This week’s guest blogger is Hannah Harwood, Director of Children’s Ministries serving the families of Sam Jones United Methodist Church in Cartersville, Georgia, a suburb of the Greater Atlanta area.

I had the incredible blessing of being able to participate in an online Bible Study this summer on the book of Acts. I felt as if it had a lot of relevant lessons to teach us as the Church is navigating through COVID 19. One of the areas that stood out to me was the amount of traveling that Paul and the early church did to make disciples and share the good news of Jesus. What if I applied that same concept to Children’s Ministry? What if instead of the children traveling to me, I traveled to them?

During the month of August, we invited our families to host a Popsicles and Praise Pop-in. First, we set it up in our church’s registration program to invite families to host the Popsicles & Praise Pop-ins. We asked our host families to sign up for a morning or afternoon session on the date of their choice. We provided several different date opportunities. Each session consisted of praise music, a specialized lesson, and fun activities right in their own front yard. Social distancing was incorporated into the fun.

With our current curriculum we use for kid’s worship, we offered a lesson with supplies in individual brown bags which included a clipboard, construction paper, coloring sheet, set of four crayons, leftover VBS bracelets, and a special light since the lesson was about Abraham. We also provided poster board, post-it notes, hula hoops, a pool noodle, a fun umbrella, and popsicles. The umbrella provided shade so the musical guest who traveled with me didn’t have to stand in the sun.

Each parent/host was responsible for obtaining signed permission forms and the kids brought a towel to sit on. The host family provided the front yard and invited friends from the neighborhood. We noticed how several families had chosen a couple of friends, cousins, and neighbors they felt comfortable being around to socialize during COVID-19, so the host family would invite them to the Popsicles & Praise Pop-in. We did ask that numbers would not exceed 10 children per location to ensure social distancing during the lesson. The host family let us know the exact number a couple days before the event.

I arrived at the host families’ house about thirty minutes early to meet with the family and setup each area. Every student got their own hula hoop and bag of supplies. My Senior Pastor was one of my volunteers and brought his guitar to open up the service with music. With a lesson on Abraham, of course we had to play “Father Abraham”.

We started with a couple of songs and followed it with our lesson. After the lesson, we passed out yummy popsicles. The entire program lasted between 30-40 minutes. The parents enjoyed the time of fellowship and the kids loved getting to see everyone. 

Hannah Harwood is a wife, mom, and loves her coffee. Hannah can be contacted by emailing hharwood@samjonesumc.org.

“Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.'” Acts 15:36

The Sunday school hour is a priority. It’s when children are involved in large group, then break up into developmentally-appropriate small groups by grade. If we run a ‘special’ on a Sunday, it always happens at the Sunday school hour because I want families to get into a new habit of joining us during that time. If Sunday school is a priority, then we want to do something memorable for the first Sunday school of the season. My colleague and dear friend, Katie Atcheson, who also leads ministry with children is part of our children’s ministry network in North Georgia and the POP INTO SUNDAY SCHOOL was her original idea. Thanks for sharing, Katie!

We prepared parent packets similar to what families receive when they go to their kid’s school for meet & greet. Ours included: school year calendar, parent/family interest survey to be completed and returned (family info and ways to serve in the ministry this year…think: parent volunteer list similar to what families get at meet & greet again), God Loves Your Family brochure, postcard for upcoming Glee Club & Cherub Choir open house, and pop-rocks (thanks for popping into Sunday school).

We had jars of Ring Pops and Mini Tootsie Pops for kids on Sunday as well as lined the main hallways with 1/2″ 24X250 (ordered two rolls) bubble wrap. When you step on it, it sounds like firecrackers! Can’t help but step on it. Can’t help but laugh. Can’t help but be surprised! I actually got an email from the church receptionist when it was delivered by Uline.com that the bubble wrap was too big for the church office door! We didn’t need all of it, so we cut the remainder into strips for the kids to pop upon arrival while in the Children’s Welcome Center.

The sounds of the kids popping and laughing were better than I imagined. It was noisy and made the morning a very special way to begin a new season of Sunday school. What did you do to begin a new year?

“Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story.” Acts 11:4

Everything I’ve ever done effectively has been within the community of a small group. From the local PTA to Bible study to my accountability group, I’m a better wife, mother, employee, coach, citizen, disciple of Jesus because of the efforts of sharing life in small groups. This is beyond chatting around a table. I’m talking REALLY sharing a season of life as friends-in-the-Lord or people-in-community-with-a-shared-goal. Though Jesus started the gospel of Matthew with a large group at the Sermon on the Mount, it’s what was discussed and wrestled to the ground in small group that made the content come to life, over time.

The most recent research coming out is telling us that the days of stadium preaching the gospel is giving way to sharing the gospel life in small groups. We can get great preaching and teaching beyond the 11am Sunday sanctuary ‘in our hands’ and ‘in our earbuds’, but small groups in our backyards, front porches, and parking lots is going to be the place to be for the local church’s message of the gospel to be effective as invitational, hospitable, relational, and necessary to grow in Godly wisdom and pass on our faith in Christ. It may be old school, but the local churches doing it well with systems and pre-discipleship will be schooling the ones who don’t.

I’m not responsible for small groups in my local church. I’m not even on the team that gets to have those conversations. So what can I do knowing a healthy small group system is effective ministry in my local church? I can have face-to-face conversations in the hallway, at the lunch table, and online before-hand. I toss out ideas and start conversations and ask questions. I’m interested in how others are keeping their minds on Jesus. I pray the Lord will let me show interest in how others are ‘small grouping’ in their context and within my own local church. I consider this pre-discipleship.

Pre-discipleship is walking directly into the obstacles and hurdles that stand in the way of the disciples of Jesus who want to grow in their faith in community, but are unable to because they’ve already decided their family commitments by the time we tell them what we’re doing.  Just because we announce it won’t make it a win. Christianity is fundamentally a text-based religion based on an historical event: Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Everything else we wrestle with, think about, discuss, practice, respond, experiment in devotional practices so that we grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man in community guided by the Holy Spirit. Yeah, but how do we fit it all in?

James Bryan Smith writes in The Good and Beautiful Life, “We live at the mercy of what we think about. What we think, determines how we live.” My families have way too much consuming their minds, but we can help if we prepare the way in pre-discipleship. Recalling the Bible account of the boy and his lunch feeding the 5,000 by the hands of Jesus, it was the boy’s Mama who prepared the way by making his lunch that morning.

Okay, enough about the why and the fruitfulness. Here are a few thoughts on how to keep the pre-discipleship conversations going….

Make it convenient – Think of ten people you’d like to know better and begin asking, “Hey, I’d like to spend more time getting to know you. If you were to be in a small group this fall, are days or evenings more convenient for you? I’m not asking you for a commitment right now, just trying to figure out what is the best timing for you.”

Make it relevant – What’s happening right now?

1.  The Chosen TV series – This series is free on my phone with The Chosen app, I can throw it on my Roku tv for the family from my phone, and Season 1 is on DVD. For those folks who don’t like that it’s not ‘true to the Bible’ in every scene, remember that it’s not a documentary. But IT WILL start some great conversations with anybody no matter where they are on their journey. It’s a great story! Our culture is made up of image-driven beings and we can use this well-done resource for some powerful conversations. They’ve put out an interactive Bible study on season 1 which has some great discussion questions. In the words of one of my local church saints, “Three good discussion questions make for a fabulous small group.” Families could watch the episode on their own, then come together for sacred conversation.  Intergenerational conversations. Another local church I know is doing this and rotating homes, locations, for a summer ‘pop-in’ small group. This could easily be rolled out church-wide.
2. Current sermon series – If your clergy team provides a sermon series, it’s low-hanging fruit to pull the livestream section from the YouTube channel and provide three good discussion questions on both social media and in-person. It’ll get the whole church talking about the series. Kidmin champions can locate an already-done-well video clip to make the content more developmentally appropriate for the littles and again, easy inclusion for intergenerational sacred conversations and makes mom and dad or grandparents the best sacred coaches.
3. Think of an August or September start up to the time change for your season. When the time changes, it’s dark earlier and it takes everyone longer to get from point A to point B. I live in the Greater Atlanta area so factoring in time and traffic are constant considerations.

Make it a partnership for a season – Plan to co-lead a small group. You’ll make a new friend or enjoy a deeper friendship with an old friend. Then, don’t take over! Be a full-on participant, but with keys. Count to 10 before you jump in. Listen a lot. Ask more questions than make statements. Support the small group by making room reservations and promoting it like you’re recruiting for VBS. I’ve discovered that when people are personally invited to be in your small group, your small group will either have enough to make OR you’ll learn why it won’t (inconvenient day/time, too long, too short, the subject matter isn’t relevant right now no matter how good the material is.)

