I've been meaning to blog for a few weeks now. But every time I start to type in the blogger website, I just feel tired. We've been busy lately... but then I suppose who in Children's Ministries hasn't? Fall is up and running and I'm really happy with what all's going on in our program. Some highlights from the past month:
-At the end of August we had a training meeting for our Bridge 45 volunteers. We had each person share about their previous experience in Children's Ministries as well as why they're volunteering now. Two women shared that they want to be involved in Bridge 45 to better know and reach their 5th grade daughters(I love parents who get involved!), another was a father who wants to be involved in the ministry his kids are in. One man, Geary, has been involved in Children's Ministries for years and next to him sat a college senior who was one of Geary's boys 12 years ago! I love the heart of volunteers.
-September 6 and 7 was our fall kick off weekend. Several classes of kids promoted to their new rooms, and other classes were shuffled. It was our first week of separating the kindergarten-third graders from the fourth and fifth graders. The energy in Adventure Mountain (K-3) was incredible! Each child enthusiastically participated in worship, activity stations were buzzing and small groups were a blessing to watch. The fourth and fifth graders looked nervous and excited to be in their new class, and the word I heard in response to it was, "awesome!"
-We switched back to three weekend services and the volunteers of our preschoolers LOVED the smaller class sizes! Hooray for manageable numbers.
-Tasha, our new Early Childhood Director, was offered a new job that was too good to pass up. Her last day was Sunday the 14. On Friday the 12 I met with Lucy Younis who's experience is incredible and her philosophy of ministry was exactly what I was looking for. I planned to take the hiring process slowly, but sometimes you just can't ignore it when God speaks so clearly, so I hired her on the spot. She started in the office on Tuesday and is already doing a fantastic job!
So while busy, hectic, and constantly changing, things are going well!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
All our Changes this Fall
Here's what we're giving (in newsletter form) to the parents this weekend:
New Staff
As many of you know, Amy Chirgwin served our church for two years as our Early Childhood Director and did a wonderful job. This fall she’s getting married and being whisked away to Paris! Taking her place is Tasha Martinez. Tasha has years of experience in leading children’s ministries and is excited to be on our team! She’ll be spending most of her time with our preschool kids because we’ve also hired Mallory Crain to be coordinate our Wee Zone classes. Mallory has been a volunteer in Wee Zone for the past year and served as the Nursery Coordinator at her previous church. We’re so grateful that the Lord has prepared Tasha and Mallory for this ministry and brought them here at just the right time!
Something New in Elementary
We’re restructuring our elementary department! You’ve probably heard about Bridge 45, our new ministry to 4th and 5th graders. We’ve been meeting weekly to write a program for this age group and are thrilled to provide teaching that addresses the rapid growth they’re facing. Equally exciting is our new class for kindergarten—third graders. Jared Boltman, our Elementary Director, is leading this transition. It couldn’t be in better hands.
A New Name
With all this restructuring we saw the need to rename our ministry—after all, one of the zones would be obsolete (Grow Zone), and we really wanted an overall name (more than just “Children’s Ministries”). We wanted a name that kids could remember, where they’d say to their friends, “Do you want to come to ______ with me?”
After some prayerful brainstorming, we’re excited to introduce Adventureland! It’ll be a place where kids adventure through the Bible and see that God’s Word is exciting! Wee Zone (infants-2’s & 3’s) will become Adventure Ranch, Wonder Zone (3’s, 4’s, 5’s & Tender Hearts) will become Adventure Cove, and kindergarten—3rd grade will be Adventure Mountain.
We have logos all ready to go and will launch the new name in October when we open the new modular unit for Bridge 45.
Interns
We have two interns from Corban College assisting us this year. Roni Paden has interned in our program for the past two years and will be helping in a variety of ways, but most specifically by coordinating our teen helpers. Caleb Molstad is in his first year of internship and will be assisting Jared with Bridge 45.
Promotion Weekend—September 6 & 7!
