I'm a sucker for the kiosks by the check-out stands at the grocery store. I will have crossed off every item on my carefully prepared list, but suddenly, I just have to have that lint roller. Or that chapstick. Or that flavor of gum sure looks good... My husband says that those stands were designed just for me. Store clerks see me coming and stock up with plenty of not-quite-worthless items that I surely cannot live without. And don't get me started on what a food commercial can do for me. I will have just finished eating a very filling dinner, turn on the TV and suddenly I have an intense craving for Dairy Queen Blizzards, or french fries, or Starbursts, or _____ (you fill in the blank). Oddly enough, this sea-food hater found herself craving fish 'n chips after a Long John Silvers commercial. And don't get me started on the mere mention of cookies.
But despite how dissatisfied it makes me, I love the power of suggestion. Thoughts that might not originally occur to me become real. Foods that I may have forgotten my enjoyment of are savored once more. Or, that cat-fur covered sweater may finally have the chance to look new/clean again. But what if we turned this masterful marketing tool around and used it for good in Children's Ministries (or the church at large for that matter)? What if rather than blatantly telling people of our need for volunteers, we suggested it instead? What if there were subtle reminders throughout the building? What if people attended a service and left with the quiet thought of, "I should really start serving,"? It would just be gentle reminders that their experience that Saturday or Sunday wasn't complete. I have a feeling it would work on someone like me.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Iron Sharpening Iron
I'm excited to be presenting in two workshops at the Conspire Conference this year. One is on new practices for small groups. I'll be sharing about how we're approaching small groups differently in Bridge 45. I've loved the conference calls with Mindy Stoms and Chris Boss and hearing about what they're doing. I've even been able to put some of their practices to good use!
With the start of Adult Education Classes on Sunday mornings, we're now having quite a few more children attend multiple services. For our Adventure Ranch (preschool) classes, Lucy is using the Promiseland "In the Beginning" curriculum first service and is creating a simple, activity and game based program for the second services. In two months, the two services will swap what they're doing, and so on. We've found that preschoolers have a really hard time sitting through the same thing twice in a row. So far the new system is working well (even though we've only been doing it 2 weeks).
But figuring out a way to change things up in Adventure Mountain (k-3rd) was a little more complicated. Each lesson builds on each other so much, and a lot of our kids go back and forth between which service they attend, that we couldn't just do something completely different in the two services. We've been using Promiseland's "Looking at the Pieces" curriculum written for 2nd/3rd, and we make a few adjustments here and there to help it reach the kindergarten and first graders.
That was when I remembered what Chris shared about how they approach small groups at his church. They still have large group teaching and small group time, but not as segmented as we do it. The kids sit in their small groups during the teaching, and as each point is made, the groups do an activity, have a discussion, or look up the story in the Bible. This way, each point is presented and immediately applied, rather than expecting the kids to remember 3 points 20 minutes later. I don't think it should be too hard to use this concept with our current curriculum. We'll just break up the teaching and slightly adjust the activities. So the elementary kids will still get the same message twice, at least they'll experience two different methods.
I love being able to learn from other people who do ministry to children!
With the start of Adult Education Classes on Sunday mornings, we're now having quite a few more children attend multiple services. For our Adventure Ranch (preschool) classes, Lucy is using the Promiseland "In the Beginning" curriculum first service and is creating a simple, activity and game based program for the second services. In two months, the two services will swap what they're doing, and so on. We've found that preschoolers have a really hard time sitting through the same thing twice in a row. So far the new system is working well (even though we've only been doing it 2 weeks).
But figuring out a way to change things up in Adventure Mountain (k-3rd) was a little more complicated. Each lesson builds on each other so much, and a lot of our kids go back and forth between which service they attend, that we couldn't just do something completely different in the two services. We've been using Promiseland's "Looking at the Pieces" curriculum written for 2nd/3rd, and we make a few adjustments here and there to help it reach the kindergarten and first graders.
That was when I remembered what Chris shared about how they approach small groups at his church. They still have large group teaching and small group time, but not as segmented as we do it. The kids sit in their small groups during the teaching, and as each point is made, the groups do an activity, have a discussion, or look up the story in the Bible. This way, each point is presented and immediately applied, rather than expecting the kids to remember 3 points 20 minutes later. I don't think it should be too hard to use this concept with our current curriculum. We'll just break up the teaching and slightly adjust the activities. So the elementary kids will still get the same message twice, at least they'll experience two different methods.