With post-COVID culture, I’ve pulled out Chris Surratt’s Small Groups For The Rest Of Us: How to design your small-groups system to reach the fringes from Next Leadership Network. If ever there was a time to reach the fringes, it’s now.

“Everyone needs community, and we have to make it easy for them to find it.” – Chris Surratt, Small Groups For the Rest of Us

It is an ugly, awful, terribly misguided myth that churches can’t grow during the summer. Don’t listen to it. Don’t buy into it. Don’t settle for it. Summer is the perfect time to try new things, change up each week, and be so invitational it makes your hospitality team wonder where you came from.

Summer Sundays should not just pass, but be intentionally celebrated. Making each Sunday a special event builds energy and helps people feel they belong to something alive and relevant. We’ll be taking advantage of our 2021 Summer of Sundays to serve a state of celebration in Children’s Ministry. We make a place to serve alongside the Gaga Ball Pit at our McEachern Kids entrance as families linger up to an hour after our 11am services.

May 23 – Pentecost Sunday – wear red to church.

May 30 – First Sunday of summer – serve Chick-Fil-A lemonade (pick it up on Saturday!)

June 6 – National YoYo Day – yoyo exhibition and skills with a yoyo with our kid’s logo.

June 13 – Celebrate National Ice Tea Day 6/10 – serve peach tea (we’re in Georgia!)

June 20 – Pops With Pops Father’s Day – popsicles & Father’s Day photo booth

June 27 – National Sunglasses Day – It’s cool to be at church! So wear your sunglasses (we’ll provide sunglasses) & Kona Ice Truck

July 4 – Independence Day – wear red, white & blue

July 11 – National Blueberry Muffin Day – mini blueberry muffins

July 18 – National Ice Cream Day – ice cream truck available for purchase and tickets which are given to all children’s ministry volunteers throughout the entire year

July 25 – Celebrate National Day of the Cowboy (7/24) – wear your cowboy gear & we’ll rodeo

August 1 – Let’s Roll – bring your wheels and helmets for Wild Worship & Wheels

August 8 – Promotion Sunday: Welcome Home!

Signing up at nationaltoday.com gives a great list of national and international dates to celebrate.

Each Special Summer Sunday provides an opportunity to celebrate as a family of faith. It is not my habit to let each Sunday just run into another. Nor is it my habit of thinking that people take the summer off from church. Never has. Never will. Whenever I can provide a memorable church experience for the littles, their bigs can enjoy the conversations started beyond the, “Did you have fun?”

“He who gathers in summer is a prudent son…” Proverbs 10:5

The Rock Solid 5th Grade Retreat offers developmentally appropriate teaching and practice for students completing elementary school to build a rock solid faith through the holy habits of worship, prayer, study, and play as they prepare to move into middle and high school. I was a co-leader for the prayer station. My partner used yoga mats and body prayers. I offered self-directed stations with a short debrief at the conclusion.

Introductory teaching: Prayer is communicating with God. The best way for God to communicate with us is through the Bible. The way we best communicate with God is through prayer. God gave us five gifts to help us experience the world He created and to keep us safe. These were the stations using those five gifts based on Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Sight – Glow stick bracelets

Say a blessing prayer for someone by name, then give them a bracelet. Be willing to receive prayer from someone else only responding, “Thank you.”

Jesus asked his friends, “Watch and pray.” Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38; Luke 21:36

Smell – Silence/deep breaths

Just be with God, light an LED candle, sit on (or near) the towel, and stay until you are tapped on the shoulder to move on.

I added  a healthy sprinkle of peppermint essential oils to the towel often to have the scent as part of the space.

God’s favorite smell is our prayers. Psalm 141:2 “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.”   

Touch – Ask forgiveness for your wrongs, your hurts, your expectations, your words.

Recite the CONFESSION AND PARDON.

Merciful God,
I confess that I have not loved you with my whole heart.
I have failed to be an obedient church.
I have not done your will,
I have broken your law,
I have rebelled against your love,
I have not loved my neighbors,
and I have not heard the cry of the needy.
Forgive me, I pray.
Free me for joyful obedience,
through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

Tie a ribbon onto the frame as a remembrance that Jesus took the punishment for our sins. If you confess (agree with God) your sins, God is faithful and just (fair) and will forgive you.

