Each Women’s Bible study and Women’s Ministry small group (Women’s Ministry is my lane, too) was invited to participate in a service activity before their last group meeting last Spring. One service opportunity was to bring new/gently-used outdoor play items to fill laundry baskets to be dropped at local green spaces and neighborhood playgrounds the first time the weather forecast shows three great days in a row.

A sign on the laundry basket read, “FREE TO PLAY WITH & KEEP: We hope you are enjoying this beautiful day the Lord has made from your friends and neighbors at McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church!” 

Part of being a good neighbor is unwrapping everything so that every item is ready to play and there is little to no trash/debris. Items included sidewalk chalk, bubbles, balls, bats, hula hoops, play animals/dinosaurs/ people, and more.

GOALS:
1. Be a good and generous neighbor to delight littles and their bigs where they play. No bait and switch, just being a good and generous neighbor.
2. Give small groups an opportunity to serve and practice generosity alongside one another.

We’ve been waiting for those three great weather days since May and the Lord provided them here in the Atlanta area last week in the middle of August. 

Three of us made deliveries last week. The timing was perfect because the website is updated with all the upcoming fall small groups as well as the youth and children’s calendars of events for the school year. I’m getting videos and pictures of delighted kids playing with plastic bugs and jumping rope shared almost daily from the community Facebook pages from our own church folks who live in the communities.

How are you being a good and generous neighbor to the littles where they live?

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25

Serving at a local church with multiple buildings on the same campus, I can see first hand that families can get easily frustrated if it takes 15 minutes to drop off all the littles all over campus before Mom and Dad can get where they need to be on Sunday mornings, especially if they are serving. This is why we opened a Kid’s Welcome Center for K5-5th grade. Every event, even Sunday school, will give parents a one-stop location to sign in their children and see their children immediately engaged in games and ‘friendship stations’ to begin the day/event. It also helps our church greeters to direct guest families to one location. And the benefits continue.

Adults engage in fellowship and community over coffee. Little people do the same over a shared game. If their hands are busy, their minds are calm. The Welcome Center is set up with various ‘friendship stations’ so little people can play together. Playing together builds a sense of belonging. Learning to play together well builds connection to our peers and other members of the family of faith. Only a game can encourage even the shyest kids to talk and participate.

We add something new each season and even make a snack station with a water dispenser for those who are hungry and don’t have time to eat before arriving. A container with colored plastic cups is always the building go-to, but these are the latest additions:

Bluetooth DoorBell – After children check in, they ring the doorbell. Everyone looks and waits to see a friend enter and shouts out his/her name. Kinda like our own Cheers moment. (I probably just dated myself.)

A Globe – As we talk about traveling and missionaries and such, having a globe handy is fun for kids to chat through locations. We found ours in a long-lost storage closet.

Head Hoop Basketball Party Game – The older boys are constantly wanting to toss a ball. This satisfies their need to toss a ball and my need to keep some safe space for the others in the room.

Straw Connector Set – I discovered this box of straws and connectors at a kidmin training event where Vanessa Myers was leading. I’ve used them at a Women’s Retreat, as centers at Family VBS, with staff meeting devotionals, and in the Welcome Center. Each box has ALOT making one box easy to split to use on tables and even the floor.

The bonus is for our parents who so faithfully lead a Sunday school class as a small group leader. They can register and drop off their littles, then head to their classroom to review the upcoming lesson or adjust the supplies that are provided…in peace. When Sunday school is scheduled to begin, the small group leader returns to the Welcome Center to gather their students to escort them to large group. When Sunday school is over, the students are returned to the Welcome Center so the small group leader can tidy their spaces (we all share space with other ministries with children) and return unused supplies to their class carts. All I need to do is look down the hallway to see if their class roller carts are outside their doors to know if all the classes are finished.

