A Purpose classes
* Extra books I pick up from children’s ministry trainings/conferences
* A senior pastor’s library of books he didn’t take when he retired
* Pictures of Jesus with kids of varied ages

Only one copy goes in a basket at a time and we refill as resources are taken.

Three resources are constant:

1. A Children’s Bible or Adult Bible – A preschooler’s Bible is written at a 7th grade reading level, so we look for colorful images in a child’s Bible or a red-letter edition (if it’s red, Jesus said…) Even used, a Bible is a true gift.
2. Are My Kids on Track: The 12 Emotional, Social and Spiritual Milestones Your Child Needs to Reach by Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Travathan – This trio of experts operate the Daystar Counseling Center in Nashville, TN. Their Christian resources are plentiful for kids and families and super practical. They also offer incredible teaching in their Instagram stories and podcasts. Jesus is our savior and parents can do this!
3. Discipleship Begins at Home Blueprint – This developmentally-appropriate blueprint leads families on a discipleship pathway for families with infants through young adults. If the task of the local church is to equip the saints for Godly works, parents and caregivers are the greatest disciple-makers ever. This apologetics resource (defense of the faith in Christianity) is provided by The Next Generation Ministry which exists to equip parents to help them disciple their children into mature, robust believers in Christ. Beyond the Bible, this resource was a free resource offered at the Discipleship Begins at Home online conference sponsored by Women in Apologetics. 

How are you resourcing your families to point their kids to Jesus ‘as they go’? What would go on your wall?

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:15-16