Quest Children’s Ministry

What’s in a risk?

After a great week of camp with the 5th grade and the middle school ministry, God has really been hammering home a point that rocks my world!  During the camp our children experienced risk in many forms.  They encountered physical risk, emotional risk, and spiritual risk.  They risked physically on the high ropes elements, they risked emotionally by sharing and being open among their peers, and they risked spiritually by giving their heart to God and waiting on Him to speak to them.  In all things, however, the children realized that the perception of risk is not always really risk.  High ropes would seem risky if it were not for the proper safety equipment that the children used, and the emotional risk might have been more real if when the children were open in their discussion they were alone, but in all things risk was alleviated because of the safety the kids dwelt in while “risking.”

What about spiritual risk?  Can we ever live in risk when we are in Christ?  Col. 1:17-18 explains how Christ “holds all things together” and as the “head of the Church” He is our safe place as we riskily live for Him.  By riskily living for Him I am suggesting that we live wholeheartedly, devoutly, and without reservation.  We can live fully in Christ when we empty ourselves and allow Christ to penetrate into the deepest aspects of our lives.  It is only when we “deny ourselves” (Matthew 16:24-25) that Christ can dwell in us and pull the pieces together that glorify God the most.  A risk then is really only a risk when we take life by the horns and try and do it ourselves.  Most of the time that leads to hurt, disappointment, and chaos, but in Christ “all things hold together!”

How can we risk as parents?  Is it important that families risk?

We can live abandoned for Christ and be examples for our children.   However,…

Some people say families should not be the church’s focus. William Easum in Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers writes, “Family is never a priority in Scripture. It is mentioned only six times in the New Testament and never in relation to a congregation. Family is always secondary to Christ’s claim on us (Matthew 10:37). On several occasions Jesus de-emphasized the importance of family. Family obligations came behind the demands of discipleship.”

Is Easum right?

Take another look. I believe with all my heart that God is not calling the church to strengthen families for the sake of society. Or for the sake of simply building church attendance. Or even for the sake of the family itself. God is calling the church to strengthen families so the Kingdom of God is strengthened.

Why is God interested in Christians growing to be more like him? So they’ll let their light shine in such a way that people will see their good works and God will be revealed (Matthew 5:14-16). Why is God interested in the healthy life of families? Women are encouraged to build healthy families “so the Word of God may not be dishonored” (Titus 2:5). Overseers and deacons are admonished to be “good managers of their children and their own households” because if they can’t take care of their own families, how will they “take care of the church of God”? (1 Timothy 3:5). Wives and husbands are to be a picture of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). We in children’s ministry lament the fact that we have so little time with the children in our churches. They’re only with us a few hours a week. It’s difficult to make a lasting impact for the Kingdom of God, we think. Therefore, and this is the crux of family ministry, we need to multiply our ministry to children through their parents. As we disciple and train parents, their growth will significantly impact their children.

So, in everything we do at church, we keep our eyes on the goal of knowing and proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And we gear our programs to be most effective in accomplishing that. If we really want to create long-term growth in children, we’ll retool our ministries to involve parents and families. We’ll see our role in children’s ministry as equippers of the most effective disciplers of children-parents. Rather than planning “intergenerational” events that split up families, we’ll plan real intergenerational events that keep families learning, playing, serving, and worshiping together.

Family ministry looks different in every church. The key factor of a family ministry is not its programs, but rather its philosophy.

Ben Freudenberg, a youth minister and family ministry proponent, explains his philosophy of family ministry: “We need to change our paradigm. How can we have the home-and not just the church-be a center of faith? Homes have to be conscientious about sharing faith. Parents are the primary ministers of faith.”  (“A Blueprint for Family Ministry,” Christine Yount Jones)

Changing this paradigm is a risk but if, together, families focus on Christ who “holds all things together,” and the church focuses not on programs but ways families of all shapes and sizes are equipped to lead their children our culture can change and Christ is the glue that makes it all gel!  It is so important that we partner in this and risk our hearts for Christ.  We will only see true reward in our families if we pursue the Christ-life with Jesus being the center of that Christ-life.  If we do that, as our 5th graders learned this weekend, the risk is fleeting and minimal!

