When do kids and their families learn the whys and whats of the sacred space they call ‘home church’? At the Faith Milestone: I Love My Church! Every local church has beautiful history (original MM sanctuary was built in 1932 and used in the movie Smokie and the Bandit among other films) and a fabulous traditional church space (MM built in 1990, narthex, vestibule, massive communion table, two levels of sanctuary pews) that little people just have to run in. I want them to have those memories AND have the vocabulary to share their own stories in their own home-church when they become teens and adults

Supplies:

The Year of Our Lord liturgical color calendar – discussing differences between our house calendar and the church calendar, colors to look for throughout campus, and remembrances of Jesus’ life. (color copy in packet)

Heart Stickers
Scavenger Hunt
“What We Do In Church” by Anne E. Kitch (color sheets on prayer stances and vocabulary)
The Beginner’s Bible: All About Jesus Sticker & Activity Book
Orange caution cones (Dollar Tree)

We begin with an ice breaker: Say your name and something interesting about yourself. Open in prayer.

Start discussing the church calendar and how the colors the students will see represent certain events of Jesus’ life.
Vocabulary: Lent, Liturgical, Advent, Pentecost, Epiphany, Christmas season, Ascension, Holy Trinity, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week. Then we set out with our sticker sheets looking for orange caution cones.

Earlier in the day we set up stations throughout campus with heart stickers (we LOVE our church!) in a clear bucket. Orange caution cones advised us where to go…think: Amazing Race has the red and yellow boxes, we use caution cones found at Dollar Tree. Students are ready with their sticker sheets to place stickers beside vocabulary describing different locations in the church.
Vocabulary:
Chapel (built in 1931)
Narthex (porch of a church)
Sanctuary (built in 1990)
Vestibule (space near outer door)
Pew (long bench with a back placed in rows)
Pulpit (raised platform where preacher delivers a message)
Choir Loft (space where choir sings together)
Communion Table (table where all are welcome to remember Jesus!)

As a group, we then follow the signage proceeding to the above locations and we run! All over the place. When we’ve met at each location, we enjoy a ‘work as a team because Jesus always sent out His disciples 2 or 3 at a time’ Scavenger Hunt:
What is the name of one of our pastors?
What color are the church’s front doors?
What color is the parament on the Communion Table?
How many black keys are on the piano played by the accompanist?
What is the big book opened on the Communion Table?
How many exit signs are in the Sanctuary and the Narthex? (Why would we need to know where the exits are?)
How many pews are in the Sanctuary?
How many crosses are in the Sanctuary?
What colors are the chairs in the choir loft?

Upon completion, I share a very abbreviated story of Jesus going to church with His family and affirm their parent’s heart for them to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Everyone gets an All About Jesus Sticker & Activity book to take home! Close in prayer. Precious face time with 2nd graders and their families…sacred memories of sacred spaces and special kids. Kiss on the cheek from the Lord? Three students in attendance came to Sunday school the following weekend for the first time!

What would your I Love My Church Faith Milestone look like?

“I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.'” Psalm 122:1

“I just used all my skills,” with a shoulder shrug was the charming reply of my 5-year-old grandson when asked about his accomplishment. I love claiming that saying when considering my own successes. As a Children’s Ministry Director for over 15 years, it was always my goal to create compelling faith experiences for children and their families. I learned early that I needed to rely on all MY skills and so much more.

My top 5:

1. Cast a vision and share it with  your team and our families. They can’t buy in unless they can see it. Always important but especially now with a shrinking base of volunteers and what many are calling a rebuilding time.
2. Invite. Children and parents and grandparents; neighbors and seniors. Help them see their place in faith formation of children> Recruit others to invite. Find ways to reach outside your circle. Get personal!
3. Make engaging lessons accessible for teachers and students. Equip your teachers to cater to different, creative learning styles. Build in adaptations for age, time, and space.
4. Listen to your people and other influencers in ministry. Build on the successes of others. (One great reason that I faithfully read this blog!) Brainstorm. Collaborate. Network.
5. “Do all the good you can” — in this case, maximize every effort and every dollar to reach the most for Jesus!

I began serving in children’s ministry at a time when it was rather vanilla. Many great parents routinely taught using pamphlets and coloring sheets and a great Bible story. Fortunately, my mentor encouraged me to step it up a few notches and adopt the Workshop Rotation Sunday School method.

