When the matriarch of the Bull family passed away in the 1990s, my cousins came upon some great discoveries. One was a chest-of-drawers with the top drawer filled with quarters, the second drawer filled with dimes, the third drawer with nickels, and the bottom drawer with buttons. I have no idea what happened to the top three drawers, but my Virginia cousins sent the buttons to me.

Teaching weekday preschool at my local church, buttons were a hot commodity and a great addition to my classroom. My cousins also sent to me a box of Sunday School pictures of Jesus that I treasure and hung on the walls in my classroom.

After many years in the weekday preschool classroom, I had to step out of teaching every day because of some medical issues with my vocal chords. I gave away most of my classroom supplies to help some new teachers and kept a few things for workshop visuals. But I was in a quandary of what to do with the buttons since I did not want to pack them away in the basement. I really wanted a way to enjoy them.

So, discovering some wire among my craft supplies, I started to string them and made 18-24 inch strings of these beautiful buttons. A lot of them. And we hang them on our Christmas tree every year.

My Grandma Bull married late, had 5 children, and raised them all on a dairy farm, hence my LOVE for cheese. She wasted nothing. Before she would discard a shirt, blouse, or other piece of clothing, she’d snip the button off just in case she needed it. Over the course of all those years, she snipped buttons from her husband’s Merchant Marine uniforms, church dresses from two little girls who chased their precocious older brothers, and work shirts of her three sons to make future repairs.

I really have no idea who wore what, when, how, or where. But each year, as we hang this precious garland, I think of my Aunt Weegie, Uncle John, Aunt Mary Anna, Uncle Eddie, and my Daddy. I recall the stories they told about each other around the tables after meals. I remember the loud voices (we do loud extremely well), the competitions, and the laughter (if we talk loud, imagine the decibel level of the laughter). And I praise God for time, words, and the stories that have shaped my perspective, given me a history, and prepared me for connection.

In Playing for Keeps: What You Do This Week Matters, Reggie Joiner and Kristen Ivey wrote, “Stories matter…they provide kids with the relational, cultural, and spiritual context to shape their perspectives about God, Faith, Values, and Life…Stories are just another one of God’s brilliant ideas to connect us to what really matters.”

Each Christmas, Grandma Bull’s buttons remind me annually to be sure I share family stories with my kids…the ones I gave birth to and the ones I serve.

“Sing to Him; sing praise to Him; tell about all His wonderful works!”  1 Chronicles 16:9

This was originally posted in December 2013. Seemed timely to share today, Christmas Day, 2018. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Catching up at a wedding with a fellow preschool teacher from way back, she let me know that she has retired. When I asked her when she knew it was time, she responded, “I knew it was time to retire when I didn’t want to learn anything new.”

Alrighty, then! If that’s the benchmark, I am SO not anywhere near there.

I learned so much in 2018 from a whole host of platforms. Let me share with you my Top 3 of 2018 from 3 go-to platforms that has changed who I started as in January into who I am at the end of 2018. They each essentially rocked my world!

Podcasts

The Sustainable Ministry Show presented by Ministry Architects – all about processes for everyone serving on staff in a local church from budgeting to major event notebooks to pruning ministry and more. This is for ANY ministry!

MyCom Church Marketing Podcast presented by United Methodist Communications – all about marking your ministry inside and outside your local church; ideas for ‘throwing seed’ to reach communities. Be intentional about working smarter, not harder. And short!

Set Apart Girl podcast by Leslie Ludy – this Jesus gal needs the words of wisdom from missionaries, saints of the faith, and the scriptures. I was introduced to Leslie Ludy as an author when my now-adult daughter was in high school and she is the real deal.

Books

Sustainable Children’s Ministry – for this ‘people and process’ girl, Annette Safstrom and Mark DeVries lay out in one place how to set up sustainable systems beneath the unforgettable moments of children’s ministry.

Irresistible – Andy Stanley presents a history of the Bible and how we got it for the sole purpose of reclaiming the ‘new’ in the New Testament. The people of God serve a ‘mobile, inhabiting, Spirit God’…think tabernacle, not temple…and that’s just the beginning! Still chewing on this one.

