According to Barna Group research published in March 2019 entitled Who Is Responsible For Children’s Faith Formation, “In this and several other studies with Christian parents, our research has found that they crave guidance on how to educate and form their children, knowing that they are growing up in a world that is far more secular than their own childhood. Parents want to hear from their pastors on this issue,” Hempell continues. “Church leaders have the opportunity to develop a unique community for faith formation by bringing parents, school administrators and faith leaders together in partnerships for faith development. This is the basis for intentionally equipping parents through events such as Moving On Up to Middle School.

Moving on Up to Middle School is a dessert and panel discussion for 5th graders AND their parents offered the last week of April. Promotion language sounded like this:

Initial communication: McEachern Memorial UMC wants to help your family navigate this big move to middle school with confidence, information, and tools for success. 5th grade students AND parents are invited for dessert to a panel discussion and Q&A on Tuesday, April 30 6:30-8pm in the lower level of the Christian Life Center room ***
Free childcare will be provided for siblings by ***.  Please RSVP for parents and 5th graders at ****.

Secondary communication: Get a free copy of Viral Parenting, get some questions answered, satisfy your sweet tooth, and enjoy some laughter at tomorrow’s Moving On Up To Middle School dessert and panel discussion event for 5th graders and their parents. Free childcare for siblings by emailing ***. Register at ***

Students and parents were invited to write down questions on index cards and get dessert. At 6:50 we played a game of how to work a combination lock. We found colorful dual combination locks with the same combination so they could help one another…we are better together. Panel discussion began at 7pm. At 7:30-45 (or when the questions were finished, students would sit knee-to-knee with their parents and discuss some items based on the questions/discussion. For example: “What does helping with homework look like to you?”, “How can I let you know that I need to talk?”, and “What if I mess up?” We dismissed at 7:55pm with a benediction and prayer.

The panel included our Youth Ministry Director, a middle school teacher, a dad with a middle school boy and a mom with a middle school girl who are navigating middle school with healthy success. Thank you notes for the panel were attached to a box of Sour Patch Kids. We chose not to take questions from the floor to ensure students nor parents would be put in unflattering, uncomfortable, or judgmental spots.  One of the main goals in offering these educational events is to engage in successful and healthy conversations between kids and their parents.

Other parent-equipping opportunities which have taken place in the last 4 months included Wonderfully Made: Loved By God, John Rosemond spoke during a Sunday school shared event, and various Faith Milestone events for the lower grades. The sacred and courageous conversations have begun. This research affirms we are moving in the right direction. We’re already preparing for opportunities to offer this fall: Cell Phone Safety, Sharing Your Faith With Your Family, Will You Be My Friend?: Healthy Relationships, and more.

Testimony: I instructed students I’d give them a Combination Lock for a question written on an index card for the panel to discuss. They began writing furiously. Without instruction they struggled. Thinking they would work together, they did not, but rather continued to struggle. I let them struggle. After 5 minutes, I asked the students to hand the locks over to their parents. Hearing the clicking of opened locks all over the room, the kids were amazed, looking at their parents with pride and admiration. This was a great way to begin as they now saw how their parents knew more than they thought and would help them ‘unlock’ a whole lot more.

Note: Viral Parenting is one of the latest books to be published specifically for parents and caregivers on navigating boundary setting and living with a cell phone in a social media world. I then cautioned them on reading any book passively. Though the authors are part of a faith community, it is not a faith-based book. There is a section toward the end of the book when the author talks about their family attending church and faith-based education. Which is good info. However, they then share that though the reader may not have or believe in the Lord, they can still find hope elsewhere. I shared with my audience of 5th graders and their parents as followers of Jesus, we do NOT believe that. Our hope is ONLY in the Lord Jesus Christ. Sally Clarkson, Author of Book Girl, which advocates for the transforming power of a reading life speaks to reading everything with a discerning filter: Because stories engage my imagination and heart on a deep level, I am aware of the fact that what I encounter on their pages will teach me how to see the world, and this is why I’ve had to learn to practice discernment. (pg 9)

How else are you training and equipping parents to lead their children so they “grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man?” (Luke 2:52)

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ – which is the first commandment with a promise – ‘so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1-4

A brand new calendar with all its white space makes me downright giddy. In preparing for the next calendar year, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:
A. What will be your focus the next year…as a church…as a ministry with children?
B. What are the important days that are ‘known’ or ‘tradition’ in your church and community so children’s ministry can piggy-back or involve little people?
C. For what events do you already have champions to take the point and advocate?
D. What are your professional and personal priorities you should guard with the calendar?
E. Prepare to calendar 18-24 months out. (I do this every January AND June
F. Calendaring is not planning. Calendaring is about partnering. Calendaring is putting on the calendar that which complements other ministries and your local church as a whole body of Christ.