Talk about a facelift in many ways! Sunday mornings went from simple to spectacular. Our lessons began to fully engage kids by addressing all learning styles through workshops employing art, cooking, movies, media, drama and more. Teaching teams were easy to build. Kids and parents loved it and everyone learned while they were loving it. On Sunday mornings, there was excitement in the air. Best part: relationships were built with Jesus AND among our community.

Fast forward to today. Many of today’s leaders are tasked with rebuilding or energizing a ministry. I encourage everyone to look at Rotation.org. If you feel like a change is in order, there is every resource there to help you see how to get started.

However, if you are most interested in “upping your game” within a traditional Sunday school model, there you will find lessons and support with engaging lessons built upon creative learning styles. There are also very complete background materials which equip new or experienced teachers. Adaptations for our new normal are being added weekly.

I serve at Rotation.org with a team of experienced volunteers who are eager to help you find the answers you need via online collaboration. And finally, it is very accessible at a rate of $45 per year. Our one goal is to equip leaders to “Do all the good you can” for Jesus. We want to help you “use all your skills!”

Robin Stewart served the families on staff as the Children’s Ministry Director at Athens First United Methodist Church in Athens, Georgia until her recent retirement. She believes in Rotation.org so much, she continues to volunteer her time and energy to making their resources known and shared. Robin is a wife, mother, and grandmother. You can connect with Robin at robinafumc@bellsouth.net. 

*Rotation.org is a nonprofit funded entirely by subscriptions with only one paid website manager.

A decision was made by our church leadership to pause gathering in-person, on-campus for a period of time to allow the spike in COVID positives to subside. It was also the very week almost a dozen new Bible studies and small groups were to begin. I had made the decision early on to partner with a young mom to lead a small group in-person on Thursday mornings specifically focused on our preschool families. I had also made the commitment to co-lead the same study by ZOOM on Wednesday evenings so not to be away from home another night of the week. Sunday morning took a pause and these small groups did not begin, so I had some new-found margin.

I do not want our families to grow accustomed to doing life without the local church, so I asked, “What’s in my hand?” and “How can we love on our families?” easily, regularly, and energetically? Our county schools are not meeting in-person, nor online on Wednesdays mornings. We have a bus with our name on it. We have a great story: Jesus. We have popcorn, rocks, a wireless speaker, and Spotify.

We invited families to host a Pop In by registering online on Wednesdays 1:30pm (give our preschool families time to get home), or at 3pm (give our other-county students time to get home). Hosts promote the Pop In in their neighborhood and among their kid’s friends (kids have been playing with other kids in their own neighborhoods since forever), collect registration forms (you never know who doesn’t have a church home), and a snack (freeze pops). We take care of the rest!

We arrive 30 minutes early and start the music – McEachern Kids Pop In Spotify playlist which we share before and after to the emails shared on the registration forms/social media.
Hula Hoops – offers safe social distancing and arrival physical fun.
Welcome – Intro me ( name and “I love Jesus), the driver (name and “He loves Jesus), and sometimes a guest (name and “She loves Jesus.”) Then ask, “Do you know our Jesus?” leaving room for answers.
Intro the Bible – ask, “Who has a Bible?” “This is my Bible and in it…..”
Read 1 Corinthians 14:1 “Go after a life of love.” Ask, “What do you GO AFTER?” (Mom, spaghetti, video games, fishing) “A life of love is when we help other people know they are loved.”
Activity – Decorate a rock (pencil first, then paint markers, on a paper mat/work space) to “leave for someone to know they are loved, as they go wherever they go.” Enlist the help of the adults in attendance to hand out stuff so each child hears multiple voices of helpfulness from their own neighborhood peeps and my church bus driver.
Closing – Read “Wherever You Go, I Want You To Know” by Melissa Kruger, illustrated by Isobel Lundie.
We bless their painted rock (lay hands on) with a repeat-after-me prayer teaching that when we bless something we are setting it apart for a sacred and Godly purpose. I tell the story of my grands leaving painted rocks all over their new town in Oregon to share the love of Jesus. Their parents moved there to help start a church and in this way even the children could serve their new community in ministry.
Take-aways – Students get a folder with multiple at-home family SHARE THE LOVE activities related to their own hometown (we have three hometowns we focus on); a bag of popcorn with “Thanks for poppin’ in!” with our social media contact info.
Holy habits taught and caught: Bible reading, generosity, prayer, service, play.