Messy Church – Lucy Moore puts forth a goal of building a fresh expression of community rather than accomplishing tasks in discipleship for the little people and families in the ministry I lead.  McEachern Kid’s Messy Family Christmas is the direct result of how that would look in the local church I serve. More to come on this one especially on 2019’s upcoming fifth Sundays.

People

McEachern Kids Servant-Leader Team –The joy of the Lord has a gravity all its own. The team of Jesus Guys & Gals who invite me into their lives to do the work of ministry with joy and wonder make my eyes tear up and my chin quiver. These are prayerful, hard-working, hilarious, sold-out disciples of Jesus! Jesus never sent out His disciples to ‘do the work’ one at a time, but two, three, and up to 70. And OH, the stories! A year under my belt at McEachern and I am as excited for what God has in store for us together as I was when I answered the call into professional ministry more than 20 years ago.

Staff-Parish Relations & My Senior Pastor – The epitome of folks buying into the vision you bring to the table is to offer assistance in ramping it up. Beginning in January, McEachern Kids will be blessed with the Marvelous Ms. Misty for 15-20 hours each week. Praying for ‘more’, then letting the Lord decide what ‘more’ looks like for the last 8 months. The support of a senior pastor and the staff-parish relations team can make or break your spirit of, “Yes!”. I pray for them. They pray for me. We don’t serve for ‘atta-girls’, but to be heard, encouraged, and equipped by the SP & SPR can give strength when you’re weary and courage when you’re…well, not courageous.

Atlanta-Marietta District Children’s Ministry Networking Group – We’ve met monthly for almost 20 years. Some of the faces have changed, but they feed my soul, make me laugh my head off, talk me off my ledge of crazy, and throw seed (think parable of the Seed & the Sower) like confetti. Kate and I went to the Holy Lands in February with Jesus action figures and started Faith Field Trips last summer. We’ve already met to plan Summer 2019. Sarah is the best story-teller and we connect in mini-meetings at Annual Conference like the true extroverts we are in our little corner of the auditorium. Kelly will be leading our first Wonderfully Made faith and sexuality event for the 5^th & 6^th graders in our district which I get to host. One is a super volunteer who brings her broken heart until she heals well enough to dock at a new port. Been there. Done that. Rebecca came to networking lunch on her first day back from maternity leave, and we ALL know what her office and in-box must look like. Michelle just started on church staff three months ago.

What are you reading? Who are you listening to? Who are your people?

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Charlie Tremendous Jones

This week’s guest blogger is Hannah Harwood, Children’s Ministry Director at Sam Jones United Methodist Church located in Cartersville, Georgia. To connect with Hannah, you can contact her at hharwood@samjonesumc.org.

Our Club 345 ministry targets our 3rd-5th graders. We had presented a God’s Princess Party in the Spring and several of our boys had asked when it was going to be their turn to have their own event. We decided to have a Nerf War and scheduled it for Veteran’s Day. They were so excited but had several questions. What will we do? What do I bring? How can we play Nerf War in CHURCH? It is not very often that boys get told they can run in church.

My first step was to reach out to other area churches through our networking group. Two other churches lent me their Nerf guns to use for the afternoon. My second step was to reach out to Dads to invite them to volunteer and to ask one of our church’s veterans to speak to the young boys at our event. There is a wealth of information on the Armor of God and Nerf War events on different blog entries and websites. I found two websites that had information I thought would be perfect for our event. The first one included a way to tie Scripture and Veteran’s Day into a fun game of Capture the Flag. I also used an activity from this site and this site.

Set-up
At the welcome table I set up our release forms and two different colors of bandannas. We had a yellow team and a red team. Inside our snack room, I had tables with tablecloths of each team color, the guns I had borrowed, and safety glasses that I had ordered from Amazon for each child. The safety goggles were a huge MUST. Each team had flags made from pillowcases. When they arrived they were given a color and had a chance to sign their team’s flag. One of the boys actually asked if we could use the same flags each year so that we could see the teams every year (loved that idea!). Our Senior Pastor even had a Knight in Shining Armor that he let us borrow that we used as a photo prop for team pictures.

In the main room, we had two different sides. Each side had a base with canvas draped over two tables and a circle of chairs of that team’s base. In the middle each side had tables put on their sides with tablecloths in their individual colors. I had gotten black trick or treat buckets after Halloween that held Nerf bullets for each team. I had also ordered 400 Nerf bullets from Amazon.