I love being able to learn from other people who do ministry to children!
Friday, January 30, 2009
A Look Back
This past year has been one of intense growth for Morning Star. I think I've seen more new things happen in the past 12 months than I've seen in the past 5 years of working there. I've been meaning to write this post for the past month, and am finally doing it, but here's a look back of all that's happened since January 2008.
Saturday Service We started our Saturday service and it's still going strong. We've had some ups and downs for staffing Children's Ministries, but I am now pleased to say that if your child attends on Saturday, they'll have an equally quality experience as they would on Sunday. We've had so many people visit and the commit to attending our church based on the Saturday service. We've been confirmed over and over again that this was a good choice to make.
Neighborhood Prayer Outreach We've spend four Saturday mornings walking through neighborhoods near our church, knocking on doors and asking if we could pray for people. Many were uninterested, but a few families have ended up joining our church family because of it! We've prayed for our neighbors whether they wanted it or not, and been able to reach out to people in their time of need.
Staffing In an effort to be wise with our finances, we had to cut some positions in the spring. While it was sad to part with our friends, we've seen the staff we do have step up and work aggressively to make sure ministry is done well. While we're lean, we've seen our staff become even more passionate about seeing people reached for Jesus.
Early Childhood Our Early Childhood department has seen some changes. We lost our dear Amy to a husband and Paris (I guess that's a good enough reason), and have welcomed Lucy to our team. It's been great to see how God answered Amy's desire to be a wife, and brought Lucy to us with all her experience. But not only has she blessed us, but our pace and way of ministry have been a blessing to her. We also were able to add Mallory to our team and love having one staff person solely focused on our Nursery, Toddler and 2's & 3's classes on Sunday mornings.
Modulars We mentioned an idea and it caught on! In July we brought up the idea of adding a modular unit to our space for a class for our Fourth and Fifth graders, and in December we opened the new space! Not only were we able to get the room for our older elementary students, but also get two additional units for adult class space.
Adventureland In December we also launched the new name of our Children's Ministries... Adventureland!
And let's not forget, Bridge 45 In April at the Conspire Conference we felt called to reach our fourth a fifth graders in a new way, and now we're half way through the first year of Bridge 45. We've been creating our own curriculum, and love seeing the excitement in our kids for discovering God's Word for themselves.
2008 was so great, I can't wait to see what God has yet to do in 2009!
Saturday Service We started our Saturday service and it's still going strong. We've had some ups and downs for staffing Children's Ministries, but I am now pleased to say that if your child attends on Saturday, they'll have an equally quality experience as they would on Sunday. We've had so many people visit and the commit to attending our church based on the Saturday service. We've been confirmed over and over again that this was a good choice to make.
Neighborhood Prayer Outreach We've spend four Saturday mornings walking through neighborhoods near our church, knocking on doors and asking if we could pray for people. Many were uninterested, but a few families have ended up joining our church family because of it! We've prayed for our neighbors whether they wanted it or not, and been able to reach out to people in their time of need.
Staffing In an effort to be wise with our finances, we had to cut some positions in the spring. While it was sad to part with our friends, we've seen the staff we do have step up and work aggressively to make sure ministry is done well. While we're lean, we've seen our staff become even more passionate about seeing people reached for Jesus.
Early Childhood Our Early Childhood department has seen some changes. We lost our dear Amy to a husband and Paris (I guess that's a good enough reason), and have welcomed Lucy to our team. It's been great to see how God answered Amy's desire to be a wife, and brought Lucy to us with all her experience. But not only has she blessed us, but our pace and way of ministry have been a blessing to her. We also were able to add Mallory to our team and love having one staff person solely focused on our Nursery, Toddler and 2's & 3's classes on Sunday mornings.
Modulars We mentioned an idea and it caught on! In July we brought up the idea of adding a modular unit to our space for a class for our Fourth and Fifth graders, and in December we opened the new space! Not only were we able to get the room for our older elementary students, but also get two additional units for adult class space.
Adventureland In December we also launched the new name of our Children's Ministries... Adventureland!
