Particularly, thoughts about children in church and Children’s church – and all the many combinations thereof.

First, let me share with you how this whole conversation got started.   A couple of weeks ago, I attended a leadership meeting for KidRidge.   KidRidge is the name for the children’s ministry at our church.   The church has grown considerably, which is wonderful.   However, this growth necessitates some changes – things that worked with a handful of kids don’t work the same with nearly 100 kids.   So, we’ve had a couple of meetings and brainstorming sessions on the future and the vision for KidRidge.

Yesterday, Rachel, one of the team members, sent this link (click here) for everyone on the team to read and asked that we respond.

Go read it.

Really.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.   It’s worth the read.

Mkay, you back now?   What did you think?   Are you like me going “Wow.   Oh, wow.”   “But, what should we..” “How can we…” “I wonder if…”   And about a billion other thoughts all running around and bumping into each other.

Some of the questions she asked, won’t let me go.

“Our sons are never in church with us. Isn’t that weird?”

“Is that good?”

“What do you think the boys think of when they think of church?”

“Do they think of the group of people God wants to use to reach the world with the gospel…this large, multicultural, multigenerational body where we learn from one another…young and old learn from one another….serve each other and live out all the beauty of scripture with one another?”

Or

“Do they think of the age segregated programs…their “class” or AWANA?”

“Do they feel apart of the church?”

“Do we see them as a part of the church, or just a problem that needs to be solved so you and I, mom and dad can be in church?”

“Are they so used to having an extravagant program every time they set foot in the door, that if the programs were taken away, they would go from loving church to hating it?”

“Is that good? Does that mean we’ve taught them to love church…or taught them to love something else?”

“Are we growing them up in top notch children’s programs with teaching yes…wonderful teaching…but also a lot of games, activities, in some churches puppets, concert-like music, dancing and drama only to get annoyed at them years later as we wonder why our church is so consumer driven and our congregation thinks church is a place to be entertained? Are we teaching them to think the church is “all about me” and then getting irritated years down the road that our church is filled with people who think church is all about them?”

“Have we in some ways delegated discipleship to the church when the Bible clearly says that’s our jobs as their parents? I know the church can help, but we aren’t doing anything at home to teach them God’s Word…so if we’re honest is the church helping or have we made them fully responsible for teaching our children about the Lord? If so is once-a-week discipleship enough for our kids when the Bible has already told us how often to teach them His Word?”

So many questions.   But I really think these are good questions, and they are ones that need to be asked.   I’m hoping we can find answers.

When I read through it the second or third time, I recalled my experience with church as a child.

The church of my childhood – well, as I recall, and I was a child so it very well could be that the memory is inaccurate. But in my memory, we started going to church when I was about 10.   Mainly because I bugged my parents into it.   Again, the memory could be faulty, but I remember asking if I could go play at so-and-so’s house.   I’d receive the response, “No, they’re at church.”   So, I’d ask “Then can I go play at whozit’s house?”   Same response, “No, they’re at church.”     After hearing this a number of times I finally asked, “Well, why aren’t we at church?”   And, lo and behold, we ended up at church.

We started attending the local Presbyterian church, because my mom had gone to a Presbyterian church when she was a child.   Some have referred to the Presbyterians as being the “Frozen Chosen.”     I’d say in my experiences of church, that would be a pretty accurate term.   We would go to Sunday School, and then most families would go sit together for the 11:00 service.   Both of my parents sang in the choir, so I would usually go sit by myself.   As an adult, I don’t remember any the messages, but I do remember the order of the service.