We learned:
• Going out is easier than staying in; and the Lord gave us the best weather every. single. Wednesday. we went out.
• We used the church bus because it’s a big statement, but I could’ve used my car and ordered a big magnet for the doors. A church bus is ‘what was in my hand.’
• Kids and parents need a break, even if just for 20 minutes.
• Families stay to chat, so we have to honor the time commitment of our host and leave no later than 10 minutes after we finish. Our meet & greet time is as they arrive. Our hosts take care of the back-end hospitality.
• The host gets face-to-face time with everyone in their neighborhood when they collect the registration form info.
• ALL KIDS like to paint, hear a story read to them, eat popcorn/freeze pops, even 4th grade boys.
• We extended Pop Ins through all of February since some families wanted to host more than once (equipping the saints).
• Three different bus drivers who have three different seats at leadership tables now share how they were able to love kids to Jesus when the church took a Sunday pause (equipping the saints.)

What’s in your hand? How can you invite your families to offer the spaces to tell the greatest story ever told?

“The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11

Thirty years ago, our country shut down. My last day of elementary school that year was Friday the 13th of March. Just the weekend before I was arguing with Mom for more screen time. Little did we know that we’d be spending more time in front of that screen to learn, to connect with family and friends, and not just play.

I loved it! We stayed home. We played games. If we needed something, our church gave us stuff, our school gave us stuff, our neighbors gave us stuff, and we shared our stuff with other people. We wore our pajamas every day, baked bread and cookies, and didn’t worry about cleaning up so much. Dance parties in the kitchen! Some people had a lot of toilet paper, so they shared with those who didn’t. We left bags of stuff at my grandparents, but I didn’t get to hug them. The news said it wasn’t safe. I was bummed. 

We drove by our church for surprises in goodie bags of toys, books, snacks, crayons, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk. We raised our hands and talked to God before heading home to find out what was in the bags. So much sidewalk chalk! We drew on our drive way, the neighbor’s driveway, and the sidewalks in our neighborhood. Every now and then there would be lines and lines of cars honking horns in our subdivision with signs and balloons. Like a parade!

Once it was really summer for real, we had church in our parking lot. Sometimes we drove through the drive-thru and picked up dinner to eat in the back of the car for supper. It was like Vacation Bible School, but in our car. With Mom. With Dad. Sometimes my grandma came! We heard a story about Jesus, popped balloons, prayed, played games, and danced. Even in the rain!

As much as Mom and Dad wanted us to watch church on TV, we just wanted to play. We started wearing masks everywhere we went. We went camping and made forts in the living room with flashlights and sheets.

Before 2020 I went to church with other kids and had some great church teachers, but after COVID I got to meet so many more people at my church and all over town. I met people of all ages in my church and lots of other kid’s parents. We kept camp chairs and bicycles in the back of the car so we’d always be ready to meet up with people at the church, the park, and the ball fields.

We didn’t get to visit our grandparents, but we talked on the phone and zoomed with them often. It felt good to see them. I missed them. They must have missed me, too, because they wrote me letters and mailed postcards to me. I especially remember the animal fun facts postcards about eagles and national parks. They sent postcards to my sister about princesses and famous women in science. I miss my grandparents, but I know we will see each other in Heaven one day because they talked to me about Jesus and prayed for me to love Him for my whole life. I have their Bibles all written in and read from them often, especially when I want to feel close to them or I’m going through a tough time.

My family’s traditions around the holidays came from my parents and grandparents so we’d have fun and be reminded who we belonged to. They told us over and over that God is good, God created us, Jesus loves us, and we are better together however together looks. We talked with each other. We talked to God in prayer. together We played together. We laughed together. We cooked together. We took walks and adventures together. They loved me to Jesus and showed me how to love my own kids to Jesus.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.” 3 John 4

Because of the COVID19 safety restrictions, we have shifted faith formation for little people from inside the building this summer to the parking lot. Children remain in their vehicles to celebrate Jesus as a family.

I’d spoken with many churches doing drive-in church well for their adults knowing there were children in the vehicles. We wanted to do drive-in church well for kids knowing their adults were in the vehicles. Considerations were multi-sensory, hands-on, all-skate, Bible reading, give tools and practice for family prayer, car-chat discussion, games, a noisy offering response, kid-friendly contact collection, follow-up, a sound system, smooth traffic flow, a take-away, aimed at an audience of 3rd grade boys, 20 minutes, Jesus content, leave ‘em smiling. Three services at 6pm (1st grade & younger), 7pm (2nd & 3rd graders), 8pm (4th & 5th graders). If a family has multiples, they pick their service.