And let's not forget, Bridge 45 In April at the Conspire Conference we felt called to reach our fourth a fifth graders in a new way, and now we're half way through the first year of Bridge 45. We've been creating our own curriculum, and love seeing the excitement in our kids for discovering God's Word for themselves.
2008 was so great, I can't wait to see what God has yet to do in 2009!
More Changes
This past Sunday we launched Adult Education classes on Sunday mornings. For the first time in 26 years, Morning Star has classes for adults during our services. This wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the new modulars. With the expectation of more families attending both Sunday services, the thought of opening a cafe arose. People would be hungry, kids would appreciate a snack between services, and a place to socialize as people stayed around for more would be apparent. So we also opened "Grace Cafe" on Sunday morning.
Grace Cafe is in the same lobby where we check in new families and our Infants, Toddlers, and 2's & 3's classes open into it. I was a little nervous about adding so many people to the space. Concerned that we wouldn't be able to control our environment. Apprehensive about feeling run over. But all these hesitations disappeared the moment the lobby filled. People were standing around, sitting at tables, leaning against walls. And they were talking! Not only that, new families were being introduced to the old timers. The lobby was louder than I've heard it on a Sunday morning. But it was good noise. I loved the sound almost as much as I love the sound of little kids worshipping. It was a beautiful song of fellowship.
Not only are our adults having more opportunities to strengthen their marriages, improve their money management, expand their understanding of the scriptures, and study with fellow single moms, but they're also just hanging out at church. I was reading the Facebook profile of one of our teens, and she made the statement, "I love church. I'd spend all my time there if I could." I love seeing the body of Christ be filled with love. And filled with food is pretty nice too.
Grace Cafe is in the same lobby where we check in new families and our Infants, Toddlers, and 2's & 3's classes open into it. I was a little nervous about adding so many people to the space. Concerned that we wouldn't be able to control our environment. Apprehensive about feeling run over. But all these hesitations disappeared the moment the lobby filled. People were standing around, sitting at tables, leaning against walls. And they were talking! Not only that, new families were being introduced to the old timers. The lobby was louder than I've heard it on a Sunday morning. But it was good noise. I loved the sound almost as much as I love the sound of little kids worshipping. It was a beautiful song of fellowship.
Not only are our adults having more opportunities to strengthen their marriages, improve their money management, expand their understanding of the scriptures, and study with fellow single moms, but they're also just hanging out at church. I was reading the Facebook profile of one of our teens, and she made the statement, "I love church. I'd spend all my time there if I could." I love seeing the body of Christ be filled with love. And filled with food is pretty nice too.
A Good Night
I'm sitting in my recliner, groaning and complaining about every five minutes that my feet, ankles or hips hurt. It's because I spent over 5 hours on my feet tonight (in shoes that aren't that great I've discovered). But deep down, I'm happy. I had a great evening! Tonight we had our second Family Movie Night. Our first was in October, and we're now hoping to have one the last Friday of every month. We started the movie nights as a replacement for our Family Experience Services we used to do (since the start of Saturday service it's been too much to pull off). And this event has proven to be the most popular of any outside event we've offered to the families of Morning Star.
We obtained a license that gives us the right to show movies as long as we don't charge people to attend. So free admission, combined with a low cost snack bar (each item is $1.00 or less), has created a great, affordable, fun, family night. We've stocked up on M & M's, Skittles, and Capri Suns. And a lady in our church recently donated a brand new popcorn popper like you'll find at carnivals or the movies. With the show on the big projector screens, it's like going to the movies!
Tonight our film was "Kit Kittredge." Though it's an American Girl movie, the boys loved it too! I was putting together a family discussion guide today (thanks to Kidology), and was struck with what a fitting movie it was, especially with why we're doing this event. The movie takes place during the Great Depression and has several themes about not being too prideful, making do when you have little, and still helping others even though you also have need. Such fitting themes for our economy. And with the economy being what it is, we're finding that our families are loving an entertainment option that doesn't hurt their wallets.
So while I'm hurting and tired, I'm so happy. This event was worth every minute I stood. Seeing the excitement in the kids as they entered the building. The joy on parents faces as they paid $6 for a fun evening that would have otherwise cost $50 at the theater. The little girls who danced across the front of the room as music played in the show. The family who just visited our church for the first time on Sunday and joined us. All of these things show why tonight was worth it. And I can't wait until the next one!