Occasionally, when we’d visit Granny and Grandaddy’s house we would go the their church.   First Baptist Church of Flint, Texas.   I remember liking their church better than ours, because I didn’t feel like the Pastor was trying to talk 8-miles above my head.   I understood his message, what he said had relevance to me, it mattered.   It caused me to have feelings that I never had in the church at home.     I remember vividly, one Sunday during the alter call, my heart leaped inside my chest.   I understood what he said.   I understood that I was a sinner, and that I needed to ask Jesus into my heart so that he could be my Savior, and that I would be saved.   I wanted to walk down that aisle.   I wanted to go tell the preacher that “I believe!”   I wanted to be a Christian in the true sense of the word.   But, the ways I had learned from the “frozen chosen” kept me in my seat.   So I sat silently longed for something, something more.

Funny.   I’d forgotten most of that until I read the post Rachel sent.   Looking back, I wish I would have had the courage to stand up and walk the aisle as a child instead of waiting to make that profession of faith when I was 30.

However, this reminds me that we don’t need a big, fancy program to reach the hearts of the kids at church.   We just need to present the Gospel in a real and relevant way.   Sure the programs are cool, and yes, they teach the great stories of the Bible, and yes, they help kids apply Biblical knowledge to their everyday life, and yes, I think programs can be good and valuable tools.

But I wonder -

are we putting too much emphasis the program, and forgetting about the True Message?

is the program so busy and fun that the True Message is getting lost in the presentation?

are we just looking for a place to “park the kids” while the grown ups do church?

I wish I had the answers.

Things to think about.   Lots of things to think about.

Hey, if you have any answers or thoughts you’d like to share – I would love to read them.

PS:   There’s a great follow-up post to the link above.   If you want to read it, you can find it here.

As I was painting this weekend, I listened to several Beth Moore teachings.   One of the things I learned from her lessons, was that if we daily ask God to show us something amazing about himself, he will do it.   Yesterday I asked, and whew! She was right!   He showed me something amazing in a very big way.

It happened at our church yesterday morning.   I’ve been involved in church since about age 10 or so, and I have never seen this done before.   In fact, I’ve never even heard of it being done.   It was – and there’s really no other word for it – amazing.

We had a reverse offering. I know, you’re thinking, “Huh?   Reverse offering?   How does that work?”     Because that’s what I said when the pastor said we were doing one.

For the reverse offering, the plates were filled with several denominations of cash and passed around.   The folks who are in need and who are struggling in these hard times were invited to take what they need. If they needed help with the light bill, with the grocery bill, with whatever – they could take what they need with no fear of judgment or condemnation – if you need it, take it.

The pastor asked the congregation to close our eyes as we sang, that way no one would feel like they were being watched whether they took from the plate or not.   He asked for each person as they were handed the plate, to ask God “What do YOU want me to do, Lord?”   So many prayers were answered for those who had “more month than money.”   To be a part of this was such a humbling and beautiful experience.   Many of us were in tears, to see the body of Christ moving in such a way we had never seen before.

To see the church meeting the needs of the church in such an unusual way was awesome, beautiful, incredible, stunning – or to put it simply – amazing.

Our church has a ministry that reaches out to the homeless in Fort Worth once a month.   Since we started attending this church last May, I’ve felt a  draw to that ministry, but I never actually  DID anything –  until this past Christmas.

On a typical Christmas  day  in our family, we’d open gifts until nearly noon because my kids want to play with each new treasure as it is discovered.   We’d talk on the phone to all of the extended relatives, have a bit to eat, and then spend the afternoon pigging out on Christmas candy while playing with the new stuff or vegging out in front of the television.   It has been a fun, albeit self-centered, way of life for us.

This past Christmas, we knew things would be different.   When  a family loses two of it’s Steel Magnolias in one year, it takes a long time to find the “new normal” and holidays are “a whole  ’nother animal.”   I knew that without them, we’d feel a gaping hole in our day.   I knew that Granny and Aunt Jo were safe in the Father’s arms, but I couldn’t say the same for  those who live on the streets near the Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth.

I told my friend, that’s why we decided to spend Christmas day with the homeless.   I knew that if we stayed home we’d end up spending the day moping around and feeling sorry for ourselves.   Instead we had the opportunity to serve.   We had the opportunity become witnesses for Christ.   We got to share His love on His birthday, and hopefully we’d be able to be salt and light for someone, and maybe even point some to Jesus.