It’ll be an exciting fall! It will begin with Promotion Weekend on September 6 and 7. On those days children will attend their classes for the upcoming school year. Our teachers are excited to welcome their new students! Kids who have been in the following zones/classes will promote as follows:
Adventure Ranch (Formerly Wee Zone)
-Current infants and toddlers will stay where they are and be promoted at the discretion of the parents and director.
-Current 2’s & 3’s: Children who are 3 by September 1 move upstairs to the 3’s & 4’s class (room 200). Those who will turn 3 after September 1 will stay in the 2’s & 3’s class for the year. These kids will move up next fall.
Adventure Cove (Formerly Wonder Zone)
-Current 3’s & 4’s: Children who are 4 by September 1 move to the 4’s & 5’s class (room 202). Those who will be 4 after September 1 will stay in the 3’s & 4’s class (room 200).
-Current 4’s & 5’s: Children who will be attending kindergarten in the fall will move to Adventure Mountain (room 204). Children who are 5 by September 1, but won’t attend kindergarten in the fall will continue to be in the 4’s & 5’s class (room 202).
Adventure Mountain (Kindergarten—3rd Grade)
New kindergarten-third graders will be upstairs in the triple room (room 204). Small groups will be assigned by grade and gender.
Bridge 45 (4th & 5th grades)
New fourth and fifth graders will be in the south auditorium (formerly Grow Zone) until our modular unit is installed and ready to go. Bridge 45 will not be offered during Saturday service; forth and fifth graders will join Adventure Mountain.
We Need You!
A variety of volunteer positions available! Nursery and toddler workers, classroom helpers, large group teachers, worship or small group leaders, service supporters, shepherds, mid-week helpers for prep work or helping in Tender Hearts (our special needs ministries) are all possibilities. If you are interested in serving, please sign up at the Children’s Ministries information and resource table.
We also need donations (financial and material) to outfit our new modular unit for Bridge 45. With less than $14,000, we can provide a state-of-the-art learning environment for our 4th and 5th graders. If you would like to help with this, pick up a form at the Project Bridge 45 table in the north lobby or contact Jill Nelson.
New Staff
As many of you know, Amy Chirgwin served our church for two years as our Early Childhood Director and did a wonderful job. This fall she’s getting married and being whisked away to Paris! Taking her place is Tasha Martinez. Tasha has years of experience in leading children’s ministries and is excited to be on our team! She’ll be spending most of her time with our preschool kids because we’ve also hired Mallory Crain to be coordinate our Wee Zone classes. Mallory has been a volunteer in Wee Zone for the past year and served as the Nursery Coordinator at her previous church. We’re so grateful that the Lord has prepared Tasha and Mallory for this ministry and brought them here at just the right time!
Something New in Elementary
We’re restructuring our elementary department! You’ve probably heard about Bridge 45, our new ministry to 4th and 5th graders. We’ve been meeting weekly to write a program for this age group and are thrilled to provide teaching that addresses the rapid growth they’re facing. Equally exciting is our new class for kindergarten—third graders. Jared Boltman, our Elementary Director, is leading this transition. It couldn’t be in better hands.
A New Name
With all this restructuring we saw the need to rename our ministry—after all, one of the zones would be obsolete (Grow Zone), and we really wanted an overall name (more than just “Children’s Ministries”). We wanted a name that kids could remember, where they’d say to their friends, “Do you want to come to ______ with me?”
After some prayerful brainstorming, we’re excited to introduce Adventureland! It’ll be a place where kids adventure through the Bible and see that God’s Word is exciting! Wee Zone (infants-2’s & 3’s) will become Adventure Ranch, Wonder Zone (3’s, 4’s, 5’s & Tender Hearts) will become Adventure Cove, and kindergarten—3rd grade will be Adventure Mountain.
We have logos all ready to go and will launch the new name in October when we open the new modular unit for Bridge 45.
Interns
We have two interns from Corban College assisting us this year. Roni Paden has interned in our program for the past two years and will be helping in a variety of ways, but most specifically by coordinating our teen helpers. Caleb Molstad is in his first year of internship and will be assisting Jared with Bridge 45.
Promotion Weekend—September 6 & 7!