Gather supplies and documents:

• Start with a blank, paper calendar. Why? Because it helps you see the big picture. You can always add it to your devices/apps later.
• Your Vacation and Sabbath time: Shauna Niequist wrote in Present Over Perfect, “I fake-rested instead of real-rested, and then I found that I was real-tired.” She went on to write, “Loving one’s work is a gift. And loving one’s work makes it really easy to neglect other parts of life. People love it when you say yes, and they get used to it. But you can’t have a yes without the healthy no. If you’re not careful with your yeses, you start to say no to some very important things without even realizing it.” Remember you are in this for the long haul so though you can fill your calendar with a ton of good things, sustainability without killing yourself and others is the goal.
• Last year’s calendar. Why? To record when to begin planning for specials and record major cultural holidays like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Veteran’s Day, etc. Ex: Trunk or Treat in October requires a start in hard planning in July to get local advertising in; the year Palm Sunday started a spring break; Glee Club/Cherub Choir Wednesday night programming begins the new year AFTER the Atlanta area has historical issues with ice/snow.
• Church calendar. Why? So as not to conflict with hard dates for space and volunteer base. Ex: Anything that has to do with major seasons like Lent and Advent; anything that requires all church hands on deck like a Fall Festival will drain a volunteer base for a period of time. Include seasonal events and holidays, traditions, and rites of passage that you know are ‘set in stone.’ Be sure to add your regular Sunday AM ‘bread’ schedule. Anything other than Sunday morning in ‘whipped cream’ programming.
• Liturgical calendar. Why? Using colors and practices as past saints connect us to our heritage of faith. Ex: Advent is purple, not red & green; the magi come out for Epiphany and not Advent; 12 days of Christmastide; Maundy Thursday may change your Wednesday programming that week; we send home bags of empty, plastic eggs beginning on Ash Wednesday to be filled and returned for the church Easter Egg Hunt so prep has to be done WAY in advance.
• Pencil and a really good eraser. Why? I’m visual and neat erasing matters.
• School calendar. Why? Gotta plan for when families won’t be here as well as when they will be. Ex: Fall and spring breaks = low attendance Sundays which offers some special planning opportunities. Look especially at when the four fifth Sundays of the month are set.
• Youth calendar. Why? Many specials for children require youth help and we all know it’s healthy for youth and little people to have youth faces involved in ministry with children. Ex: Coordinating VBS with summer youth mission trips; Parent’s Night Out when the youth may be on a retreat; Christmas parties that would possibly require parents to be in two places at once. Ex: Last year’s Faith Field Trips were such a huge relationship and sticky faith success, I’ve already set aside specific summer dates in partnership with another local church to share in the heavy work and other local churches are joining in. This lets me go ahead and make bus reservations on the dates that I know are not in conflict. Summer bus reservations in January…what a great idea!
• Networking, Conference, Training dates. Why? The connection outside of your own house, face-to-face with live people is what keeps you at your best, encouraged, and provides energy. Ex: Our KidMin networking group meets once a month on the second Monday of the month; choosing my training for the next year helps me stay on task for the focus of the next year; early bird prices for conferences and local trainings are much more budget-friendly.
• College Football schedule. Why? We live in the south. Just sayin’.

Then it’s time to start mapping out the year. Find a block of uninterrupted time to put it on paper. Pray for clarity and direction before, during, and after. Remember the rhythm of your community. Be sensitive to time expectations of your volunteers and your families. Don’t forget to map out your Sundays and Wednesdays, as this is the ‘daily bread’ of Children’s Ministry and it must be done well and take priority over ‘whipped cream’ programming.

When it’s finished, we all know it isn’t really finished. It’s a working document, but it’s a start to keep your priorities in line, plan well in advance, communicate well with your team and your family knows they are just as much a priority as your ministry.