Looking back, my motives were entirely selfish.   I wanted to be busy.   I didn’t want to feel my loss while sitting at home, so I’d go help someone else who had lost more than just a loved one.   I’d be able to come home feeling all warm and fuzzy because of my “great deed”.   And the next day, I’d be able to carry on with life as usual.

Things didn’t work out quite as planned, thank goodness. God has shown me since then, that yes, I did get to serve and be a witness, and that’s a good thing.   But there is no “carrying on with life as usual.”   Christmas day, we saw  there is more – there is more work to do, more people to help, more to give, more to serve.

My dad and I had a conversation last week about #37 on the “All That Matters” list.   He joked that I shouldn’t tell Hubby that I feel like I have enough money to be truly satisfied.   I told him that I know we don’t have money to vacation non-stop or buy  everything our hearts desire or retire anytime soon.   We won’t be topping the Forbes list  in this lifetime.   But, we have enough  to  pay the bills, enough to put food on the table, enough to clothe our family, enough for a few toys, enough to save some, enough to give  away some, enough to know that God has blessed  us beyond measure.

I shared with Dad that this year, my goal is to give my life away.   I want to find ways that I can give.   Hidden under the “Spiritual Goals” section of my 2009 goal list.   It says “Give my time, money and self to those in need.”   I want to help others in a way that matters. And most importantly, I want to actually do it – not just talk about it. If I had to pick only one thing on my goal list that I want to do this year – this is the one.     Today, I took a step,   I sponsored a child with Compassion International.   I can hardly wait to learn more about five-year-old Beranger.    I hope that  our family  can directly impact his life in Burkina Faso.   But even more than that, I can hardly wait to see what God is going to do.

I saw God this morning in the light of my son’s eyes when he saw the gift Santa left for him.

I saw God in my husband’s hands when he helped my other son put his toy together.

I saw God in the excitement of my children’s faces.

I saw God in the sparkle of my husband’s laugh.

I saw God in the parking lot as members of our church gathered to serve the homeless.

I saw God in the faces of church members looking for a different kind of Christmas.

I saw God in my husband’s eyes when we realized the expected group of 16 or so volunteers, turned into 60.

I saw God in a smile when we realized that every member of our small group showed up to serve.

I saw God in the sunlight as we drove through the streets near the Union Gospel Mission.

I saw God in the people who were dancing in the street.

I saw God in the actions of men and women as we prepared tables for lunch, water, and desserts.

I saw God in the smiles of people singing Christmas carols.

I saw God in the arms of a mother doing her best to care for her two young sons.

I saw God in the hugs given by “Santa”.

I saw God in the hands receiving bottles of water.

I saw God in the grasp of a toddler who loved on a new stuffed bear.

I saw God in a man called Cowboy who wanted to serve with our church, instead of being served.

I saw God in hundreds of eyes as food was served.

I saw God in the people who disappeared to the other side of the train tracks.

I saw God in the hands of people hungry for  a handshake or hug.

I saw God in a miracle akin to the “loaves and fishes” when the  last of the items we were handing out suddenly  multiplied to accommodate the last 20 people.

I saw God in my husband’s humble and helpful manner.

I saw God in a man named Haywood who was so grateful that we had come to spend a part of  Christmas day with him.

I saw God in a man named Charles who thanked us for recognizing a need, and asked that we pray for him to find a job.

I saw God in my 6-year-old son as he helped me serve bowls of food, and told everyone “Merry Christmas.”

I saw God in the tears of gratitude of countless people, both those  serving and those who were served.

I saw God in the smiles of those who were served.

I saw God in the smiles of those who served.

So, when you ask me how my Christmas was, and I answer that it was the best Christmas ever, and that it was more incredible than I could ever imagine.   Just know   – that I saw God today.

