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

Let me introduce you to….

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Three resources are constant:

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

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

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

Last Friday night we offered a Prayer Warrior Bootcamp for women from high school through adult. A small group of ladies, including four guests, gathered to learn to pray together, overcome the fear of praying out loud, and practice a plan for praying with intentionality and boldness.

Cyndee Ownbey is the creator of the Women’s Ministry Toolbox online community and the founder of Women’s Ministry Toolbox (www.womensministrytoolbox.com). She has a slew of resources to support and lead women in ministry. With almost 8,900 members, it’s a safe place for sharing resources and encouragement for women serving women around the world in the local church and beyond. I purchased both the leader and participant workbook to copy and didn’t change a thing. 

Our goal was to offer training for a holy habit to be practiced in Christian community AND leverage as an onramp to the Bible studies and small groups beginning two weeks later. 

Promo info: How’s your prayer life? You don’t have to settle for an okay prayer life or be filled with fear and dread when it comes to prayer. Ephesians 3:12 tells us we can approach our great God with boldness and confidence! Come learn how.
Ladies of all ages and stages are invited to the Prayer Warrior Bootcamp on Friday, August 25, 2023, 6-10pm in Oaks Hall.
Adult tickets are $25 per person and includes dinner.
Student tickets for high school through 25 year old adult ladies are $5.
Sponsored by McEachern Women’s Ministry.

We ordered Chicken Salad Chick for dinner delivery, invited ladies to wear camo or workout clothes with a pop of pink color; offered all the teas and cucumber lemonade (my favorite summer beverage).

Three different ladies were the ‘personal trainers’ to lead the different sections adding a chatty response of sharpie painting prayer rocks just before the closing. Chatty response = our hands are busy with a creative response to what we’ve learned while we chat and grow in relationship with one another. 

Our event design team will gather soon to offer another holy habit teaching workshop, but first we are rolling out Bible studies and small groups and we couldn’t be more excited.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

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.”