If you look closely, there is usually a parent, grandparent, or a Sunday school teacher in the mix…chatting and building with Lego bricks (donated by older boys cleaning up their bedrooms), setting up the Giant Jenga game again, playing Otrio or just touching base with a student who offered up a prayer request last week. The Welcome Center system has worked well and serves as an opportunity to extend extravagant hospitality and a sense of belonging. Brittany Nelson of Deeper Kidmin calls this the chips & salsa of Sunday morning. We just use it every time kids are on campus.

What other systems are you using to make for a smoother Sunday morning for your families?

“Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.” Psalm 26:8

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The first thing God said was ‘not good’ was for man to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) Here Adam was, the king of the world, and both God and Adam knew they were missing something.

Are you missing something? Are you feeling like no one knows what you’re going through? Are you working your tail off hoping someone sees all your great effort? Do you feel you are shipwrecked on the sea of ‘it’s just me’? I have a few ideas.

“The question for all of us as we navigate the demands of ministry and our relationship with Jesus and the Church is, do we understand the original assignment?” Natalie Runion, from Raised to Stay: Persevering in Ministry When You Have A Million Reasons to Walk Away

The marching orders of all Christians is to “go and make disciples of all the nations…teaching the new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” (Matthew 28)

1. Go to church – When we are invited on staff and the honeymoon of a ‘new thing’ is over, no one tells us how to figure this one out, so I will. We are still a child of God, not His employee. We still need to gather regularly and serve and learn in Christian community. Listening to podcasts and sermons online won’t cut it. If there is an earlier service offered, get up and go. If there is a service offered in your community on a different day/night, go. Set a Sabbath day of the week and guard it as the day you do things or meet with others to remind you you are His and He is good.
2. Go to Bible study – The Holy Bible is the library of 66 books which teach us about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We are always students of the triune God. Verses here and there won’t cut it. Rev. Dr. Tony Evans said, “Christians today have changed books.” My daughter and I went to Hobby Lobby to find a wall hanging for a gift with scripture. We traveled row after row checking the printed scriptures with our phones and more often than not, the scriptures printed for sale did not match the plethora of Bible versions on our phones. Whoever is in charge of your adult education would be thrilled to have you co-lead alongside another. But if they don’t, look online for a study being offered by another church near your home and make some amazing new friends-in-the-Lord.
3. Go to a networking opportunity – There is no way in the world I’d still be in ministry if I had not made a monthly lunch with others in Christian education a priority. It is an investment in Christian friendship with others and in myself as a Jesus gal who needs other Jesus folk to share the journey. The distractions will be hot and heavy because the fruitfulness is guaranteed to be sweet and mighty.

It’ll take a sacrifice of time, a sacrifice of preferences, and it will not be convenient. You’ll have to guard it as a priority, but it’ll totally be worth it. 

Over the last month I’ve been adding to our weekly curriculum a slide or two about why we go to church. I thank Brittany Nelson of Deeper Kidmin for the inspiration. We go to church to ‘spur one another on to love and good deeds’ and we don’t forsake gathering together as per Hebrews 10:24-25 though it will look different than before we were on staff.

Isolation, despair, and loneliness is the complaint I read about all over the kidmin sites, especially lately. My heart hurts for them. It’s preventable. Go. 

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25

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One of the delightful finds in this summer’s reading is a resource for families to grow their faith at home together, Grow At Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Family Discipleship by Winfield Bevins, published by Seedbed. 

This small, green, 110-page little paperback book is filled with practical places to start and even continue loving families to Jesus ‘as they go.’ (Deuteronomy 6) This book goes beyond Christian parenting and jumps into the deep end of real, true, family discipleship. I’ve never come across a book that packs such a punch (1) without being overwhelming, and (2) written in family-friendly language.

Dr. Winfield Bevins serves as the director of Asbury Seminary’s Church Planting Initiative, yet his primary ministry is being a devoted husband and father. This book turns upside down the expectation that local church involvement alone will spark a fire for a robust, defendable faith in Christ Jesus. The local church is absolutely necessary (don’t forsake gathering together) but not enough. Prayers before bed and at meals are a great place to start with your preschooler, but hardly enough for your preteen who is ready for more than a Bible story.