Schedule
2:45-3:10 Photo Booth, decorate team flags, and get guns and glasses
3:10-3:20 Go over rules and point system
3:20-3:50 Capture the Flag
3:50-4:15 Snacks and Speaker
4:15-4:45 Shield of Faith activity
4:45-5:00 Clean up and Points tally​
As each child arrived, they were alternately given a color of team which helped the boys make new friends. We ended up playing Capture the Flag three times but the boys would have continued playing that all day. During our lesson time, we used a lesson from Children’s Ministry Deals on the Armor of God. Our Veteran not only led the lesson but also taught the boys how he used to get his patrol to listen up when he was about to tell them something very important. The boys were mesmerized. During our Shield of Faith activity, we had each boy write on sticky notes three things that worry them or keep them from God and put them inside their bullets. They had trouble putting the sticky notes into the bullets. Next year we are going to have them wrap the sticky notes around the bullets instead. They took turns holding a shield as a partner shot the shield and then as a group we said, “My trust is in God. No matter what happens, God is with me! I put my faith in THAT!”

Overall it was a great event. One of the churches in our networking group joined us.  At one point, I was talking to an adult about how glad I was that the other church had joined us. They looked confused and replied that they did not realize there were two churches because the boys played so well together. I couldn’t tell who had more fun; the dads or the boys. When each boy left, they were given their team bandanna to remember the new friends they had made and the lesson they had heard from
the day.

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11

Can I get an AMEN for busy schedules, busy kids, busy families, and busy calendars? Advent can ramp it up beyond their control. Let’s be intentional to lessen the calendar burden. Let’s be intentional to lessen the stress of what DOES make the calendar. Let’s be intentional to make some time to actually PLAY. These are a few of my intentional Advent plans:

1. I’m not over-scheduling our families and continuing our focus on Sundays with a Cereal Bar on a Sunday morning, A Hot Chocolate Bar on a Sunday morning, and PopTarts & Pajamas with a Blessing of the Toys for the Sunday following Christmas.

2. I’m going to play with my kids by going Christmas Caroling thanks to someone else taking the point on the big planning.

3. I’m taking the Luke In December challenge. Reading one chapter each day from the Gospel of Luke beginning December 1st through the 24th. There are 24 chapters in the Gospel of Luke which is consideredthe most comprehensive of the Gospels. By Christmas Eve, we can read the when, the who, the how, and the why our sweet Jesus came.

4. Recruiting new team members each Sunday by inviting them to shadow experienced team members. Our numbers are always up during Advent (all the sports and championships are over for the season) which gives us the additional coverage necessary as well as time to train alongside great team members with a critical mass of little people.

5. Soup recipe exchange in our Advent Bible study. This is the time of year when a soup & bread dinner is the perfect ending to a great day.

6. A Pop-up Advent calendar was sent home with our families. I happened to bring one on my visit to my brother’s in Florida. My nine-year-old niece is now daily sending a picture of what she finds in the flap so that I can give her more information about each part of the story through Facebook messenger.

7. A Messy Family Christmas will be our Advent celebration with a plan to replicate a similar event for each of the four 5th Sundays in 2019 during the Sunday school time.

8. Plan to see Mary Poppins at the movies.

9. Collaborations begin for Summer 2019 Faith Field Trips.

What are your intentional Advent plans?

“And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.” 1 John 2:28

Heather and Rev. Ken Hagler have done an amazing job of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the young and the young-at-heart. In their new book No Prep. No Prop. Children’s Sermons: Sermons for People Passionate About Telling Kids About Jesus in a Hurried World, they offer a tool that won’t rest on a shelf. I’ve got a stack of books filled with object lessons and children’s sermons. This one is different. It requires only the best objects necessary to tell children about our wonderful Jesus: You and Jesus.

Heather opens the book with a letter to the reader:
Our hectic pace of life has reached every part of society, including the church. Pastor and church staff are expected to do more in less time. With volunteerism down and congregational expectations on the rise, everyone involved in spreading the Gospel needs help.

Can I get an Amen?!

Anyone who has served in a local church for any length of time knows you need short and sticky sermons in your back pocket. This resource gives you fifty-two which will do just that in 110 short pages. Nine lessons are from the Old Testament and twenty-eight from the New Testament. Like a sweet surprise, the book ends with fifteen lessons to make that special holiday sticky and bring us right back to Jesus.