It’ll be an exciting fall! It will begin with Promotion Weekend on September 6 and 7. On those days children will attend their classes for the upcoming school year. Our teachers are excited to welcome their new students! Kids who have been in the following zones/classes will promote as follows:
Adventure Ranch (Formerly Wee Zone)
-Current infants and toddlers will stay where they are and be promoted at the discretion of the parents and director.
-Current 2’s & 3’s: Children who are 3 by September 1 move upstairs to the 3’s & 4’s class (room 200). Those who will turn 3 after September 1 will stay in the 2’s & 3’s class for the year. These kids will move up next fall.
Adventure Cove (Formerly Wonder Zone)
-Current 3’s & 4’s: Children who are 4 by September 1 move to the 4’s & 5’s class (room 202). Those who will be 4 after September 1 will stay in the 3’s & 4’s class (room 200).
-Current 4’s & 5’s: Children who will be attending kindergarten in the fall will move to Adventure Mountain (room 204). Children who are 5 by September 1, but won’t attend kindergarten in the fall will continue to be in the 4’s & 5’s class (room 202).
Adventure Mountain (Kindergarten—3rd Grade)
New kindergarten-third graders will be upstairs in the triple room (room 204). Small groups will be assigned by grade and gender.
Bridge 45 (4th & 5th grades)
New fourth and fifth graders will be in the south auditorium (formerly Grow Zone) until our modular unit is installed and ready to go. Bridge 45 will not be offered during Saturday service; forth and fifth graders will join Adventure Mountain.
We Need You!
A variety of volunteer positions available! Nursery and toddler workers, classroom helpers, large group teachers, worship or small group leaders, service supporters, shepherds, mid-week helpers for prep work or helping in Tender Hearts (our special needs ministries) are all possibilities. If you are interested in serving, please sign up at the Children’s Ministries information and resource table.
We also need donations (financial and material) to outfit our new modular unit for Bridge 45. With less than $14,000, we can provide a state-of-the-art learning environment for our 4th and 5th graders. If you would like to help with this, pick up a form at the Project Bridge 45 table in the north lobby or contact Jill Nelson.
Friday, August 22, 2008
And here it is...
The church will be seeing this, as well as a request to help furnish it, this weekend.
Promoting Bridge 45
This weekend we're promoting the launch of a new modular unit for our ministry, Bridge 45. We went out to the construction site this week and video taped what it looks like currently, as well as visited a completed unit. We want to give the church a picture of what it will be, so that way they can take some ownership. We're asking for $14,000 to fully furnish the unit with everything from folding chairs to a Play Station 2. Stay tuned for our promo video!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Changes Ahead
Back at the Conspire Conference, Christin Yount Jones (editor of Children's Ministries Magazine, her blog is here) asked where we're at in a storm... seeing it on the horizon, in the middle of it, just coming out and still feeling shaky, or in peaceful waters. At that time, I felt good. I still feel good, but it's probably safe to say I'm in the middle of a hurricane.
Amy, my Early Childhood Director for the past two years, had her last day in the office today. She's engaged and after her September 13 wedding, she and her husband will be preparing to move to Paris! We've divided her position a variety of ways. I now have a 25 hours a week Early Childhood Director and an 8 hour a week nursery/toddler/2's & 3's coordinator. I'm sad to see Amy go--she's done a fantastic job and brought her department to a level of excellence beyond my expectations. But I'm thrilled she's getting married, and fully confident in the jobs our new team members will play.
We're starting a new ministry for our fourth and fifth graders--Bridge 45. We're so excited about what this will do for our older elementary kids. If you want to know more, check out my blog for it here. For this program we're getting a new modular unit! Because of permits, etc. we won't be able to use the modular unit until October, so we'll move K-3rd to their new room in September, and the fourth and fifth graders will get their room in October.
We're also renaming our ministry... or should I say finally naming it? For countless years we've just been "Children's Ministries" which was divided into three Zones--Wee, Wonder and Grow. We'll use September to promote the new name, and then it'll fully launch in October when we get the modular unit (we don't want to have to make and then remake signs).