“I’m not sure how you feel about a new beginning, but fresh starts are my favorite! I am the girl loves a clean slate.” – Becky Kiser from Sacred Holidays: Less Chaos, More Jesus

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

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

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

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

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

Anyone else tweak every event after each time? Anyone else just can’t do the same thing even if you repeat an event? Just a few weeks ago, we spent 3-5pm with 3rd-5th graders teaching them how use THEIR Bibles at an event we call American Ninja Warrior: Bible Edition. Cut strips of white, twin, flat sheet became our name tags so students tied them on their foreheads ninja-style and we got started.

The most important areas we wished to address were: Genesis 1:1 & John 1:1, Creation, Torah, 10 Commandments, Gospels, Disciples, Greatest Commandment, Paul & Timothy (letters), Lord’s Prayer/23 Psalm, Parables, Revelation, Shema.  Check it out!

Using a Rainbow Bookmark – As followers of Jesus, we are people of THE BOOK…the Bible. 2 sections, 66 books. Testament – covenant – promise. Asking the question: What is the Bible? We pre-made 1/4 inch ribbon bookmarks knotted at the top to be placed in different places in their bibles as a large group:

• black=Table of Contents;
• red=Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament;
• orange=Joshua, the first history book in the Old Testament;
• yellow=Psalms, the 2nd poetry book in our Bible;
• green=Isaiah, the first prophet book in our Bible;
• blue=Matthew, the first Gospel book in our Bible;
• purple=to mark Romans, the first letter book in our Bible.

1. Quintuple Steps

SAY – “How did the Bible come to be?”

PLAY – the Telephone Game = an example of the ‘oral tradition’

“The Bible is divided into 2 sections:  the Old and New Testaments.  It was written over a period of over 1600 years.  The word “Bible” comes from the Greek word biblia, which means “little books.” In all there are sixty-six “little books” in the Bible, 39 in the Old Testament (old promise/covenant) and 27 in the New Testament (new promise/covenant).”

• Have one student look up Genesis 1:1 and read it aloud.
• In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
• Ask another student to look up John 1:1 and read it aloud.
• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

“We are SO fortunate to have the Bible and the words written down for us.  The early people had to memorize it.  Those who were young, memorized the Torah, the first five books of the Bible (show them).  Once they got to High School, they memorized up through the Psalms and if they were going to be a Spiritual leader or Rabbi, they had to memorize the entire Old Testament!”

Activity:

Have the students jump from one platform to the other, saying the Scriptures. Each student should go through twice so that they can recite each verse.  (It is probably best if the whole group says it together as each student goes through.  That way, they will memorize both verses.  Help be loud and lead the way, especially for the first few times.)

2. Agility Ladder– Creation – Have students find and mark Genesis 1:1

This verse tells us who the Bible is about.

We serve a God of order & systems. (solar system, patterns in pine cones, spring/summer/fall/winter, day/night/day/night, birth/getting old, etc.) Ask kids “what else?”

Make a creation trail mix to save for later for snack and used an agility ladder to run through the 7 days of creation in order.

Day1         God created the light and the dark (oreo cereal)

Day 2        God separated the water on the top from the water on the bottom. The top was sky, and the bottom was ground (Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal for the clouds and the ground)

Day 3        God made the green grass, the trees, and the flowers (stick pretzels). God also made the fruit and berries (raisins.) “God made food before he made animals that would need the food. Our God is SO WISE.”

Day 4        God created the sun and the moon and the stars (yellow M&M candies; Cheerios)

Day 5        God made the birds and the fish (Goldfish)

Day 6        God made man and woman and all the animals that walk on the ground (animal cookies)

Day 7        God rested on the seventh day (marshmallow pillows)

Joke: Where does the Bible talk about baseball? Genesis 1:1 “In the big-inning.” Then back to the bible study tables.

3. Flip the Tires:

The first five books of the Old Testament are called the Penteteuch. “Pente” means “five” and “teuch” means “books”.  The first five books of the Old Testament are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.  This is also call THE TORAH.

Was originally written on scrolls (rolled up paper) that were found in jars.

Activity:

Have half of the students on one side and half on the other. Have them flip each of the five tires, while saying the first five books of the Old Testament.

4. Stepping Stones

“The Ten Commandments are found in both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. Today, we are going to learn the Ten Commandments as we jump from stone to stone on one foot. Say the commandment as you go.  Remember that you have 10 fingers so you can transfer this to everyday life by looking down at your hands and reciting the Ten Commandments later.”

