KidzSummer

As I mentioned yesterday, I am not a “big” VBS fan. I don’t want to do something because that’s traditionally what churches are supposed to do. I want to do something that will effective and if the VBS is effective, then I have no problem holding them. We don’t need a VBS to disciple our children, they have a number of options in the area for that and then that church can talk about how they are reaching the community when our children attend and we can use our resources more effectively.

This summer we will be trying to reach the community by using a 2-part approach:

One will be the week long intense program traditionally known as VBS. We will be using the Sonrise National Park material. This was selected in part because our Discovery Woods goes nicely with the theme. But more importantly…

Two, we will have a weekly program called Summit Seekers that dove-tails off of the Sonrise National Park theme. We will encourage the children to attend one night each week for Summit Seekers which prayerfully will lead into them attending the weekly activities when they begin in the fall.

Tie this into what is being planned for a new type of family service (I’ll be sharing more about that soon) and I believe we will begin to reach many families in the area.

Do you believe that we can have 60 children attending during the summer? (I do) If we do, are we ready to minister to them effectively? What if only 25% or 15 of those children and their families began attending activities in the fall, are we ready to handle that growth?

For this to be effective, we need people to step up and be involved, ready to accept new families and growth. Are you willing to serve this summer? Are you ready to be a part of what I believe God will do this summer and into the fall?

There are many opportunities to serve. If you are interested in serving this summer, please contact Pastor Bill.

Time to put up, or shut up…

Growing, healthy churches have children. Some have said that a church with 10% of attendees as children is healthy. Did you know that our average is near 25%! That’s amazing and I believe a big part of Hanover Fellowship’s success. But should we rest on that? NO!

When we purchased our current facility, one of the key aspects that people liked about it was that in was “in the community”. Well, if that was truly a “selling point”, then now is the time to put up, or shut up.

Summer is coming quickly and the big “outreach” that churches hold each summer is an activity called Vacation Bible School. Honestly, I am not a big fan of Vacation Bible School. It’s an intense week for volunteers and children, and it can reach a lot of “non church” children, but far too often, several non-church children attend for the week and the church proudly shares how far reaching the week was, but then those children are gone, you never see them again. All too often it is “church children” bouncing from VBS to VBS throughout the summer. VBS, though there are a lot of good aspects to it, often falls short of its original purpose.

The previous two VBS’ that Hanover Fellowship had did not reach out to the community. The children attending were member’s children, grandchildren, and a few friends. At the conclusion, those that visited did not return after the week was over. It was in essence discipleship for our members. Some excuses people used included that we meet in a movie theater and don’t have a “permanent” home, we didn’t hold it in our community, etc.

Now we are in the community, where we wanted to be. What will our excuse be this year? Will we reach out to the community? Are we ready for “non-churched” children to attend and sit next to our “churched-kids”? Are we ready to welcome these neighborhood children on a weekly basis? And if we are, what are we doing now to prepare for the growth? And if we are not, why not? May God prepare our hearts to reach out to the community. The building won’t do it. The building can’t show the love of God.

Tomorrow, I will post about the plans for the summer. The opportunity you will have to reach out to the community, to welcome these children into our church and the plan to encourage them to return on a regular basis, not just attend for one focused, intense week.

Are you ready to reach the community and the growth that may result from that effort? Pray about being a part of what I believe God is about to do at Hanover Fellowship.

 

Plans for 2011…

As the new year approaches (I know we still have over a month to go!), I want to share with you plans for the children’s ministry at Hanover Fellowship.

1) Ages/Grades of Children’s Ministry – As I look at what age/grade to have children’s ministry run through, the pivotal point is 6th graders and where to place them. We have historically had them in youth. Beginning January 1, 2011, 6th graders will be a part of children’s ministry (Those currently in 6th grade will continue with the youth). This helps us align better with other churches which we are partnering and it also allows us to establish a ministry focused more on the needs of 5th & 6th graders.

2) This Blog – I know I have not kept up on it as I should. In 2011, I will be have a greater focus on using this blog as a means of communication to help keep you involved and to help you disciple your child. I will be updating at least twice per week. Mondays to recap the lessons from Sunday to help give your discussion items with your children through the week, and then by Friday evening to help you prepare for Sunday. That will be the minimum number of posts

3) Awana – We will maintain a strong emphasis on Awana. The partnership with CABC has been great for both churches, reaching several children and their friends. We will hold our closing program on May 1st @ 6 pm. This will be a celebration of the year that you will not want to miss, so please mark your calendars now to plan to attend.

4) Children’s Church – This no longer called Lil’ K or Kidmo, but rather Kidz Church. We do not always use those materials and so the name change is proper to better reflect the time. I am always reviewing and evaluating other materials and for the elementary aged group, we have used other material than Kidmo and plan to do so in the upcoming year.

5) Vacation Bible School – Tentative Dates, the week of June 19th. I am already evaluating potential curriculum to use.

6) Kingdom Quest Camp – The theme this year is “Boot Camp” and it will be held the first week in August. For children who have completed 3rd – 6th grades. Mark your calendars now. It’ll be a great week.

Is that enough for now? That’s just the beginning!

Keep checking back to keep up to date.

VBS – It’s a Wrap!

The week went by very quickly. I am thankful for all who gave of their time and talents to make the VBS great. Once again, we partnered well with Lake Marburg Baptist to provide a quality VBS to the community. Friends were invited and attend, silly string and whipped cream “flew”, the Family Night was a big hit and most importantly, people heard about Jesus.

Please let me know your thoughts (the good, the bad and the ugly) about the week of VBS. By evaluating the week, we can work to improve it in the future.

VBS – Day # 4

Another great night at VBS! We had 21 children. The three visitors from yesterday returned again tonight and we had two more visitors which meant I got silly stringed again!

Preparing for the Family Night at VBS tomorrow to wrap up the week. It should be a great way to end the week. I hope to see you there.