Fall recruitment is up and running. The past three years we've had a big theme to our recruitment, displays, etc. but received minimal response. This week we just had a bulletin insert with detailed job descriptions of volunteer positions. 16 people signed up to serve! I can't wait to see how many more come in over the next three weeks.
It's a good thing I like busyness and change because it's coming full force. I think what I love the most is that God's hand is so evident in times like this!
Amy, my Early Childhood Director for the past two years, had her last day in the office today. She's engaged and after her September 13 wedding, she and her husband will be preparing to move to Paris! We've divided her position a variety of ways. I now have a 25 hours a week Early Childhood Director and an 8 hour a week nursery/toddler/2's & 3's coordinator. I'm sad to see Amy go--she's done a fantastic job and brought her department to a level of excellence beyond my expectations. But I'm thrilled she's getting married, and fully confident in the jobs our new team members will play.
We're starting a new ministry for our fourth and fifth graders--Bridge 45. We're so excited about what this will do for our older elementary kids. If you want to know more, check out my blog for it here. For this program we're getting a new modular unit! Because of permits, etc. we won't be able to use the modular unit until October, so we'll move K-3rd to their new room in September, and the fourth and fifth graders will get their room in October.
We're also renaming our ministry... or should I say finally naming it? For countless years we've just been "Children's Ministries" which was divided into three Zones--Wee, Wonder and Grow. We'll use September to promote the new name, and then it'll fully launch in October when we get the modular unit (we don't want to have to make and then remake signs).
Fall recruitment is up and running. The past three years we've had a big theme to our recruitment, displays, etc. but received minimal response. This week we just had a bulletin insert with detailed job descriptions of volunteer positions. 16 people signed up to serve! I can't wait to see how many more come in over the next three weeks.
It's a good thing I like busyness and change because it's coming full force. I think what I love the most is that God's hand is so evident in times like this!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Aspiring to New Heights
My cat, Wylie, is obsessed with heights. As a kitten he'd try and jump as high as he could and grab door frames, holding on for dear life. Then he accomplished the mantle over our fireplace, from the floor to the bar in our kitchen, and my 4' tall dresser. His most recent feats were from the floor to the top of the refrigerator, then from my dresser to the top of an open door (which he stood on like a balance beam for a minute!) and finally from the fridge to the top of the kitchen cabinets. Since reaching what I would think of as the highest point in the house, he's become obsessed with finding something higher. He climbs on things and paws around door frames, trying to find footing to stand on. He looks at the ceiling constantly and meows if he can't get to where he wants to go.
I thought he'd achieved it all (except for an awkward ledge that I hope he never discovers--we'd have no way of getting him down). And then this morning, while getting ready for work, I heard a loud crash. It sounded like the blinds were being torn from a window downstairs. But no destruction, or Wylie for that matter, could be found. A little later, I heard another crash. I went downstairs and once again couldn't find any evidence of his mischief. This time I went exploring. I found Wylie in our office, sitting in front of a tall bookshelf with a box of legos lying next to him. The first crash must have been an attempt at the top of the shelf, only to find himself sliding down the window blinds. The second must have been more successful--if only the legos hadn't blocked his way!
Wylie will stop at nothing to reach new heights, and will try and try again despite failed attempts. During my quiet times this morning, I found myself asking God to help me see through His eyes what would make our ministry GREAT. I feel like we've been doing a good job, but I don't want to settle for that. I don't want to ever get comfortable or complacent in a well-working ministry. Just like Wylie isn't content to settle for the top of a refrigerator, I want to keep looking for new heights.
I admire that once Wylie finds a new jumping point, he practices that leap over and over again to become more confident for his next adventure. It's only been a matter of weeks between discovering the refrigerator and this morning's attempt. How often do we accomplish something in ministry and then say "done," and sit at that place for a year, or even years? We need to make sure that when implementing something new we master it, but once it's working well, look for new and additional things to master.