“My Dad is Better Than…”

What an incredibly funny and sad show to watch!  “My Dad is Better Than Your Dad” is a bunch of dads trying to prove their worth to their children because they either feel to geeky, out-of-shape, or out of touch with their kids.  It is a fun show to watch because the competitive side of me would love to match up against other dads and see if I could just blow them away, but it is sad to think that the relationships represent years of neglect and/or simple disconnect between fathers and sons or fathers and daughters.  At the end of every show there is hugging and celebration, but the show represents a brief glimpse of what fatherhood in today’s society looks like.

My Dad Really is Better!

Our heavenly father offers such a great example that all fathers would do well to take note from.  I was reminded of the story of David from 1 Samuel 16:6-13 and how David’s own father did not recognize David’s potential.  It was David’s heavenly Father who knew the heart of His child and the future that was in store for him.  Together, David was victorious in life when he was following his Father’s lead.  God was patient, present, and poised to always do a great work in David’s life.  It is no different with us today!  God still is a patient, present, and poised Father!

Instead of looking for band-aids for the Dad problem in our society as our culture does, let’s look to the Dad who is better than all other dads.  Let’s let Him be our example and follow Him with all of our heart,  soul, strength and mind!

For the third year now we would like to offer an unbelievable opportunity for our fifth graders. Our students will truly have a weekend adventure as they prepare for the great transition into middle school. We will be doing team building games, and personal challenges on the High Ropes Course. Our theme for the weekend centers around…

Here are some important details students need to know as they prepare to go:

• 5th graders and Full Service Middle School student leaders are the key participants in this camp
• We will be camped out in cabins at the wonderful Camp Alpine in Mentone, Alabama atop Lookout Mountain
• Adventure Camp is from March 7-9 and we will be leaving the church at 4pm on Friday and will return at 4pm on Sunday
• Adventure Camp is NOT free-the cost is $100 and a $25 deposit is due February 24 along with the necessary registration slip and permission forms ((1) Adventure Camp Registration Form, (2) Adventure Camp Transportation and Medical Release Form, and (3) Medical and Media Release Form)
• Students need to bring… Sack supper to eat on the bus Friday night, your favorite snack to share, old clothes, warm coat, Bible, sleeping bag, pillow, towels, rain gear, and extra shoes

Remember to fill out all the necessary forms, and students, come ready to have a BLAST! We cannot wait to see you there!

A couple of months back we posted some helpful links about the upcoming Flu and RSV season. It was amazing how after a couple months of only random reports of illness, the Flu bug hit full force. Quest Children’s Ministry relies on about 200 adult volunteers each Sunday, and a little less than 10% were hit by this illness. That might seem like a small number but 15-20 people are a huge number when you are talking about disciple-making impact on our children. It is sometimes impossible to measure the impact a single volunteer makes on the entire ministry but each individual who serves is a part of the body of Christ and when you are missing almost 10% its like trying to walk without one leg.  Thankfully, just like our body, when one part is injured other parts compensate for the ailing and needy part, so too our church body demonstrated a love that was absolutely breath taking this past week!

So often I take for granted the sacrifice that the teachers and volunteers in children’s ministry make.  Thankfully, so many parents who rely on the teachers and volunteers to give them a chance to worship on Sunday morning stepped up when so many of these dedicated teachers and volunteers were dealing with illness.  I am forever grateful to Christ for surrounding our children and the future of the Church with such a strong supporting group of adults and parents who demonstrate a sincerely gracious attitude towards those who serve on a regular basis!  I know that it is more of a gift to the teachers to know that when they are in a bind they have fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are willing to stand in the gap with them than any gift cards or candy or notes of encouragement I can offer to them.  So, thank you, parents of Fellowship Church, for demonstrating the love of Christ to our teachers, to our children and to me this past week and the countless other times you have stepped up to help serve in this church!