As I’ve read this great resource and used many of her illustrations I KNOW she’s served in the trenches of the local church as a champion for ministry with children. In fact, Heather served as a day camp leader, VBS coordinator, Sunday school teacher and children’s church leader, and she married a church planter helping others to organize and plan their children’s ministry. These lessons reflect their experiences and their passion for sharing the gospel.

Heather wanted more than anything to share her gift of story telling and love of Jesus with kids and churches.  She wanted to help anyone in ministry with kids to share the Gospel because Jesus meant more to her than anything. – Rev. Ken Hagler, aka Jedi Pastor Ken

I’ve ordered multiple copies of this book which released just yesterday as the #1 New Release in Christian Ministry on Amazon for colleagues and those who volunteer to present the weekly Children’s Moment in my absence. I’m telling you…this book is a gift. Thank you, Pastor Ken for your tenacity to get Heather’s heart and voice into the hands of the local church through No Prep. No Prop. Speaking of gift: today you can download the Kindle version for free.

“Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:4:8a

A plan for Faith Milestones lets families in on specific faith formation practices for their children. Though every mainline church offers the sacrament of Holy Communion, each church practices the sacrament specific to their own house traditions: intinction, kneeling, prayers before AND after, altar rail, in the seat, in the aisle, stations, pita bread, wafers, cups, chalice, etc. With Kindergartners attending the sanctuary during Holy Communion, we want our little people and their families to know the logistics and the why we do what we do as the local church and as a denomination.

Bread and Juice Class invitations printed from vistaprint.com are sent to any K5 and first grader who has passed our doors. A Facebook event is set up so we can share it on social media which reads:
Kindergartners and first graders are invited to a Bread & Juice Class to learn about Holy Communion on Wednesday 11/7 5:45-6:30pm in the Children’s Welcome Center. Parents are invited to stay as they are able. For more information and to RSVP, please contact DeDe Reilly at dreilly@mceachernumc.org or call 404-493-1683.

Supplies:
Chalice
Plate
Paper cups
Pita Bread
Fellowship cups
Welch’s grape juice
Come, Taste the Bread: A Storybook About the Lord’s Supper by Daphna Flegal
Cardstock
Glue sticks
Scissors
Jesus stickers

We gather around tables while the students hold the Fellowship cups and I introduce the items on the table. The Fellowship cups give the students something to hold while we teach and read the account of Jesus sharing with his friends from the Bible. We constantly share “Jesus said, ‘Eat this and remember me.;” or “Jesus said, ‘Drink this and remember me.'”

We eat the different breads. We drink different juices. We tell the story of Mr. Welch coming up with non-alcoholic juice for Holy Communion.

Moving to the craft table, the children cut out circles (we primarily use wafers in our church) and glue them to a piece of card stock above an already cut-out chalice. Then add the Jesus sticker where ever the student wishes because it’s all about remembering Jesus. (Students are better focused when they can move around a room).

We then head back to open the Fellowship cups for a different ‘taste’ while I share a bit about the liturgy of getting our hearts ready to receive communion.

The 45-minute class ends with a story-time of Come, Taste the Bread: A Storybook About the Lord’s Supper and let the students fill in the blanks as a review of what we just shared. We then give out certificates and the students are dismissed. (Upon arrival, parents are invited to write their child’s name on the certificate which is one more way parents participate in the milestone AND the spelling will always be correct).

As United Methodists I share why many UM churches have the tradition of Holy Communion once a month and the UM table is open to everyone who wants to know about Jesus. We are intentional to teach that we ‘receive’ Holy Communion and never ‘take it.’ We also teach the littles how to hold their hands (in the shape of a cross), how to dip the wafer into the juice, and how to get it to their mouths without dropping juice and even what to say in response.

Many of our parents share afterwards how they didn’t know a lot of what was shared with the littles and the class is a helpful reminder of the how and why we share in this sacred moment.

Several new families also attended with older students (I personally invited any new 3rd-5th graders to come as ‘helpers’) so they could also learn.