We obtained a license that gives us the right to show movies as long as we don't charge people to attend. So free admission, combined with a low cost snack bar (each item is $1.00 or less), has created a great, affordable, fun, family night. We've stocked up on M & M's, Skittles, and Capri Suns. And a lady in our church recently donated a brand new popcorn popper like you'll find at carnivals or the movies. With the show on the big projector screens, it's like going to the movies!
Tonight our film was "Kit Kittredge." Though it's an American Girl movie, the boys loved it too! I was putting together a family discussion guide today (thanks to Kidology), and was struck with what a fitting movie it was, especially with why we're doing this event. The movie takes place during the Great Depression and has several themes about not being too prideful, making do when you have little, and still helping others even though you also have need. Such fitting themes for our economy. And with the economy being what it is, we're finding that our families are loving an entertainment option that doesn't hurt their wallets.
So while I'm hurting and tired, I'm so happy. This event was worth every minute I stood. Seeing the excitement in the kids as they entered the building. The joy on parents faces as they paid $6 for a fun evening that would have otherwise cost $50 at the theater. The little girls who danced across the front of the room as music played in the show. The family who just visited our church for the first time on Sunday and joined us. All of these things show why tonight was worth it. And I can't wait until the next one!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
What's In A Name?
For years, Morning Star's children's ministries has been called just that--Children's Ministries. While the individual age group departments had titles (Wee Zone, Wonder Zone... etc), but no all encompassing title for the ministry. The elementary kids were aware of their department name, but other than that, our kids just called their Sunday morning experience "church."
We've wanted to find a name for the past three years, but nothing really fit. We pretty much discovered that it's hard to find a title for something a "zone" fits in. But with the addition of Bridge 45, Grow Zone (2nd-5th) became obsolete. We finally had a chance to completely rethink what you call us.
Along the way I found that while the involvement of several people in the brainstorming process was good, in the end, I had to make a final call. We'd probably still be debating otherwise. So just what did we come up with?
"Where kids adventure through the Bible and discover that God’s Word is exciting."
Our infants, toddlers, 2's & 3's are now in Adventure Ranch, the preschoolers and Tender Hearts is Adventure Cove, K-3rd is Adventure Mountain, and Bridge 45 for the fourth and fifth graders. John Nissen, a dad and graphic designer in our church, did an amazing job of creating our logo! He reflected our home, the Northwest, in the design and made it look like it belonged at Disneyland!
We knew that if we wanted the name to be remembered by the people in our church, it'd have to be promoted well. On December 7, our launch date, Morning Star families were greeted by a beautiful free standing sign directing them the different areas, a "Welcome to Adventureland" banner, and banners for each Adventure in their areas. Not only that, we also had a great opportunity to share the news with the church in the Morning Star 411, our video announcements.
411 - Week of December 4th from Morning Star Church on Vimeo.
We've had a lot of fun launching a new name--especially one that unifies our departments!
We've wanted to find a name for the past three years, but nothing really fit. We pretty much discovered that it's hard to find a title for something a "zone" fits in. But with the addition of Bridge 45, Grow Zone (2nd-5th) became obsolete. We finally had a chance to completely rethink what you call us.
Along the way I found that while the involvement of several people in the brainstorming process was good, in the end, I had to make a final call. We'd probably still be debating otherwise. So just what did we come up with?
"Where kids adventure through the Bible and discover that God’s Word is exciting."
Our infants, toddlers, 2's & 3's are now in Adventure Ranch, the preschoolers and Tender Hearts is Adventure Cove, K-3rd is Adventure Mountain, and Bridge 45 for the fourth and fifth graders. John Nissen, a dad and graphic designer in our church, did an amazing job of creating our logo! He reflected our home, the Northwest, in the design and made it look like it belonged at Disneyland!
We knew that if we wanted the name to be remembered by the people in our church, it'd have to be promoted well. On December 7, our launch date, Morning Star families were greeted by a beautiful free standing sign directing them the different areas, a "Welcome to Adventureland" banner, and banners for each Adventure in their areas. Not only that, we also had a great opportunity to share the news with the church in the Morning Star 411, our video announcements.
411 - Week of December 4th from Morning Star Church on Vimeo.