We shifted to a different location due to rain at the start of the first service. By the third service we were blessed with a rainbow in the sky. God’s goodness was waiting for us. The volunteers close to the vehicles were masked and gloved. We used our current Sunday school curriculum as the starting point for planning.

Hospitality – Colorful signs and familiar Sunday school music as they arrive and park.

Welcome – Each kid gets a registration form and black balloon at arrival to pop later. Inside each balloon is a piece of paper with the scripture inside. Registration form asks for family name, how many in the car, email address. Kids fold it into a paper airplane to fly at a target at the end of the service in the world’s largest offering plate (kiddie pool).

Game – The Masked Dancer (3 animal masks; choir robes) to Can’t Stop The Feeling.

Song – Taught sign language to Amazing Grace, then played the 2 minute Sunday school music to do the signs together.

Game – God created our bodies so let’s play Simon Says and see how well your body works (air guitar, lift legs as high as you can, hug yourself, hug your family, pat your head, kiss your tummy, touch your nose with your tongue, etc.)

Pop the balloon – Find out where to look in your Bible, Psalm 139.

Pray in song – O Be Careful Little Eyes What You See.

Bigs read Psalm 139:1-14 – Psalm 139 was written by David and known as a man after God’s own heart. David wrote people are wonderfully made because of who made us: God! Share the story of how Milk Duds got its name. We are not duds, we are wonderfully made by a wonderfully, perfect, and loving God.

Car Chat – We learn that God is our creator and He sees our thoughts and actions. Is that a good thing? Do we really want God to see us all the time? Does God know you? How does it feel to know that God created you? (Leave space in-between each question.)

Personal Testimony – The things God made about us were made that way for a reason. I shared about my Dad’s big voice. I have that same big voice because God knew one day that I’d need a big voice to tell kids about Jesus. Even the things you might not like about yourself can be part of God’s purpose for you and He can use it so you can tell others about Jesus.

Closing Prayer – Hand-stack prayer: everyone in the vehicle stacks hands on top of each other. The person whose hand is at the bottom of the stack goes first, praying a single sentence prayer as they pull out his hand and place it on top of the hand stack. Then, the next person prays and pulls her hand out and places it on top of the stack until everyone gets to pray aloud then all close with AMEN.

Leaving activity – Receive offering and fly the registration form paper airplanes into the kiddie pools carried around the parking lot. Kids get small boxes of Milk Duds tossed into the vehicles from someone who is gloved.

Lessons learned to put into place next week – Each person who speaks introduces themselves (not everyone in the vehicle will know us); wireless mic for the speaker rather than a hand-held to facilitate greater movement; pray for no rain so we can use the larger space and all can see the speaker when necessary.

We plan for each week to look differently and the experience to be different. Example: emcee added to week #2; drive-in stations for each vehicle on week #4; send-out station at the end on week #3; end with a drive-thru pool party and water on week #4.

Text messages were sent and received on Sunday from the big people of several upper elementary boys sharing what their boys remembered and enjoyed at the service so we know what to focus on next week as most memorable. The hand-written follow-up postcards were mailed out the following Monday to mailing addresses as a thank you for coming and an invite to come back followed with an email reminder for the next Thursday to go out on Wednesday morning. If no address is known, we will contact by email to introduce ourselves and make connection the next day. Content is not king. Connection is king. It’s all about the growing of our relationships. This was a natural next-step in discipleship for those who came to know us at the drive-thru. 

Jeff Henderson is an entrepreneur, speaker, pastor, business leader, and author of Know What You’re FOR: A Growth Strategy for Work, An Even Better Strategy for Life. In a recent talk about Three Strategies For Re-entry, he said, “Don’t let your customer grow accustomed to doing life without you.” We don’t have customers; we have disciples of Jesus and we are responsible for one another. We need each other, we’re better together, we’re wired for community, and drive-in church on Thursday evenings this summer will allow us to continue to safely do life together with littles and their bigs.

The biggest win? The big people in the lives of our little people are the heroes here. These bigs are leading their kids/grandkids to keep their eyes on Jesus and their eyes out for other people. We are just providing the setting and the sacred space. 