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19

Inviting 4th and 5th graders to take on leadership tasks is exciting. For them and for me. Training young people to serve and giving them regular practice opportunities builds a culture of service and education. The first Ambassador Class included an invite to all 5th graders and a few 4th graders I knew were ready for the challenge. This year I sent personal invites with follow up emails to all 4th graders and 5th graders and let them make the choice. The first class were all girls. This second class included boys who have since been showing up early on Sunday mornings to take on the setup tasks and they aren’t even scheduled. These students are ready to put their faith into action and I am thrilled to let them know their home church is putting its faith in them to begin taking on places of leadership. The following blog appeared in the fall of 2017 giving all the details. This year we added Tech Ninja training for the sound booth.  What else would you add to your Ambassador Team?

Got the small group of kids who are ready for more? Faithful to Sunday school attendance, but talk about more? Those who take on more than the bare minimums and their families are all-in…would even venture to say some of their parents might even have keys to the building? That’s why we started the Ambassadors.

My bucket of responsibility is Kindergarten through 5th grade. Preparing beautiful postcard invitations from vistaprint.com, invitations were sent to all fifth graders on the rolls. Since I observed leadership skills in some fourth graders in Sunday school, specific invites went to them, as well. 

This was the plan:

5-5:30pm Pizza & Chat Dinner (some parents have quite a commute, so we allowed for traffic time)
Visual Faith Project images: Choose an image that represents a part of your life (a representative) and discussed during Pizza & Chat

“We are Christ’s ambassadors.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

5:30-6:30pm Welcome, Prayer, Game
What is an Ambassador?
Tour of the Children’s Ministry space; tech booth & kiosk training; fill-in-the-blank worksheet; respond on a large post it note

Ambassador – one of the best positions to meet new people and have fun; grow our communication skills (helps you get your ideas heard); leadership) … ambassador…representative…an example…aka a person chosen or appointed to act or speak for another

Tour and walk through the Sunday Morning Setup – carts, check-in kiosks, water, cups, snack, supplies, all classrooms, tech booth, storage, greeting practice

A – Arrive 30 minutes early to assignments (plenty of time to be ready)
M – Mature/Can be trusted (dependable, punctual, enthusiastic without craziness, positive attitude/no complaining)
B – Bible readers (we pour out what we take in; are you reading your Bible regularly and attending weekly Sunday school?)
A – Assist those in our area in a spirit of hospitality (kindness to a stranger) (Hi!, offers hand outs at end of services)
S – Smile (let’s others know you want to be here; makes the best impression on guests and those having a hard time)
S – Set up on Sundays, Tour of the Nativities, special events, weekly guest greeters
A – Assist in the K5 & 1st grade Sunday school classrooms and special events as needed
D – Dress appropriately for the event (flip flops; awards ceremony/representatives; brush your teeth, gum chewing; sneakers; clean)
O – Open the doors…of conversation, of encouragement, and the real doors, too.
R – Respond quickly with kindness; be aware of your surroundings and others

Roles for Ambassadors 1. Partner with kid guests (weekly)
2. Tour of the Nativities (tour guide)
3. Greet & serve new guests and at special events and weekly
4. Set up on Sunday mornings (weekly rotation)
5. Assist in K5 & 1st grade Sunday school (as needed)

The students were asked to consider if they wished to take on such responsibilities at the end of the orientation. If so, they were invited to write their names on the large post-it-note on the wall. They were eager and asked good questions. “Do we have to smile the whole time? My mouth might start to hurt.” (Man! I love these kids!)

The first Sunday following the Ambassador Orientation, many of the Sunday morning tasks were taken on by the Ambassadors without my even knowing it until I saw certain things already taken care of throughout the morning. Leadership opportunities are part of what every student should be able to experience in their home/local church. Jesus believes in them and I want them to know that their church family believes in them, too.

“Building the habit of service at a young age tends to alter the attitudes and expectations of young people, resulting in a lifelong practice of helping others. The younger we instill such a mind-set and lifestyle, the more ingrained they become.” George Barna from Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should Be Your Church’s #1 Priority, page 74

October has been a season for learning. Part 1 gives insight on the Catalyst Leader Conference and the Wonderfully Made Trainer Training. On the third week of October the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church Center for Congregational Excellence presented a one-day event led by Ken Willard entitled, “Creating a Discipleship Pathway for Your Church.” Ken Willard is an outstanding presenter who points us to become coaches helping people take strides forward in their personal and individual spiritual growth.