“We have produced a generation of consumeristic, and not radically committed, disciples of Jesus Christ. Consumeristic Christianity sees the church as a place that is all about me, my wants, and my needs; a place of goods and services, instead of being a place where we are challenged to grow, serve, give, and go back into the world in mission.” p. 4

When I see my own church families committed to the Saturday recreation department, the weekday preschool, scouts, and parents-morning-out, I struggle with the model that we have become more service-providers and less disciple-makers. When church is more about where we go for Christian services and less about where we grow in Christian community, I see the need to help our families along the way so mom and dad are the primary disciple-makers providing non-overwhelming ideas for incorporating faith formation into their daily routines of the home.

This book introduces and makes handy the holy practices of …

Family Worship – ‘Your home is like a little church.’ Family Worship (worthship) is simply coming together as a family and worshiping God in the home. This chapter has just enough examples and ideas without overwhelming the reader.

Reading the Bible as a Family – The Bible was always meant to be read in community. 

Teaching Children Truths through Catechism – Catechisms are basic summaries of the church’s teachings to ensure that all members of the church understand the essentials of the faith for themselves using a question-and-answer format…an invitation to learn the doctrines of grace. The book provides 40 such Q&As along with two Christian creeds to teach/learn together. Bible stories are good, but not enough to put into words the foundational basics of the Christian faith in Jesus.

Cultivating Character through the Fruit of the Spirit – Joy is a deep gladness that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Learning to Pray the Lord’s Prayer – Jesus reminds us that prayer begins with God, His kingdom, and His ways with a breakdown of each section’s meaning in a kid-friendly way.

Becoming a Missional Family – Sharing our faith in Jesus is the duty of every believer, both young and old…partner with others who are already doing ministry in your church and community.

Following Jesus Through the Church Year – The seasons of the Christian year have been a wonderful discipleship tool that the church has historically used to celebrate the major events of the life of Jesus and the kingdom of God for centuries.

Introducing Your Children to Jesus – Y’all! This was worth the price of the book AND my very favorite chapter.

The book on its own is fabulous, but there’s more. I discovered there is a 9-week DVD with 4-5 minute introductions for each chapter to take this to the small group level. I also discovered five used books on Thriftbooks. If the book is too expensive, purchasing the PDF of the book and printing might be the best resource for a small group. I’m looking at offering this as a generational small group with kids and parents/caregivers taking the class together, if even for a short-term Sunday school class.

I loved this little book and the huge impact it can make. It is a perfect addition to the family resource wall alongside with the family resource we share from Discipleship Begins At Home: A Blueprint from the fabulous folks at Women in Apologetics until I can get it on the roster for adult small groups.

What is a resource you offer for family discipleship at home.

“Our family is our first church.” Grow At Home, pg. x 

Six years ago this week, I accepted a full-time staff position in ministry with children kindergarten through fifth-grade at a local church. The church was new to me on the ‘day to day’, but I had long known their generosity, their heart for service, and their spirit of YES for more than 15 years from those who served within the Walk to Emmaus community there. Good people, indeed!

The senior pastor asked me this very question the first time I met with him and a representative from the Staff Parish Relations Committee. One of our challenges as local church staff is to guard and prepare for ourselves that which we encourage for the congregation we serve. We have to creatively prepare for opportunities to engage in worship, corporate worship, in community. As followers of Christ, we, too, are called to follow the directive by the author of Hebrews to ‘not forsake gathering together.’

“Then I (the apostle John) looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand (THAT’s community!). They encircled the throne and the living creature and the elders (serving a God of order.) In a loud voice they sang (singing is still part): Worthy is the Lamb (Jesus) who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Revelation 5:11-12 NIV

This was revealed to the apostle John of how Jesus will be worshiped in Heaven. I am SO visual, it gives me a great picture of what it means to worship our great God here on earth.