“I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9:23

Memorial Day weekend is always a time of reflection. Reflecting on the families and generations who have given the ultimate sacrifices for my family to live as we do, as well as considering the events of the last school year in our own family.  Over the last school year we have watched families redefine distance- and home-schooling, learned a ton of new things on the fly, and even had a new grandson join our family. Without getting all crazy with emotion, here are four things I love lately:

Resilient Church Academy: Innovation Track and the Master Classes – I have chosen to reflect God’s goodness and generosity in this season. Our Creator is great at sharing and giving to us more than we can imagine for ourselves. To build my imagination muscle, I’m jumping into the deep end of the creativity pool by taking a class each Friday with the goal of setting the stage for taking risks and re-imagining  what faith formation can look like, sound like, smell like, taste like, and feel like for kids and their families. Not an event, but rather a fresh expression of developmentally appropriate faith formation for kids to grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man on my watch. With all that we have experienced, what is the Lord waiting with delight for us to discover?  Stay tuned!

Drinking >100 oz of water daily – Grateful for moving into some healthy habits in late January, I’ve learned a lot about hydration. I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV, but some of what I’ve learned is that typical adults daily lose 12 cups of water: 2 cups from perspiration, 6 cups through urine, 2 cups from breathing, and 1 cup through the soles of our feet. I know, TMI! 

My back porch – I’m only slightly joking when I say Mr. Bob and I have discussed a lot the original appeal of our open-concept living space. His work life has changed from being an outside salesman with a 5-day work week to an inside salesman with a 4-day work week. I feel I have a 7-day work week. Don’t judge and don’t make suggestions. I’m an enneagram 3 and it takes a mini-series to turn my brain off, and who’s got time for that? When he’s not in his office and I’m on the phone, I’m on the back porch. I love my back porch!

My Local Church Children’s Ministry Leadership Team – Every leadership team is filled with various creative types and we are better together. As we follow a fresh movement of the Holy Spirit, we’ve taken the Creative Types assessment and have a better understanding of our gifts and skills, so we are throwing everything at a weekly kid-friendly-family-engaging service presented three times each Thursday evening in June, possibly July. Using our collective genius with faithful, and even a few new voices, we are hearing and watching the Holy Spirit blow our minds through the design thinking model of empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing. Stay tuned!

What are you loving lately?

“Good things come to those who wait, and for experimentalists, it’s never too late to become original.” Adam Grant, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, pg 113

Though the world is traversing unknown territory with the coronavirus protocols, we will continue to move forward addressing the eight virtues of rapidly growing churches. I’m praying for you all and our families we serve as we count it all joy on this new adventure with grace and creativity.

Matt Miofsky, founding and lead pastor of The Gathering, a multisite United Methodist congregation in St. Louis, Missouri,  together with Jason byassee, Butler Chair in Homiletic and Biblical Interpretation at Vancouver School of Theology, wrote Eight Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches.

Matt came to North Georgia to lead a day of education and awesome colleagues made sure I got the materials since I was unable to attend. I have discovered in my deep dive into the book and through discussions with other kidmin professionals we are all in a state of living the life of a ‘church planter.’ Knowing where the local church sits in today’s culture, the authors remind us, “We are all church planters now.” There are some commonalities of the culture and vision of today’s successful church planters. What does that look like for those who serve in ministry with children and families especially if we are not part of a new church plant? Find my thoughts about Virtues #1 through #4 here. 

Virtue #5 – Rapidly Growing Churches Elevate the Practice of Giving
“People want to give to something that is exciting, making an impact, and visibly connected to changing lives.” (p 55) Don’t we all want to make a difference with our resources? YES! So tell the stories and take the time to celebrate how God is present in our generosity. He gave (John 3:16), so we give. He is a generous giver, so we provide environments and invitational moments for generosity. Giving is an expression of generosity, but not the only one. Little people do not have jobs, but they have much. Just last week our CLUB345 decorated 250 cupcakes to give to a recovery center and ate not nary a one. Generosity is a holy habit and growing churches ‘invite people to participate from the beginning.’ If you start something new, we will begin with a opportunities for acts of generosity, not a regular practice of only receiving ‘free’ or practicing consumerism. We must fight the entitlement culture. Let kids serve. Let kids do for others. Let kids know that to be like Jesus is not to receive as an individual, but live with a heart for others in response to our generous God. ‘God hard-wired us to give, and when we operate in a manner that is consistent with our creation, good things happen in our life. We would never ask someone NOT to do something that we believe makes them happier, healthier, and better able to follow Jesus.’ (p 60-61) Teach at a young age that all we have belongs to the Lord and by returning to Him a percentage, we live a life of trust and obedience. How are you teaching the holy habit of generosity as a thread in all you do?