Well, January officially is over and I am sorry to say that there were no big winners to the contest I challenged our reading audience with. Here are some of the answers:

My birthday is January 11. The occasion that I was gleeful over and celebrating was the Super Bowl which just sadly passed. My team sadly collapsed. Make sure to send in answers to my very random questions and prizes will happily be awarded!

On to this week’s TMT!

I am constantly reminded about how important my role is as a parent. My son pays attention to every detail of my life. This morning I realized that when I took a bite of my Eggo waffle, Noah would take a bite; when I took a drink of milk Noah would take a drink. Every time there was a change in my actions he would mock it, to the point when I began to laugh at this shadowing game we were apparently playing he began to laugh as well.

Noah’s mind is constantly growing and being formed every day. It is amazing to see the growth in Noah as well as all the children that I see every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. These are for the most part always very positive examples of growth and change, but I would be naive to think that every child is being brought up to reflect and imitate good and Godly examples. I was reminded of this in the news about children being trained under Al Qaeda influence to spread terror to their neighborhoods and community. The article, “Al Qaeda Trains Young Boys as Terrorists, Tapes Show”, is a graphic example of how children are threatened in today’s world. Unfortunately, Al Qaeda is not the main threat in the world.

Children are like innocent little lambs and there is a much more dangerous enemy than Al Qaeda lurking and ready to pounce at any vulnerable moment (1 Peter 5:8). In the beginning of 1 Peter 5 the author encourages the elder adults to be examples to the younger flock. But how does this happen? How can we be examples when we do not have it all together? 1 Corinthians 11:1 has Paul exclaiming to the people of Corinth to imitate him as he imitates Christ. Paul can only say this because of his own connection with the “Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). Paul was around his Father so much that he knew his actions could be considered an example to others. It is the same thing with our children. For the most part our children are reflections of who we are. We are their overseer and guide them, but God is the one who works through the parents and in the children’s hearts. There is no formula to raising the model child, but there is a responsibility that God has given to guide and protect this next generations’ minds from the destructive behavior of Satan’s kingdom here on earth.

I do not know about anybody else, but this petrifies me! To think that my child’s mind is as fragile as a little lamb and that there is an enemy out there that wants to destroy both me and my family is very scary… if I were in this thing alone! Thankfully we are not alone and can humbly claim God’s gracious guidance in our personal, parental, and/or marital lives!

As January comes to a close, Quest Children’s Ministry has many reasons to be excited. January 1-11 saw a group of dedicated volunteers travel to Hungary to minister to missionary families from all over Europe! The team had a great time serving together and now that they are back we get to join in the same mindset as Fellowship Church’s missions week begins this Sunday, February 3 through Sunday February 10! The children’s ministry will begin our missions focus on local outreach and Mexico on February 3 and will then focus on Central Europe and Southeast Asia on February 10. We are excited to learn how Jesus expects us to be His hands and feet to these different places.

How can families get involved in missions week?

There are so many ways families can get involved in missions, but here are a few things that you can all do together around or during the time of missions week at Fellowship Church:

Sat, Feb 2-Fellowship Church Blitz Day!

Sun, Feb 3-Quest Children’s Ministry Local Outreach and Mexico Sunday; Adult Missions Electives

Fri, Feb 8-Sat, Feb 9-24 Hours of Prayer

Sat, Feb 9-Missions Dinner

Sun, Feb 10-Quest Children’s Ministry Central Europe and Southeast Asia Sunday

Make it a point to check out more information concerning these opportunities by checking out the links. Also you have an amazing opportunity to share with your children and brainstorm together of how you can work together to spread the Gospel. Enjoy this upcoming week!