How can we worship Him today in power? With power over my emotions, my disposition, and setting my own priorities. I have the power to set aside one day a week as my Sabbath. Fridays are my Sabbath. My Sabbath is set apart for me to gather with other Christians who remind me that God is good, and I am His.

How can I worship Him today in wealth? With my money. Returning to Him which was His in the first place is an act of trust and obedience. Giving is the act of returning a tithe (10% of my increase). Since I am no longer in services when the plate is passed, I have it up for my bank to issue and mail the tithe.

How can I worship Him today in wisdom? With my mind. Romans 12:2 reads, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Jesus understood that any authentic transformation will happen for all of us in our minds first. When I am regularly in The Word, learning the language and vocabulary of God, in Bible study in community, transformation takes place. This one is seriously on me. If I claim I am not hearing from God…If I state that ‘I don’t get fed at church’… If I hold on to the idea that my personal preferences for Sunday morning worship determines if I worship or not… I am SO out of sync with what God intended worship to be.

How can I worship Him today in strength? With my body. I KNOW my triggers. Peanut M&Ms are my Judas sin…you know, that sin that comes at you looking like a friend, kissing you on the cheek, then turning on you. I may not be able to scale a 10 foot wall, but taking care of my body is worship. Thank you, Lose It! app and a personal health coach, for the accountability.

How can I worship Him today in honor? With my deeds. I honor our great God when I bake and deliver a cake, write a note, make a phone call, send an encouraging text, share a casserole (this is how we really share love in the south, right?), bring a flower, go above and beyond in my work, drop off a 24-pack of toilet paper when my neighbor has house guests due to a funeral or a wedding. How and when I serve should bring Him honor.

How can I worship Him today in glory? With expressions of hope, encouragement, and forgiving well.  Glory has a weight to it, a leaning-in quality. Ephesians 4:32 reads, “Be ye kind, one to another, tenderhearted, and forgiving one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.” So I give Him glory when I extend the same forgiveness and grace He gives me. This is when worship doesn’t come easy. Yet He invites us to ‘lean in’ through power in prayer.

How can I worship Him today in praise? With my words and my speech. My words can heal or hurt, my countenance when sharing those words can help or hinder. My heart is heard by my words and how they are shared. A critical spirit does nothing for my testimony. I will praise Him through my simple storms drawing on the praise raised by others who have tread and persevered through more than I. My discomfort, disappointment, and storms are put in perspective when I regularly study the lives of the saints and missionaries who have gone before us.

Worship is not where I go or the type of songs sung, it is how sold-out Christians are to live. Not once a week, but every single day. I can listen to sermons by podcast, sing to my favorite worship songs on my cellphone at the top of my lungs and in sign, attend other worship services which take place other than on Sunday mornings, and give online to the local church I serve. I can take bible study in small group, share life and accept accountability in an Emmaus Reunion Group, and have my personal ‘quiet time’ (which is sometimes FAR from quiet) with the LORD each morning. Oh, and in my new position, I sing and dance before the LORD with little people every Sunday morning. How wonderful that our Great God has offered us the tools to serve AND the tools to worship the One and Only whose abundant love has ruined me for the typical, the ordinary, the mediocre.

“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:2

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There were several favorite faith formation events which were set aside to focus on Campfire Christmas (a family worship experience NOT on Christmas Eve, but rather Christmas Adam) and a Live Nativity to welcome the West Cobb county community to a Bethlehem experience. Both events happened the week before Christmas and after school let out. Those were the priorities of last December in addition to Sunday mornings, and were the best investments of people and resources successfully meeting their goals.

Yet our littles were disappointed we weren’t able to Christmas carol our church saints. Our littles really enjoy any multi-generational opportunity to serve those who have gone before them. 

This was the inspiration for Christmas in July.