Virtue #6 – Rapidly Growing Churches Work in Teams
Most of this chapter speaks to the trustworthy ‘number twos’ who come alongside the number-ones. Number twos are those who sit in the second chair of an organization. It may not look like the second chair on the org chart, but it’s the second chair that REALLY makes the church go ’round because of their influence. “Whether you are a youth pastor over thirty kids, a Sunday school teacher with a class of ten, or a pastor of a church of 150-there is power in having a number two.” (p 78) The gifts of a number two include loyalty to God and the organization without being a yes person; loyalty to the congregation’s mission as a noticer with an intuition tuned to individual needs; loyalty to the visionary leadership with ‘nuts-and-bolts know how’ within that body of believers; and is accessible. “Methodism at its best is a tradition that encourages Christians to ‘watch over one another in love.’” (p 76) Who’s your next Timothy or your next Mary in your area of influence? These number twos will not just do the work, but they lead the work, and will take the ministry to the next level with great humility, joy, and love. Jesus never sent out disciples one at a time, but rather two, or three, or 70. My colleague at Asbury UMC in Lafayette, Louisiana coached us to always surround ourselves with people who would die for you and know where all the bodies are buried. You laugh, but you know what she’s talking about. Not just taskmasters, but those who get the big picture and arrive early, stay late, take out the trash because it has to be done. Humility abounds and enjoys the company of other Jesus guys and gals. Is your leadership so trustworthy that number twos can find you, can trust you with confidential info, can grow with you, and you notice each one with great love, compassion, and interest? We are family and we share life, we share laughter, and we share the load. We are brothers and sisters in Christ and we treat one another accordingly. We are better together! Who is on your team?

See you here next week with kidmin thoughts on the final two virtues. Which of the virtues mentioned so far are the easiest to implement? The most difficult?

“Methodists are people of the revival tent and the warm heart that John Wesley spoke of and inspired in others.” 8 Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches, pg 73

Matt Miofsky, founding and lead pastor of The Gathering, a multisite United Methodist congregation in St. Louis, Missouri, came to North Georgia recently to present an education opportunity for church leaders. Dear colleagues made sure I heard about what he taught and made sure I had the material. I’ve been drinking from the fire-hose every since.

If an organization is healthy, it’s growing. Matt Miofsky co-authored the book Eight Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches with Jason Byassee. Jason Byassee is the Butler Chair in Homiletics and Biblical Interpretation at Vancouver School of Theology.  He previously served as senior pastor of Boone United Methodist Church, a 1500-member congregation in Boone, NC. The accounts shared in the book give insight to some commonalities of the culture and vision of today’s successful church planters. Knowing where the local church sits in today’s culture, the authors remind us, “We are all church planters now.” Find my thoughts on the first two virtues as it relates to children’s ministry here.

Virtue #3 – Rapidly Growing Churches love the local

“Christianity is a local story.” (p 39) Not everyone is born in the area where they are in ministry, but it helps. There are plenty of anecdotes in this chapter where the successful church planter is ‘from these parts.’ They know people, places, history, and have immediate connections. But if not, we can get our ‘extrovert’ on and dive deeply into the community with a maniacal work ethic. Do that dashboard research and make quick, deep, personal connections with people at lunches, coffees, in businesses, schools, governmental meetings, table life. We meet and we meet and we meet and we meet…in the community. I have served the Lord in multiple capacities of professional ministry in four local churches in the Atlanta-Marietta district. I know what families live with, live on, live for, and have lived through in this area of North Georgia. I raised my family here.  I know the local politics and local politicians. I know the systems, the traffic patterns, and deep-dive into the lives of those I serve alongside. Love the local community where God invites you and learn the history of how they came to be. Someone wants to meet, do it. Someone wants to chat on the phone, do it. “We have to love those places (where we’re called to serve), or spend our time and energy learning to do so.” (p 38) 