Well, if you see Pastor Steve glowing as he floats through the halls it is for a very special reason, and it is up to you to figure out why. The result of this thing, which brings me much happiness is that I will get to party with friends in my small group from church and with my family. My question, however, to adults and children is, “Is God a Party Pooper?” That is a question that our fifth grade children contemplated on a Sunday morning, and it is one that I would like you all to contemplate with your family after you watch the video below. As I get ready to celebrate a very festive occasion that comes around only once a year, I would love for families to help me out with this dilemma. I look forward to hearing from my reading audience (a) What is the festive occasion that I am celebrating? (b) Is God, in fact, a “party pooper?” (c) How can we as parents shift the stereotype of God if there is one? I look forward to hearing your responses!

Is God a Party Pooper~Group’s Grapple Curriculum

Finally!  The weather is starting to feel a little more wintry!  I love the winter because it means big thick blankets and playing board games with family inside because playing golf or anything else outside is simply crazy.  January is especially exciting because (a.) it is the start of a fresh, brand-new year! (b.) it is my birthday month! (c.) it is the beginning of Kid U’s Second Winter Term (TOMORROW, Jan. 16th)!  Kid U lends itself to the winter because of how family oriented it can be!  It provides great opportunities for families to discuss the lessons and engage deeper into what the Bible has to say about real life heart issues!  I would like to encourage the families who are participating in Kid U and Discipleship U to take advantage of the opportunities you have when you are snuggled together, trying to keep warm, to lead your family in discussion or a devotion of what you or your child is learning from the upcoming Wednesday night classes.  Times to discuss eternally significant knowledge is an amazing gift and will be where the true discipleship takes place.

On another fun note, to test my reading audience, if anyone can find me and guess the day I was born a special prize awaits!  Remember there are 31 days in January so you have a one in thirty-one chance of getting it right!  Good luck!

Hello Lead Teachers!  Sunday, January 20 we invite you to participate in our Children’s Ministry teacher training meeting.  The meeting is for all Children’s Ministry teachers, Nursery 1 through 5th Grade.  We will meet in rooms 201/203 from 7:30-9:00am.  We hope all can attend as we will discuss all the plans for the two Missions Sunday’s the first two Sunday’s of February.  Please make sure to mark this date on your calendars!  We cannot wait to see your bright and shining faces!

Hello again faithful readers! There are many exciting things that are about to commence in the Children’s Ministry. Kid U, choir, and the start of the second Sunday school semester are all about to kick off or have kicked off already, but there is one ministry that is about to take off tonight that hits extremely close to home for myself. DivorceCare for Kids (or DC4K) begins tonight and is an essential ministry in today’s culture. “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 10 million children in America today live with a single parent as a result of separation and divorce” (DC4K Curriculum: The Need). Many times it is said that children of divorced parents need attention or it is this group of children that suffers the most, but few people ever really take initiative to support this group of children that is growing more and more every day. DC4K is designed to make children aware that they are not alone and that they have a loving support system (the Church) who wants to rally around them and point them to the supreme healer, Jesus Christ! What is amazing about this program is that it is not for children alone. While children will have a chance to participate in DC4K, parents are invited to an adult divorce care meeting at the same time! The study is 13 weeks long, and is extremely valuable for the social, mental, and spiritual health of those it is targeted towards. I hope that many people can attend this fantastic ministry.

Why is this such a big deal? In college I traveled to many different church camps promoting my school and spreading the Good News concerning Jesus. Throughout the summer I considered myself to be unique in that I had personally been a child of divorce twice. However, at one of the camps campers were asked to share prayer requests if they felt comfortable doing so. One child meekly raised his hand and shared that his parents were getting divorced. His strength encouraged countless children in the entire camp to share that their parents were also getting divorced or had already separated. I realized I was not alone, and neither were the children who were struggling with the new reality of their parents’ divorce. Many are left dazed and confused about why divorce happens because their formerly safe and secure world has been ripped apart many times without notice. Children as well as adults need other people to come alongside them for healing, comfort and support. It is great that the Church can be a part of this and hopefully it is a trend that will overflow into all aspects of our lives.

Please pray for the adults and children who attend the DivorceCare groups, and if you would like more information about DC4K or DivorceCare (for adults) visit the links below:

DC4K

DivorceCare