#1       God first

#2       Don’t bow down to idols

#3       Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain (misuse the Lord’s name)

#4       Remember the Sabbath & keep it holy

#5       Honor your Father & Mother

#6       Don’t murder/kill

#7       Don’t commit adultery (keep your marriage promises)

#8       Don’t steal (don’t take what is not yours)

#9       Don’t bear false witness (don’t speak ugly about others)

#10     Don’t covet (don’t want what is not meant for you)

5. TIps: Share the Good News

The Gospels are the first 4 books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Gospel = good news

Ask, “What is the good news?” That Jesus came from heaven to save us and reconcile (make us right) with God.

Get in pairs and throw a ball back and forth. Do this four times, saying the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

6. Hula Hoops:

Have a student find & read: Matthew 10:2-4 (NIV)

^“ These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

Set up four hoola hoops and ask each student hula hoop to hula hoop while saying as many names as possible.

Ask: What did Jesus do before He called/decided on these guys? (He prayed)

Simon Peter

Andrew

James

John

Philip

Bartholomew

Thomas, the twin

Matthew

James, the lesser

Judas Iscariot

Thaddaeus

Simon, the zealot

Matthias (replaced Judas Iscariot)

7. Cornhole: The Great Commandment

Have the students look up:  Mathew 22:36-40

“You shall love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. YOU shall love the Lord with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself, UMPH!” (We chant it like a cheer).

8. Pass the Torch: Paul and Timothy

Have the students look up and read aloud: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so ^so that the servant of God^[a]may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Create two lines and have a relay, carrying a pool noodle with a plastic cup taped to top of pool noodle filled with marshmallows.  If they spill it, they must pick up the marshmallows and start over from the starting line.

9. Balance Beams – Walk the Plank

Look up Luke 11:1-4  The Lord’s Prayer

Look up Psalm 23  A Prayer of David

Discuss the many aspects of prayer (music, journaling, WITH, breath prayers, hand prayers, and silence.)

Activity: Walk the Plank in silence….everyone is silent…silent prayer walk.

Examples of how to pray…

WITH = What makes you want to tell God, “WOW!”

What do you wish to tell God, “I’m sorry.”

What do you want to THANK God for?

What do you need HELP with?

In between each one, repeat, “Thank you, Lord, that you are with me.”

Take a deep breath before each one.

Breath Prayer = Jesus, Be My Rock

Jesus (breathe in), Be my rock (breathe out)

Hand Prayers for Intercession (prayer for people)

Thumb – Those closest to me

Index  finger – those who teach me

Middle finger – those who are “over’ me (in authority)

Ring finger – those who are sick (weakest finger that can’t stay up on it’s own.)

Pinkie – yourself

10. Drag a Tire – Parables

Parables=stories that did not really happen, but that best tell a point Jesus wants us to know.

Have students look up Luke 10:25-37: Parable of the Good Samaritan

Discussion:   Who is your neighbor?

God wants us to help others, even if it’s a heavy load.

Pull the heavy tires across a long space.

11. Stack the tires – How does it end? With a new beginning!

Have the students look up Revelation 22:1-5

Say, “Jesus is coming back.”

Ask, “What would Jesus find you doing?” “Where would Jesus find you?”

Discuss: We are supposed to be growing in our knowledge of God and more and more like Jesus, though in this world. Once we learn one thing, we learn the next, and the next. Our growing in wisdom and knowledge of God stacks like these tires.

Ask, “How do we do we grow in the knowledge of god and more like Jesus?”

Stack the remaining tires one on top of another.

12. Medals: The Shema and Spiritual Discipline of taking 5 minutes each day to read the Bible and 5 minutes in prayer every day (even Sundays!) TAKE 5

Have everyone find and read:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Ask: How will you plan to Take 5 every day? 5 minutes reading the Bible and 5 minutes in silent prayer.

The first event looked like this. Each time, we tweak to make the experience better for the students and better for the leaders. And each time we offer this event I remember why I LOVE it!

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16

Glenys Nellist has partnered again with illustrator Sophie Allsopp to provide a beautiful book for children and the young at heart in Easter Love Letters From God: Bible Stories. Glenys has authored two popular book series: Love Letters from God and Snuggle Time. She serves ministry with children in Michigan and comes from northern England. Sophie Allsopp is an award-winning illustrator of many children’s books and lives in England. These ladies have come together to present an interactive Easter journey that is delightful!