God does not remember our repented sins, but we do so that we repent/turn away from them to love God with our whole heart for our whole lives.

“If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just (fair) and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Hear – Pray the 23^rd Psalm from bookmark  aloud while walking a track around 2 orange cones

“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Think beyond the moment, but the future. God and you can use anything and everything you face to help someone else.

Don’t despair. Ex: Judas…if he’d just waited one more day! Pray aloud even when you don’t feel it….it’ll remind you until you do.

In the debrief I share they will hear this scripture at various remarkable moments of Christian lives like funerals, births, prayer nights, help, etc. The bookmark I found was a King James Version so I shared that it was the first Bible financed by King James in the year 1611 to be mass produced through the printing press and explained the old English words which were appropriate at that time.

Taste – Dumdum lollipop

Read a proverb each day for the day of the month. Today is the 17^th, so read Proverbs 17 from your own Bible.

Proverbs are wise sayings, not truths, but can help you along your way…will help you live like Jesus growing “in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52

In debrief, I shared testimony of students who read a proverb every night before they go to bed or each when they rise each morning while in middle school/high school.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8

Debrief

• God has equipped you with 5 senses: tools to stay safe & enjoy the world He created. When we don’t know what or how to pray/communicate with Him, we can use our five senses.
• Go with what you know and not with how you feel. This is what you know: YOU are a beloved child of God, created by God, for Jesus, to bring good into the world.
• Sing an echo benediction: “Do not be afraid, God is with you, Everywhere you go, God is there.” (Thank you, Mark Burrows). Do not be afraid/fear not …. 366 times…one for every day of the year.

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

There are seasons when the decision-making takes on such a rapid pace that it helps to write a few down for accountability and clarity. Here are a few decisions I made last week:

Lead a small group in 2021
The church needs more teachers today to share the journey of following Jesus. Not more content, but rather coaches who can engage in robust conversation over the scriptures. I’ve partnered with a younger mom to co-lead James Bryan Smith’s A Good and Beautiful God. We will learn and practice weekly soul training which will direct us to become more like Jesus, not just learn about Him. We start on Thursday, January 20 at 11:30am-1pm to specifically target our preschool families and will offer it on zoom on Wednesday nights for our non-preschool friends.

Hang up only what is important
One of my bucket list items for Mr. Bob to consider retirement to do something different was to have the inside of our home painted…even the closets. What a hot mess! But I love our new alabaster white walls. As I rummage through the piles of what came off of our walls and out of the closets, we’re not putting up everything we took down. A whole lot is going into the basement because we are in a different season of life. Without going all Marie Kondo, we are only putting up what brings us joy, is a major part of our story, and what we want our grandchildren to recall as visual memories of Mimi & Pop’s house as they grow older. 

Stay the course in healthy habits as I follow that yonder star
I lost almost 100 pounds during quarantine. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I made a decision last January to be ready for whatever God had in store for me next, but I desperately needed to get healthy in my body, heart, and in my head. A friend who got healthy several years ago and kept it off coached me through a program which would compliment my schedule, my calling, and my temperament with some quick wins and a community of like-minded pilgrims. I made my own sausage for that Thanksgiving dressing with sour dough bread rather than white bread. I’m able to take stairs without needing oxygen and feeling much better about my testimony.

Pursue leading a podcast
Following beaucoup promptings and affirmations from my tribe, I will put out a podcast in the new year. Edited to less than 20 minutes, I want to hear how YOU are loving kids and families to Jesus in your local church and in the ultimate small group = your family. A silver, sparkly composition book is filling with practical ideas, names of children’s ministry champions serving in the trenches of the local church as well as those serving their families as grandparents prioritizing the sharing of their faith with their grands, and needs. “For with God, nothing is impossible.” Luke 1:37a

What decisions will you be making as you prepare for moving forward in your next steps of discipleship and serving your local church?

“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5

 

This we know: everyone decorates for the Christmas holidays with their own family treasures. Even my friend who only tapes a Little Debbie Christmas Tree to her kitchen counter hangs something up to celebrate. Why not add a sacred and fun way to celebrate the hanging of the greens at home for littles and their bigs? Using a Canva template, we prepared a paper guide for Hanging Of The Greens At Home. Along with an Advent pop-up calendar, our families are ready to celebrate! 