Though we were once called the ‘Methodist Movement’, we probably aren’t moving from unbelief to belief in every aspect of our lives. Our job as church leaders is to grow disciples for the transformation of the world by equipping individuals to take next steps, or strides, on their spiritual journey through an intentional process of introducing spiritual practices….soul training!

Ken Willard shared eight particular spiritual practices: Prayer & Fasting, Sabbath, Witness, Sunday School/Small Group, Financial Generosity (Tithing/Giving), Serving, Worship, Scripture Reading. He then shared the three which he believes have the greatest tendency to catapult people forward in their faith formation: Scripture Reading, Serving, Financial Generosity. It’s been my experience these are the three we can be very intentional in teaching our littles.

My favorite take-away was the above image we can use as a tool to engage in conversation with individuals for where they are and what next steps in particular spiritual practices they can intentionally begin or move into. Several groups of people came to mind immediately where I can begin to have these spiritual coaching conversations. I left the training with a plan to engage in these ‘next steps’ conversations with my students aging out of Children’s Ministry with ‘next steps’ in the summer, as well as those finishing any study I’m leading. As people complete a

season of engagement, I can intentionally share with them ‘next steps’ to keep these amazing people moving and making strides in their faith.

Discipleship is not a class. Discipleship Coaching is the secret sauce for continuing to move people through their journey. Today, I and another Kidmin Champion are taking two buses of 3rd-5th grade students to a local Monastery for a Faith Field Trip. We will be teaching and practicing several of the spiritual disciplines which will guide each one to continue to take next steps in their faith formation. I so look forward to the coaching conversations to come.

Highlight: Being in the company of a cloud of witnesses who want to make disciples of Jesus Christ so bad they can taste it.

My next steps:
1. Make an appointment to coach a leader in my local church I already have a Kidmin relationship with.
2. Prepare intentional next steps for 5th graders next summer aging out of Children’s Ministry.
3. Prepare and email next steps for the ladies who shared the Bible study we just completed.

When are you setting aside a season for learning? My next season comes after the New Year: A church-bus full of local church leaders in ministry with children will be heading to Orlando for the Children’s Pastor’s Conference in January.

“Teach the wise, and they will become wiser; inform the righteous, and their learning will increase.” Proverbs 9:9

October is a month for learning. The first week was the 2-day Catalyst Conference held in Atlanta. Catalyst is a leadership conference for those who love the church. The theme of ‘Fully Alive’ marked the amazing preaching and teaching from other church leaders and culture movers and shakers:
“I don’t have to figure it all out before I go all out.” – Andy Stanley
“Lead with who you are rather than what you know.” – Miles Adcox
“Comparison either makes you feel better or worse and neither honors God.” – Craig Groeschel
“I can’t please everybody, but I can please God.” – Craig Groeschel
“Grow up! Ministry is not for children or babies.” – Dr. Henry Cloud
“As you discover yourself in a new way on the Enneagram journey, you’ll also find you are paving the way to the wiser, more compassionate person you want to become.” – Ian Morgan Cron (On the Enneagram journey, I’m a 7…which means I don’t like to dwell on Good Friday and every day is Easter. Yep…that’s me.)
“We are not created to be everything for everyone.” – Christine Caine
“Choose what to bomb.” – Jon Acuff (Intentionally decide what you will not worry about.)
“Whatever grows produces energy.” – Dr. Caroline Leaf (lots of research about our mindset…so interesting)
“Most experiences fade. What sticks? Pits and peaks.” – Chip Heath (think college and Disney World)
“Truth without love is harsh. Love without truth is lies.” “Those coming up behind us are not our replacements, they are our reinforcements.” – Lisa Bevere (Be in partnership with those younger than I.)
“My greatest legacy is not to pastor a big church, but to raise children to love the Lord Jesus.” – Choco DeJesus

The greatest insight of the event is that I am one person, created by God with certain (not all) gifts and strengths, called by God to please Him (not everyone) in the local church, and empowered by God to go all out (don’t hold back) in the areas He has given me influence today (be fully alive and fully present.) This event makes me think alongside others who are thinking through the filter of Jesus and the local church. The music and preaching is like a feast for my soul. It causes me to lift my head and heart from the daily to the eternal.