Seven sections take the reader through seven events of Holy Week: Triumphant Entry, Washing Feet, Last Supper, Gethsemane, Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection. Each page has a 3-D look to it with the appearance of multiple items placed together to further visualize the setting of each event. The artwork is lovely, simple, and delicately fills each page to add to the story. Even the detail of the stamp on the lift-the-flap share an image that compliments each of the seven events of Holy Week.

In the writing of the story, Glenys does well in speaking of the humanness of Jesus.

“And even though he felt all alone, he knew that God was with him.” (pg 16)

The lift-the-flap love letters from God were a reminder on each page, in each scene, that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Even the darkest events were written tenderly, yet truthfully. Sin is not mentioned, but forgiveness is.

Dear _______,  Do you like surprises? Inside that quiet cave I was working on a surprise that no one could imagine. It would be the greatest surprise the world had ever known. Something was happening to Jesus. My son was going to have a brand-new life. But for three whole days the world had to wait.  Love, God (pg 27)

In just a couple of weeks there will be a free, downloadable activity and resource pack available to accompany the book designed for families and those who serve in ministry with children.  The first look of that resource will be made available at http://www.glenysnellist.com.

Though the events of Holy Week are the saddest in the whole Bible culminating in a way I have a hard time wrapping my head and heart around, this is the basis of our faith: the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, God’s own perfect son who came to seek and to save the lost. We must share this with our little people. They need to know. We need to know. If we already know, we need to be reminded. This hardy book shares the stories and does an amazing job of sharing images that are kid-friendly. It’s perfect for family devotion and to accompany the teachings of Holy Week in the local church.

You can win your own copy! Just comment on the blog THIS WEEK with an idea of how you share, celebrate, or remember an event of Holy Week. It can be in your classroom (for all my preschool champions), your church (for all my Sunday school and small group servant-leaders), or your home (for all our Mamas & Daddies & Grands sharing their faith in our fabulous Jesus with their little people.) Zonderkidz will be sure you get your copy early in Lent.

How will you share, celebrate, or remember our best friend Jesus this Lenten season?

“Can you believe that my son, Jesus, came back to life? Only the King of the whole world could do that. Jesus is the King of Love, the King of Hope, and the King of Heaven. And he wants to be the King of your life, too. Will you let him?” Glenys Nellist, Easter Love Letters From God, pg. 31

 

If we can agree that every Sunday should be a party, some Sundays are even more so!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS PARTY!
Christmas Eve morning there will be one service with multiple services that same Sunday evening. Wanting to make the morning special with my kids, we’ll ‘go tell it on the mountain.’ We worship and serve a God of celebration, so let’s do this!

Immediately after the children’s moment in the one service, we will enjoy birthday cake (picked up from BJ’s), party hats and horns (picked up from Dollar Tree), play ‘decorate the Christmas tree’ by wrapping little people with green crepe paper with a bow on top (picked up from Dollar Tree), and making megaphones from paper cups. The kids will decorate their own cups with stickers and such, use a sparkly pipe cleaner, and go around making noise like nobody’s business. Jesus being born is worth making some noise about! Our lesson will be on The Great Commission as we heard the shepherds did just that (Luke 2:20). Go and tell…go and tell!

PAJAMA, POP TARTS & PRAISE PARTY!
New Year’s Eve morning we will be back to regular programming, but Sunday school will be a large group celebration since the volunteer base will be lower than usual. AND it gives my weekly faithful Sunday school teachers a break from Ur (usual routine).

Wearing our pajamas to church, eating from a plethora of pop tarts, we will also decorate snowman cookies and play in snow. All to celebrate how Jesus loves us SNOW much! We will cut paper snow flakes and use cars, trucks, spoons, and more in tubs of fake snow. Oh, and we’ll sing and dance!  These are just a couple of our favorite dance praise songs:

What are your favorite praise dance songs?

By the way, the winner of Glenys Nellist’s new book ‘Twas the Evening of Christmas (blog giveaway) is Misty Dolph. Misty is a preschool worship leader at West Cobb Church and a preschool teacher! Thank you and Merry Christmas to everyone who commented.

“They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.” Psalm 145:7

Serving at a local church with multiple buildings on the same campus, I can see first hand that parents 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. At the end of each week, 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 month and even make a snack station with a water dispenser for those who are hungry and didn’t have time to eat. The first stop is a table at the entrance where students write their own name tags and this gives me the perfect opportunity to introduce myself, engage them in some chitchat with students and parents/grandparents, AND learn their names.