We scheduled a Christmas carolling event to sing three songs at each location. Phone calls to the church saints were made and church buses reserved. A generous family hosted us mid-event for a pizza dinner, water and potty break. With a new senior pastor and his wife having just moved into the parsonage, they graciously agreed to be our last stop and it was fabulously over-the-top with a Christmas tree, displayed nativities, garland hanging from the railings, and inflatable table trees. A Christmas in July porch party! Inflatable pink flamingos with water were gifted at each stop. Jingle bell bracelets made with beads, bells, and pipe cleaners added so much to the songs sung. 

The best parts of Christmas caroling in July: daylight until 9pm, short-sleeves and flip flops, inflatable flamingos, and watermelon!

The typical Tall Small Paint Party will be of Christmas trees. Lots of green paint has been ordered with a devotion to be shared about how Christians are Christmas and Easter people.

A photo station with snowmen, Christmas trees, and flamingos was prepared and the giggles from the senior saints’ Sunday school classes who meet in our hallway were worth every bit of deep diving into the holiday storage closet.

National Ice Cream Day is celebrated on the third Sunday each July, so an ice cream truck arrived to give free ice cream treats to all who attended worship services. Each ministry lead was given different colored carnival tickets to hand over in exchange for an ice cream treat. I pay the total bill at the end with a tip (God’s people are generous) then prorate the expense to each area based on their number of colored tickets used for payment. We paused our regular Sunday morning programming to use Deeper Kidmin’s special event which was perfect.

Sunday morning programming include Christmas songs in large group and various Christmas visuals placed here and there to keep the theme rolling. Even the Children’s Moment is Christmas in July themed with ‘we serve a God of celebration’ from Deuteronomy, singing Joy to the World (songs remind bigs of Jesus’ story and teach littles the truth of our faith); singing Go Tell It On The Mountain (shepherds were the first to go tell/our marching orders today); and Christmas foods help us remember to ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good,’ (Psalm 34:8) which coincides with National Ice Cream Day.

Celebrating Christmas in July has been a surprise and delight for many in our church, unexpected, joyful, and smiles are all around. We’ll definitely do this again.

In the words of our new Senior Pastor’s lovely wife, “Jesus is the reason for every season!”

“Go tell it on the mountain. Over the hill and every where. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.”

The Study Talk is one of fifteen talks shared on a Walk to Emmaus. The Walk to Emmaus is a three-day event for church leaders who have already committed their lives to following Jesus. The Study Talk is presented by a lay person with experiences in the holy habit of study.

One of the suggestions for study by a faithful Christian living a life of grace is to study church history. I’m fascinated by the colorful history of Christianity.

Last year I took Brandi Diamond’s online class entitled Off With Their Heads. I was glued to my screen every single week learning about the start of the Anglican church, the revolt of King Henry VIII against the Catholic Church, and the bloodied history which led to the very first amendment to our U.S. Constitution prohibiting the government from establishing a religion. The goal was to keep the government out of the church, not the church out of the government. Now I have an idea why.

Another suggestion is to study the gospel. Have you ever studied the gospel?

If the marching orders of a Christian is to make disciples of Jesus Christ, we must know the gospel.

Every five years I study the gospel. I need the reminder, the refresher, because I can get bogged down in the minutia of church staff life and forget the WHY of it all.

The first year I studied and practiced sharing the good news of God’s salvation with The Wordless Book offered through Child Evangelism Fellowship.

This year I came across a great resource which I’ve used to study the gospel: The Gospel Course and Brand New, both by Brian Clark and available from Amazon.

These two small less than 25-page paperback books keep the main thing, the main thing. The premise for The Gospel Course is that Christians may know the gospel, but are typically unable to articulate the gospel confidently. “The Gospel Course was written as a tool to help you walk someone through the saving message of the gospel in a way that is clear, complete and compelling.” Clark uses the parable of the Prodigal Son and plenty of scripture to show the greatness of God.