Hubby and I attended Fellowship Church for many years. Yesterday, I received the news that Vanessa Whitwell, a staff member and worship leader, passed away very unexpectedly from a brain hemorrhage. Please pray for her family.

The last day of Adventure Week was wonderful. The church had food booths, craft booth, bounce houses, games, and several shows before the finale of The Clash for Courage Kingdom. There were several bible story shows, a Boz the bear show, a BMX bike show, an animal show by the Fort Worth Zoo, and an illusionist. Hubby really enjoyed the BMX show. I think my heart stopped several times watching those boys doing stunts. Hubby, Woody, Tigger and I enjoyed the evening as a family walking around and visiting most of the booths. I think this was a terrific ending to a great week.

The happy ending…

Wally was able to get back into the park and talk to Mr. Courage. He apologized for lying, and Mr. Courage forgave him. Billy was finally able to see that Queen Xandra was not going to be nice, and he decided to do the right thing. Billy, Wally, and Justin were able to save the sidekicks and avert Professor Von Fang’s bomb explosion. The park was saved and Mr. Courage saw that it was due to Wally’s courage. Mr. Courage decided that Wally should be the one to inherit the park. Wally decided that Billy should help… and they all lived happily ever after.

For those of you wondering why a church would end a vacation bible school like this – we (the volunteers) were told that a lot of the children who attend Adventure Week do not normally go to church. Having a Family Fun Night allowed families that do not usually attend church an opportunity to check out the church and the facilities without any pressure. It seemed to have worked because services this weekend were heavily attended !

I found out the number last night – 185. 185 children came to accept Christ as their Savior on Wednesday night. Growing His Kingdom!!

As promised, I have some pictures for you.


Now for the flyer:

Courage Kingdom Night 4

Main Point: I will have courage to tell the truth!
Bible Verse: “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NLT
Bible Story: Stephen tells the truth, found in the book of Acts.

Tonight in the Bible Study room, your child learned that it is important to tell the truth no matter what. Tre and Deuce wanted to tell Boss the truth, that Ehud had nothing to do with their escapades, but they knew they would get in trouble if they did! Deuce remembered that Ehud always said, “When in doubt – get your Bible out.” So they went to the book of Acts and told the story of Stephen. Stephen was a Christ follower but there were some religious leaders that didn’t like him. The Bible says God gave wisdom to Stephen and his words were so strong the men couldn’t argue against him. So the men told lies about Stephen to stir up the crowd. But when the people all came against Stephen with these lies, the Bible says he had the courage to tell the truth even though he knew he would be killed. After finishing the story, Deuce and Tre decided to go to the Boss and tell her the truth. The Boss forgave them and told them that working at the park does not mean being perfect, but it does mean having courage to do what is right – including helping others, forgiving others, and telling the truth!

In the Clash for Courage Kingdom, Wally Watson started off the night lying to Mr. Courage about everything that had been happening in the park, because he thought Mr. Courage wouldn’t believe him. Wally then decided to lie to Billy so they could trap Queen Xandra. The sidekicks helped Wally lie, only because they thought it would help save Courage Kingdom. The group sunk further and further into lies until they created quite a mess! Coach found out about all the lies and told Wally he needed to have courage to tell the truth no matter what! Coach reminded Wally that Stephen told the truth even though he would be killed. The children cheered Wally on as he told Mr. Courage the truth. Unfortunately, Mr. Courage did not believe Wally and put him on a leave of absence. Queen Xandra is thrilled, as she continues to work on Plan D…the destruction of Courage Kingdom! Will she succeed?

Remind your children to have courage to tell the truth. We will see you tomorrow!

Tonight, the plan is a little different. Instead of the usual schedule, it is Family Fun Night. Parents will come with their children and spend the evening on the church campus playing games, doing crafts, eating, seeing some exhibits, witnessing the baptism of the children who accepted Christ this week, and then finishing the night with the Clash for Courage Kingdom Show.

I’ll let you know how the show ends!