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 to their classroom. 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 or even a Sunday school teacher in the mix…chatting and building with Lego bricks, setting up the Giant Jenga game again, 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. What other systems are you using to make for a smoother Sunday morning for your families?

“Welcome is the beginning of worship, for in welcoming one another, we welcome the divine ‘shekinah’, the holy presence of God that is in each person.” (Bath Church, Hospitality Team Letter)

I am collaborative by nature. Trainings and conferences relative to ministry have great value and are worth every penny. But what if your pennies are few and your calendar is even slimmer? What if you are freaked out by crowds or not knowing someone one?  Here are just a few of the reasons I build in margin to make conferences and trainings a priority if I am going to be involved in professional ministry:

1. I meet the most amazing people. At the last Children’s Pastors Conference, I sat behind a woman who, after the workshop was over, was ranting on her phone about the previous Sunday’s attempt at family worship at  her church. She was lit up! Since we were looking at the same thing at my church, I blatantly lingered to listen and then engaged in a 30-minute conversation about her experiences: what worked, what evidently didn’t work, and the surprises she didn’t anticipate. “Why network and collaborate with others?  Even on my worst day, I could be someone’s best hope.” – Craig Johnson
2. I see what’s coming in culture. At past conferences we have watched uncut, full length movies that would be coming out 9 months later, played with Sunday school curriculum as a focus group, and engaged in conversations across the table as a think-tank over challenges, and struggles.  “Moses was 80+ years old when he walked up and down a 6,000 ft mountain repeatedly to bring others to the summit. The whole Bible is filled with COME and GO.  We come to the Lord, but then forget to go back into the chaos to escort others into the Kingdom.  We forget that God has more than just my chapter in His hands.” – Beth Guckenberger
3. I glean from those who are in the trenches. It does something to a weary, bruised soul to see other sojourners joining in the fight for a Kingdom of God that is real for little people. For most of us, we don’t just attend church events, we have either planned them or come with keys in hand. So it’s lovely to ‘just come and be served.’ We need a regular something that feeds our Spirit and encourages us in our calling. If it’s a conference out of town and for an extended period of time, several of us will go a day or so early to catch up and glean from one another our challenges, and celebrations over the last year. We laugh, we take notes from each other, and we enjoy table life.  “In the spiritual life, we need mentors to point us back to Jesus when we get confused about who we are or where we are going.” – Jessica LaGrone
4. Face-to-Face builds community and relationships. Even if it’s just a day away, I am a better, more confident servant for Christ when I come home. I could probably sit in my pajamas and search the internet for blogs and Pinterest to build a program. I mean, do we really need any new friends? (said with a lot of sarcasm). God wants to build ME into the best teacher and student…a disciple…in my work, my calling, my family, my life.  His abundant love has ruined me for the mediocre. After spending time in the company of others who share my passions, I am ready to take on the world. “God’s spiritual comfort often comes in the physical company of another person.” – Jessica LaGrone

Someone says, “Join the conversation” and I am all in. If I can do it outside my normal surroundings, I am better prepared to be fully present and focused. Because budgets are involved and planning is part of the process, make choices far in advance. Taking advantage of early registration is also being a good steward. Where will I go next year?

I’ll be attending the North Georgia Conference’s  Done In a Day in January because these are my denominational and local peeps in five locations on the same half-a-Saturday; and the 2016 National CEF Conference in October because it builds Communities of Practice with Christians engaged in faith formation around the world.  I will also spend a week in June at Emory’s Candler School of Theology to begin a certification program provided by the National Institute of Church Finance and Administration (NICFA), a program of the National Association of Church Business Administrators (NACBA) because there’s more to ministry than glitter and putting nasty stuff in my hair.

Attending conferences and trainings are like drinking from a fire hose, so I make sure to send a local postcard to my Staff-Parish Relations Committee thanking them for investing in me and our ministry with children.

Where will you go? If you are wigged out about going somewhere by yourself, join me. I am always looking for new friends. I’ll bring the tea.

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7

Since January our families have been picking up Praying On The Go Bags each month to build their faith muscles in prayer with simple directions and a prayer prompter to take home.  I wanted to do something different for July following Vacation Bible School and came across a great facebook post of a blog offering  Take Out Church.  Thankfully, everything they used with photos and pdfs are at the link.  Gotta love it when colleagues share their goodies!