Brand New is the followup to The Gospel Course. The goal of Brand New is to “see from scripture that new life in Christ is meant to be full of joy, excitement, and purpose, not just a list of tasks to check off.” This small book packs a big punch regarding the perspective of learning how to enjoy our great God. Clark embraces a righteous life to jumping in with both feet to enjoy our Savior, like the cake and not the broccoli. Like marriage, this relationship is exclusive. Like running a race, this relationship requires discipline and training. Like putting the puzzle of a righteous life together by completely starting over rather than making pieces fit that belong to other puzzles no longer meant for a Christian. This little book blessed my socks off, but would have meant nothing had I not studied the The Gospel Course.

How do you study the gospel?

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” 1 Peter 3:15-16

It’s time to prepare the upcoming school year calendar to be shared by mid July with the families I serve. As much as I’d love to fill the calendar with lots of great and holy things, a reasonable rhythm of WHAT and WHY is the filter for the big picture. A reasonable rhythm requires consideration of the community schedule of families we serve, the leadership who chooses a kidmin director’s ‘time’, and the staff we serve alongside who set the priorities of spaces available.

When I was hired full time, it was much easier to just throw myself into all that we could offer: typical Sunday and midweek programming and special events just about every month, sometimes every other week. Trying new things happened often.  But a part-time position in ministry requires a rhythm.

When church leadership decides a position as Sunday only, 1/4 time, 1/2 time, or 3/4 time, there are some expectations they have determined.  One reasonable expectation being that this part time staff person can not do everything the larger church down the street can do.  Setting priorities offers a reasonable rhythm.

Balance is an elusive target because balance is based on a subjective perspective: whoever you are asking. But a rhythm, being measurable, is much more manageable when the goal is healthy Children’s Ministry.

If we use the five pillars of a healthy Children’s Ministry, worship-grow-belong-service-tell, and the entire calendar year as the canvas, finding a rhythm works to develop a reasonable rhythm.

For excellent regular programming, it takes an average of 2.5 hours for every 1 hour of programming. Any special event or peak moment requires a whole lot more. Think VBS: 4-5 months+whole lot of lay servants+$$=10 – 15 hours of programming.  That may explain why so many churches are stepping away from offering a week of VBS and looking for more bang for their buck.  Perhaps offering a summer VBS program over a summer of Sundays (or Thursdays) and promoting the daylights out of it.

Even part time (half-time = 20 hour) KidMin Directors can effectively and realistically take on weekly Sunday am, Sunday pm OR Wednesday/Midweek pm, and 4-5 peak moments through the year, if you include Christmas and Easter in the 4-5 peak moments. Then you are working on one peak moment quarterly and that is much more manageable and a reasonable expectation.

Periodically our Children’s Council (those who make up the hands and feet of the ministry) writes on individual index cards everything involving ministry with children over the course of the year.  All traditions and even new things: Trunk-or-Treat, Sunday School, CLUB345, Children’s Christmas program, etc.  As a team, they then determine what four items are the most important: asking, “If we did nothing but these 4 things next year, what would they be?”  Once they haggle…er, decide which 4 (which takes a bit of time), they then choose 2 more (which takes no time, because the discussions have already taken place.)  As a Council, we have now chosen what we will throw ourselves into.  Where and when will we be ‘all in’, for the next year.  Of course, other special events take place over the course of the year, but there must be two champions for those special events where I can serve as the resource, cheerleader, and/or promoter for those things.  But me ‘taking the point’ on them has now been decided by the Children’s Council to not be a priority for me this next year.

So where will you throw your resources, your servants, your finances, your space, your over-the-top-best? Break out a clean calendar for the next 12-18 months because a reasonable rhythm takes into consideration the big picture for a true discipleship pathway for both littles and bigs.

“Everything is permissible” – but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive.” – 1 Corinthians 10:23

Edited from the original post of March 2014. Don’t miss any new weekly posts by subscribing above.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Year #1 – AMBASSADOR acrostic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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