Hanging of the Greens is the time we decorate our homes for the season of Advent and Christmas. As you prepare your home spaces for the coming of the holidays, let us prepare our hearts and minds to remember Jesus is the reason for the season.

Christmas tree
Say: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!
Read aloud: When we set up this tree the Holy Spirit reminds us to keep growing in our knowledge of Jesus who came as a baby to save the world.
All: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!

Wreath
Say: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!
Read aloud: When we hang this wreath the Holy Spirit reminds us that God’s love is ’round about His people.
All: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!

Candle
Say: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!
Read aloud: When we light this candle the Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world.
All: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!

Nativity set
Say: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!
Read aloud: When we see this nativity the Holy Spirit reminds us that God chose ordinary people to do extraordinary things to tell people about Jesus.
All: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!

Special decoration
Say: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!
Read aloud: When we set up this special Christmas decoration the Holy Spirit reminds us to tell our special family stories of how Jesus has loved us. (Share the story of why this decoration is so special).
All: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!

Special snack or beverage
Say: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!
Read aloud: When we come to the table to eat and drink the Holy Spirit reminds us to taste and see that the Lord is good.
All: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Lord Jesus!

Everyone sings: Joy to the World, the Lord has come.
Let earth receive her king.
Let every heart prepare Him room.
Let heaven and nature sing, let heaven and nature sing,
Let heaven and heaven and nature sing.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7

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

Recruiting and family engagement has taken on a whole new level of relationship-building. Or has it? Motivated by a spirit of compassion, love, ‘we are still in this together’, and a respect of how each person will live out their call to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, AND love their neighbors as themselves, we proposed a Chill & Chat About McEachern Kids (MK).

Promotional Vocabulary: Children learn best to love Jesus by spending time with people who love Jesus. That’s you! McEachern Kids Dream Team’s training with Tropical Cafe’ smoothies will be on Wednesday, July 22 5:30pm-7pm.
Bring your camp chair and we’ll gather at the McEachern Kids entrance to CHILL & CHAT about the many different opportunities to serve Jesus on the McEachern Kids leadership team and have some fun.
This is for you if you’re all in, if you want to get more connected, and even if you’re just curious and unsure of making the commitment to serve when we open our doors to in-person gathering in The Treehouse.
For more information, contact dreilly@mceachernumc.org.
RSVP at…

We ordered Sunrise smoothies from the local Tropical Smoothie and with camp chair in-hand, we set up outside with appropriate social distancing. Everyone got a smoothie, a pen, a copy of the calendar hot off the presses, and an index card. The index card was to write notes to me of thoughts, ideas, concerns, dreams for MK. Earlier in the day I’d sent a text to everyone in my phone asking a set of 3+3 questions: What 3 things do you LOVE about MK? What 3 things do you WISH for MK? Our new senior pastor had asked these same questions of the staff as part of his on-boarding. My phone blew up all day with responses. Those who couldn’t respond by text and those who popped in out of mere curiosity were able to follow up with emails to the 3+3 later or write them on the index card and leave the cards in a basket for me to review after the meeting.

I’d asked two servant leaders to take notes and one to take pictures.

We chatted about small groups and tossed ideas onto the table for returning to in-person children’s programming beginning on Labor Day Sunday. We chatted about looking into the next 2.5 years. We chatted about Faith Milestones, Parenting with a Purpose classes, why we chose how we did Drive-in and Drive-thru, Christmas Eve children’s services, what CLUB345 and GLEE Club could look like. I shared stories of why we would start Grandparenting with a Purpose classes and what Camp Chair Meetings to come in September and October will look like. This team is the first to hear about Camp Chair Meetings so I needed to be clear and begin stirring much energy as they are the connectors to spread the word much better than a social media campaign could ever do. We took a tour of the Children’s Ministry spaces inside the building for the first-timers and first-lookers explaining the staging chaos for Drive-in services with the Ambassadors present telling their stories of the spaces and taking pics. “This is my favorite supply closet. This is where Ms. DeDe stores the snacks and especially the Rice Krispie Treats!,” shared by the fabulous Miss Olivia who started as an Ambassador and is now an MK intern. 

Then the ask: Would you prayerfully consider serving on the McEachern Kids servant leader team next year?

Let’s get this party started!

“Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!” Matthew 23:32