With a spin specific to us and our Children’s Ministry tagline, I prepared a pizza box (purchased at a local pizza shop @ $1 each) for each family, ordered the prayer cubes, and filled it with some goodies to clean out my own shelves along with the following instructions:

Summer Church On the Go Instructions

Summer Church On The Go is a way for your family to bring church with you as you vacation and enjoy wonderful family time this summer.  Building memories around faith practices. In this box are ways you and your family can

GROW (App List, Coloring Scroll with memory verses),

TELL (Flat Jesus, Conversation questions),

SERVE (Serve Your Neighbor Game),

WORSHIP (VBS CD, Prayer Cube, Skittle Prayers), and

BELONG (give the Wesley Chapel Welcome Postcard to a friend and invite them to church, Write a note of encouragement on the funny postcards and mail them to whomever you want – grandparents LOVE this stuff!)

Through it all we want you to remember to take Jesus with you. He is the most important thing in this box, but especially in our family life. Color FLAT JESUS and then take it with you everywhere you go. Take a picture and post it on facebook or email it to the church office at church.office@wesleychapelumc.com.

Have fun, be safe, and enjoy church on the go this Summer!

We introduced the boxes at the children’s moment the Sunday following VBS as a way to continue growing in our faith during the next month when most of us might hear, “Mom, I’m bored.”  It was quite dramatic to see a stack of pizza boxes near the church office and the kids headed straight for them after services were over.

What is your follow up to VBS?

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” – Colossians 4:2 NIV

There is a rhythm to every community. A time when you can guarantee a few Sundays of light attendance. Sometimes it falls around a weeklong school break  Sometimes it falls around a holiday typically filled with travelling and over-doing-it. So what do we do about THOSE Sundays?

The Sundays after Christmas and after New Year’s Day are two of the six that can cause this Children’s Ministry Director to toss her hands up in frustration, or…..we do our best to make them especially special!

This year we will host a PAJAMA PRAISE PARTY the Sunday after Christmas.  Everyone gets new PJs for Christmas, so kids and volunteers will be sporting them with the Youth hosting us with a hot chocolate bar during Sunday School.  We’ll gather in the gym in our jammies, eat some jacked-up hot cocoa, then head back to The Great Room to decorate huge Gingerbread cookies and jam out to Praise Songs.  11 o’clock worship service will look lively for sure.

On the Sunday following New Year’s Day, we’ve invited a Titus 2 Mystery Guest to speak with a special activity.  Baby Girl and #1 Son can give personal testimony when they were little people about the influence of having someone just a bit older sharing about their journey of faith .  They can name the young man who purposed in his heart to be a ‘delight’ to his parents as a teenager, the young woman who purposed in her heart to maintain relationship boundaries, and the multiple missionaries who gave testimony of their week-long, months-long, and whole life experiences of sharing the Good News of Jesus around the world.

Year before last, our church’s theme was “go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation.”  Every other month we invited a young person to share of their missionary experiences.

• On Easter Sunday, a young woman shared she had been going with her family to Honduras every year since she can remember on a short term mission trip.  Immediately following, our youth began talking about going to Honduras.  Last year, these same students partnered with the young woman’s home church and did just that.  They made it happen in just a year’s time.  And they are going back next summer.
• Another young woman visited and shared of her difficulties in the mission field in West Africa.  One of my girls came away telling me and anyone else who would listen that God is calling her to Russia and she has purposed in her heart to make it happen no matter the difficulties she may face.
• Another young girl, a senior in high school, shared about her receiving Operation Child Christmas Shoe boxes in a Latvian Salvation Army orphanage as a little person.  She was adopted into a family of home-church friend’s of ours as I met her on a Chrysalis Flight the summer before.  Just an FYI…the best gifts in the boxes she received:  bubble gum and flavored toothpaste.  Now, every shoe box that leaves Wesley Chapel has bubble gum and flavored toothpaste in it.

Our Titus 2 Mystery Guest will be sharing with my little people on the Sunday following New Year’s Day.  This very special young person is a student at Georgia Tech and that’s all I’m going to say about that because the mystery matters.  And I can’t wait to see what God will spark in the heart and mind of a child a direction, a purpose, or an intention from the testimony of His own.

“Teach the older men…teach the older women…then they can train the younger women…and encourage the young men…In everything set them an example by doing what is good.”  Titus 2:2-7a.