I'm curious where I'll find my cat when I return home. And, I'm curious where I'll find my ministry when we start looking up and diligently checking for new heights.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
I Haven't Been Rubbed Raw
I recently read a collection of rants from various children's ministry leaders here. As I read the passionate testimonies of frustration I was reminded how blessed I am to be here at Morning Star. I've also been following a thread on the Kidology Network where people share situations in which they were "hung out to dry" by the leadership of their church. Either I'm very forgetful (which I don't think is the case) or once again, I'm blessed.
I've seen enough difficult situations through my mom's experiences as a Children's Director to know that sometimes there's just nothing you can do to avoid trials and tribulations in ministry. And because of those trying times, I can recognize that my work situation is unique. But I've also learned that there are things I must do in order to receive the respect I hope for.
As a woman in ministry, I need to remember that the people I serve under are men, and therefore, their minds and feelings work differently than mine. Just as I need to show my husband grace when he doesn't react to a new purchase (like a purse or shoes) the way a girlfriend would, I need to show my boss grace when he approaches situations logically and without extreme excitement.
I also need to show the men I work for a level of respect that goes beyond politeness. A Bible study I've done recently called Love & Respect taught me alot about giving my husband the respect he desperately needs. While my boss is certainly not in the same category as my husband, the principles can translate quite simply. I show respect for his position by presenting ideas for his input and value his ideas rather than coming with an agenda for him to approve. I respect the wide expanse of his job by recognizing that there may be bigger issues he's dealing with than my crisis of curriculum (which, in reality, could easily be solved at a later date). And I respect his time by coming to meetings well prepared and researched, and able to keep it short if need be by prioritizing my points.
And finally, if I want my voice to be heard by our staff and leadership, I need to have a voice people will want to listen to. If every situation is a high-drama case, I'll just become the girl who cried wolf (or lack of volunteers, or lack of facility space, or lack of recognition, or... you get the picture). I guard my complaints and stress level so when I do say, "I have a problem" or "I'm stressed," the attention I desire will be given. I also need to sound educated and researched, so that when I present an idea, a level of credibility will accompany it.
Granted, I know I'm not the perfect employee, and while it's easy to make a list of qualities and practices to make my job a lot more pleasant, I recognize that I'm not the only party involved. The pastors I serve under are very supportive and are clear about showing their appreciation and support for what I do. I never want to become so accustomed to this that I forget to appreciate it.
I've seen enough difficult situations through my mom's experiences as a Children's Director to know that sometimes there's just nothing you can do to avoid trials and tribulations in ministry. And because of those trying times, I can recognize that my work situation is unique. But I've also learned that there are things I must do in order to receive the respect I hope for.
As a woman in ministry, I need to remember that the people I serve under are men, and therefore, their minds and feelings work differently than mine. Just as I need to show my husband grace when he doesn't react to a new purchase (like a purse or shoes) the way a girlfriend would, I need to show my boss grace when he approaches situations logically and without extreme excitement.
I also need to show the men I work for a level of respect that goes beyond politeness. A Bible study I've done recently called Love & Respect taught me alot about giving my husband the respect he desperately needs. While my boss is certainly not in the same category as my husband, the principles can translate quite simply. I show respect for his position by presenting ideas for his input and value his ideas rather than coming with an agenda for him to approve. I respect the wide expanse of his job by recognizing that there may be bigger issues he's dealing with than my crisis of curriculum (which, in reality, could easily be solved at a later date). And I respect his time by coming to meetings well prepared and researched, and able to keep it short if need be by prioritizing my points.
And finally, if I want my voice to be heard by our staff and leadership, I need to have a voice people will want to listen to. If every situation is a high-drama case, I'll just become the girl who cried wolf (or lack of volunteers, or lack of facility space, or lack of recognition, or... you get the picture). I guard my complaints and stress level so when I do say, "I have a problem" or "I'm stressed," the attention I desire will be given. I also need to sound educated and researched, so that when I present an idea, a level of credibility will accompany it.
Granted, I know I'm not the perfect employee, and while it's easy to make a list of qualities and practices to make my job a lot more pleasant, I recognize that I'm not the only party involved. The pastors I serve under are very supportive and are clear about showing their appreciation and support for what I do. I never want to become so accustomed to this that I forget to appreciate it.
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