Virtue #4 – Rapidly Growing Churches exist to reach the next person

“What good is a revivalist sect if you’re not reviving anybody?” (p 44) Evangelism is introducing people to Jesus: talking about Him, sharing testimonies of His presence and faithfulness, and telling His stories as family stories followed up with, “Do you know my Jesus?” Our entire faith is based on an historical fact. It’s not intuitive, so we must tell the story of Jesus. We tell the accounts of Jesus then and Jesus now, then invite people to make Him Lord of their lives. In children’s ministry, we must talk Jesus every time, every week, every day. When we share the gospel of Jesus, we share what we know to be good news, indeed. “Jesus is the sort of good news you can’t keep unless you give it away.” (p 52) Evangelism should permeate all we do with energy, joy, hope, and compassion. Invite kids to believe in Jesus. Invite kids to follow Jesus. Invite kids to become more like Jesus in their world, their school, their family, on their ball or dance team. When we model this invitation to know Jesus with a ‘come to’ rather than a ‘join us’, we are looking for new friends to share life with. Are we building Jesus’ tribe?

We are halfway there. More to come next week.

“Churches naturally drift toward what they like and what has worked for them in the past. Like throwing a leaf in a river, the natural movement is downstream. Thinking of new people takes constant and relentless effort – it is like walking upstream.” (p 51)

Matt Miofsky, founding and lead pastor of The Gathering, a multisite United Methodist congregation in St. Louis, Missouri, came to North Georgia last week to present an education opportunity for church leaders. I was unable to go, but dear friends called me immediately afterwards to chat about what they heard and one gifted me with the books discussed. As a student of church culture and a satisfied customer of the local church, I began reading Eight Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches as soon as I got home because, in the words of the author, “We are all church planters now.” (p xviii)

In elementary science class we learned how healthy things grow, but not all growth is healthy. Same goes for the local church. The anecdotes shared by the authors are not intended as a blueprint for church growth, but hearing the stories of successful church planters of today these common virtues can’t be denied nor ignored. As Methodists, we are known as a revivalist movement. We are accustomed to breaking barriers, engaging in holy habits, disagreeing in love, gathering in community, and serving the marginalized. With all that in mind, the testimonies of the various United Methodist planters quoted in the book speak loud and clear for today. I’ll cover two here and two each week as it relates to children’s ministry.

Can I put out the challenge that if it’s good for children, it’s good for everybody? Just sayin’.

Virtue #1 – Rapidly Growing Churches believe in miracles and act accordingly

God is indeed working miracles in our midst. We have no idea what the children will do with their love for Jesus, but I know of the miracles that it has taken for some of their parents to be here.  “Acting as if the Spirit is moving changes everything.” (p 3). Praying fervently, specifically, and boldly can get us moving in the right direction. I am one of those miracles. I know the stories of some of my parents and they are those miracles. I need to remind them they are and call how they are claiming their kid’s lives for Jesus as a priority and call it the miracle it is.  “Rapidly growing churches have figured out how to not only take risks but also deal with failure in a way that does not thwart future bold decisions.” (pg 11) My home church where I received excellent ministry training from amazing clergy and lay folk was never afraid of taking risks. We’d try something, set the goals, debrief afterward with a clear look at what worked, wipe off the table what didn’t, and share how to edit to move forward. It wasn’t personal, but it had to be fruitful. We did ministry in love and with only one fear: the fear we would disappoint the Holy Spirit which led us to do ministry in the first place.

Virtue #2 – Rapidly Growing Churches integrate new people quickly

Deep in our Methodist DNA is an order, a method, to organize discipleship with Christian education alongside service. We must be great at assimilation, helping a guest to know the path for growing as a deeply committed follower of Jesus. We do this in relationships in small groups, around tables not rows, and in community. People need an organized plan. Children need an organized discipleship plan. Children go through multiple developmental stages from 0-5^th grade. We can’t depend on them ‘catching’ their faith.  We need a plan for developmentally appropriate faith formation experiences in Christian education and the systems in place to move everyone through their next steps. We are in partnership with parents and grandparents. When a child is baptized, we vow to ‘so order our lives in the example of Christ….’  We are not event planners, but rather disciple-makers and we can provide families with the next steps to ‘so order their families’ to love their kids to Jesus. “The question in Methodism is not ‘When were you saved?;’ it’s ‘How are you growing in grace just now?”  (p 20) “Assimilating people as disciples has to be our primary focus.” (p 22) The local church can do many things, but our marching orders are to ‘make disciples of Jesus Christ.’

More to come next week!

“Rapidly growing churches are like ducks. They look placid on the water. But underneath they’re paddling like crazy!” (p 17)