We've had a lot of fun launching a new name--especially one that unifies our departments!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Rare Breed of Kindergarten and First Graders
Five and six year olds are so unique--they're going through huge life transitions--going from being little children who play all day to learning structure in school. They are achieving great things such as reading, new social skills and physical coordination. Yet they're still so young and excitable. Our leaders' biggest difficulties is learning how to keep their kids focused. And because our kindergarten and first graders are in the same class as second and third graders, having to follow a curriculum designed for children who can already read and write adds additional difficulties. We're blessed to have an abundance of volunteers, so each small group consists of no more than six kids. And our volunteers love their groups and desire to be the best leaders possible. They just struggle at times to know how to focus these young learners.
So this afternoon, Jared (our Elementary Director) and I met with all our kindergarten and first grade small group leaders. The goal of our time together was to give the leaders insight into how their kids think, to give them tools to handle their kids better, and for them to share and encourage one another with methods that have worked.
The leaders worry that the lessons don't click with their kids, so we shared about the biblical truths that a 5 and 6 year old can comprehend, as explained in this article. These truths are:
-Jesus loves everyone and that’s why He came to earth.
-I know who God is, what He’s like and what He’s done for me.
-I can talk to God whenever and wherever I want.
-I know people in Bible times loved God and served Him, and I know how I can love and serve Him today.
We encouraged the volunteers to focus on these truths as they teach their lessons. To recognize that there are points in the curriculum that are beyond what the students in their small groups can comprehend, so to just focus on what is at their level. And, if nothing else seems to click, to feel like they've accomplished something if their kids go home just loving church. As they get older, the lessons they continue to hear will build off of what these leaders may feel went unheard.
The best part of the meeting, though, was when the leaders were able to share difficulties they're having with specific kids and have the other leaders give advice. Volunteers who have only served for three months were able to look to those that have been around for eight years for suggestions. A leader who was struggling with a first grader was able to hear from the kindergarten leader about what worked the previous year. It was great to sit and watch iron sharpen iron.
And in the end, we were able to remember what an amazing time this phase of life is for children spiritually--they are discovering a personal relationship with Jesus and overjoyed by it. A mom was telling me a few weeks ago about how when she told her first grade son that his great uncle had died, the child's response was, "YES! That means he is in heaven with Jesus now!" In his mind, a person dying and going to heaven meant great cause for celebration. If only we could capture this innocence. But at least we can take joy in this phase of teaching--to not become wrapped up in or overwhelmed by the wiggles and giggles, but to see the great joy found in laying foundational layers of what will develop into a mature relationship with our Lord.
So this afternoon, Jared (our Elementary Director) and I met with all our kindergarten and first grade small group leaders. The goal of our time together was to give the leaders insight into how their kids think, to give them tools to handle their kids better, and for them to share and encourage one another with methods that have worked.
The leaders worry that the lessons don't click with their kids, so we shared about the biblical truths that a 5 and 6 year old can comprehend, as explained in this article. These truths are:
-Jesus loves everyone and that’s why He came to earth.
-I know who God is, what He’s like and what He’s done for me.
-I can talk to God whenever and wherever I want.
-I know people in Bible times loved God and served Him, and I know how I can love and serve Him today.
We encouraged the volunteers to focus on these truths as they teach their lessons. To recognize that there are points in the curriculum that are beyond what the students in their small groups can comprehend, so to just focus on what is at their level. And, if nothing else seems to click, to feel like they've accomplished something if their kids go home just loving church. As they get older, the lessons they continue to hear will build off of what these leaders may feel went unheard.
The best part of the meeting, though, was when the leaders were able to share difficulties they're having with specific kids and have the other leaders give advice. Volunteers who have only served for three months were able to look to those that have been around for eight years for suggestions. A leader who was struggling with a first grader was able to hear from the kindergarten leader about what worked the previous year. It was great to sit and watch iron sharpen iron.
And in the end, we were able to remember what an amazing time this phase of life is for children spiritually--they are discovering a personal relationship with Jesus and overjoyed by it. A mom was telling me a few weeks ago about how when she told her first grade son that his great uncle had died, the child's response was, "YES! That means he is in heaven with Jesus now!" In his mind, a person dying and going to heaven meant great cause for celebration. If only we could capture this innocence. But at least we can take joy in this phase of teaching--to not become wrapped up in or overwhelmed by the wiggles and giggles, but to see the great joy found in laying foundational layers of what will develop into a mature relationship with our Lord.
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