Highlight: Watching my friend chase down and compete in the Catalyst community app scavenger hunt while I saved seats and held onto the stuff she won and collected. Ordering breakfast at Chick-Fil-A and hearing the server call out the name of Jesus when our order was ready because that’s the name we gave to the order-taker. My friend’s hip replacement frequently gets the security guys to pull out the scanner wand so my part is to encourage the security guys to consider a body search. We got to hold a parrot and take pics with a baby kangaroo at lunch!

The second week of October involved another 2-day event to become a Wonderfully Made Trainer. Information can be found here.

Highlight: Listening to my colleagues acknowledge the 95% of the time I looked at my shoes, thanks to lots of anatomy visuals and vocabulary, yet being totally committed to being a champion for bringing this fabulous resource for parents on faith and sexuality to the local church.

My next steps from those two learning events:

1. Schedule a shared-event with other churches to offer a Wonderfully Made weekend  event next March as I meet with other children’s ministry leaders next.
2. Finish reading “Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World” by Andy Stanley….THIS is fascinating history on the temple, the church, and how we got the Bible.
3. Read “Learning to Lead Like Jesus” by Boyd Bailey.
4. Read “The Road Back to You: an Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery” by Ian Morgan Cron & Suzanne Stabile

Next week I’ll share the third week of training focused on teaching people to feed themselves as disciples of Jesus so we can share the journey.

When is your next season for learning?

“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts.” Habakkuk 1:1

Families are so busy. Living in the metropolitan Atlanta area has many families spending more time than ever on the road running errands, going to work, and delivering little people to all that will give each child an edge. Children are tutored, rushed, coached, taught, and fed. Families eat on the run, do homework late, and can hardly get the laundry folded. Planning for and setting aside time to have ‘the talk’ is indeed a priority, but hardly makes the ‘urgent’ column. And when is the right age? Where do you even begin? How much vocabulary needs to be covered? What does he/she already know? WHY and HOW do they know what they already know?

The United Methodist Church has taken the point on emphasizing a healthy biblical and Christian perspective on human sexuality, values, and relationships since the 1980s with a program specifically for 5th and 6th graders entitled Created By God. The course was updated significantly in 2017 by Rev. Dr. Leigh Meekins, Rev. Dr. Tanya Eustace Campen, and Mark Huffman, Certified Sexuality Educator and is now known as Wonderfully Made: Loved by God. Updates in the program include time for reflection and ways to incorporate learning into the lives of students, as well as a strengthened spiritual component.

The course offers a comprehensive introduction to human sexuality – anatomy, vocabulary, attitudes, morals, growth and development, relationships, reproduction, responsibility and safety – built on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ and the written Word of God. Participant Books serve as resources that help children ages 10-12 understand their bodies, the changes they are going through, and how God loves them now and always. The course explains sexual anatomy as well as the different aspects of puberty. Additionally, the book will discuss the influence of social media on sexual desire and decision making.

Why ages 10-12? Because their parents and families are still the primary influence in their lives. They are still listening. They still trust their parents and teachers more than their peers. Current research also tells us that changes are beginning to take place in their bodies on the average at age 8. Age 8!

Wonderfully Made is typically a 3-day course for 5th and 6th grade students and their parents: Thursday evening (parents), Friday evening (students), all day Saturday (students in the am, parents & students in the afternoon). Attending a trainer-training a couple of weeks ago reiterated the need for the church to champion for kid’s souls AND their bodies.

I sent an email last spring to several then-4th-grade parents sharing we would have the opportunity to host a Wonderfully Made event the next year when their students would be 5th graders inviting them to pray with their spouses about their family’s participation. Though families didn’t want yet to think about it, they overwhelmingly agreed they would indeed participate. It’s on the calendar for March 2019 for 5th & 6th grade families.

We will also invite other churches in our district/region to bring their families/students because we believe we are better together. A smaller church probably wouldn’t offer a class to one or a couple of students, but together we can offer a critical mass environment and their families will receive an excellent small group connection with their own church’s leaders. This is also one of those events when a trained facilitator/trainer comes into your house to lead. Though I am now a trainer, I have invited a fellow Children’s Pastor who has experience offering this program to her own students for many years with the one of the authors as her church’s facilitator/trainer.  I will serve as the hostess-with-the-mostest.

How will you reach out to your families to provide Christian education for mind, souls, and bodies?

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2