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

Children’s Ministry would like to welcome everyone back from their holiday travels. The main lobby has been blessed by the families of Fellowship Church that came together to decorate the two large Christmas trees. Families who wish to pick up the ornaments that they created are welcome to stop by the Children’s Guest Registration window to pick up their ornaments to capture a memory for years to come! The ornaments will be available to pick up for the next couple of weeks. Thank you so much to all who participated!

Choir Begins Wednesday, Jan. 16!!!

This year choir will be meeting on Wednesday nights from 6:30-7:00 beginning on Wednesday, January 16^th through Wednesday, March 5^th. Prior to choir, the children will have the option of having a pizza dinner each Wednesday from 6:00 – 6:30. Your cost for pizza will be $20 for 8 weeks per child. Following choir, Kid U will be extended to all the children from 1^st – 5^th grade from 7:00 – 8:30.

Important Choir Dates

Wednesday, January 16th Choir begins

Wednesday, February 6th Solo tryouts

Wednesday, March 5^th Last scheduled Wednesday practice

Sunday, March 16^th Children’s Choir sings in Worship Center

Friday, April 25^th Teacher Appreciation Dinner

Wednesday Choir Schedule

Pizza dinner 6:00-6:30

Choir practice 6:30-7:00

Kid U 7:00-8:30

If your child is interested in attending please email or call Jennifer Wilson. Jennifer would love some assistance with choir if you are interested. She could use some help in setting up the pizza and managing the children during practice.

Kid U is Children’s Ministry’s discipleship program, partnering with Discipleship University for the adults at FEFC. We’ll offer 8 week Bible courses for the upcoming Winter term. Classes run from 6:30-8:30pm on Wednesday nights from Jan. 16-Mar. 5. Children can sign up either when their parents sign up for their adult class or on their own by the children’s guest registration window.

Children will be studying the second half of the 10 Commandments throughout this term, and will be split into three groups: 1st grade, 2nd/3rd grade, and 4th/5th grade. So if you are a student in 1st—5th grade, come join us in our active discovery of the truths in the Ten Commandments!

Adults needed!

In order for the teachers to adequately disciple the children we still need 4-6 more adults to step up to assist in the classroom. The Kid U atmosphere is very casual and adults have a great opportunity to interact at a deeper level with Fellowship Church’s elementary children. Please contact Steve VanHorn if you are interested in serving the children during the winter term.