Each Wednesday during Adventure Week, there are two important things of note. The first is that it is “Bring A Friend” night. Each child who attended Tuesday night is asked to bring a friend to Adventure week with them. Last night, we had 134 friends attend, so the total for the night was 882. The other important thing about the night is that it is also Salvation Night. The children are taught that Jesus died for our sins, and they are given the opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior. How exciting that 882 children had the opportunity to hear the message of salvation! Usually, a count is given of the number of children who came to Christ, so I will try to find that out and post tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of our newly decorated church! The pictures are linked so if you click on them, you can see them enlarged.

And, here’s what the flyer said from last night:

Courage Kingdom! Night 3

Main Point: I will have courage to forgive others!
Bible Verse: “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NLT
Bible Story: Jesus died for our sins, found in the book of Matthew. God forgave me, I should forgive others.

Tonight in the Bible Study room, your child learned about forgiveness. Tre and Deuce lied to the Boss about breaking into the park. They said that everything was Ehud’s idea. The Boss believed them and demoted Ehud. Ehud was upset with Tre and Deuce, but she remembered that the Bible says we should forgive others because Jesus forgave us. She got out her Bible and told the children the story of Jesus. How Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and then died to take the punishment for our sins. We do not deserve to be forgiven, but God forgave us anyway. Ehud decided to forgive Tre and Deuce because Jesus forgave her.

In the Clash for Courage Kingdom, Wally Watson started off the night with a plan to save Courage Kingdom, but needed the sidekicks’ help. Unfortunately, the sidekicks accidentally messed up his plan. So Wally became angry that they could not pull off one simple plan! Wally then decided he was better off coming up with a plan to stop the Queen without them. The sidekicks were hurt by Wally’s tirade, but they still wanted to save Courage Kingdom, so they went off to try and stop the Queen. Since they are only sidekicks, they did not have much success. They needed a hero! Meanwhile, Wally was sulking all to himself when Coach found him and asked Wally to forgive the sidekicks for messing up his plan. Wally asked why he should do that?! Coach told the story of Jesus, how he died so God could forgive us of our sins. Since God forgave us, we should forgive others. Your children cheered Wally on as he forgave the sidekicks, and then later asked them to forgive him as well. But the Queen and her minions are still planning to destroy Courage Kingdom…so the adventure continues.

Remind your children to have courage to forgive others. We will see you tomorrow!

Tomorrow I’ll post some pictures from the show.

Well, we had a great time last night at Adventure Week. Woody attended last year, but he is getting so much more out of it now that he’s a year older. I can hardly wait for next year when Tigger will be old enough to attend.

For those of you wanting to know what happened, here is what the flyer said:

Courage Kingdom Night 2

Main Point: I will have courage to help others!
Bible Verse: “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NLT
Bible Story: Esther helps save her people, found in the book of Esther

Tonight in the Bible Study room, Tre and Deuce got in trouble for breaking into the park and riding all the rides. Ehud wanted to help plead their case to the Boss, but was worried she would get in trouble too. So Ehud got out her Bible and told the children the story of Esther. How Esther went to her husband, the King, and told him about Haman planning to kill all the Jews. Esther could have been killed, but despite being afraid, whe had the courage to help others. God protected her and her people. Your children encouraged Ehud to help her friends and go talk to the Boss on their behalf.

In the Clash for Courage Kingdom, Queen Xandra and her minions planned to poison all the food with gag root and blame it on Wally Watson so he would be fired! At the last minute, Wally had th chance to save courage Kingdom but hesitated because he was afraid of climbing to the top of the giant food processor, Coach gave him a pep talk, reminding him of the story of Esther and how she helped her people. Coach encouraged Wally to pray to God for courage. Wally prayed as the children cheered him on to help others! Wally helped save Courage Kingdom again…but the Queen has started on Plan C!

Remind your children to have courage to help others.
We will see you tomorrow!

I will try to remember to take my camera tonight. I’ll take some photos of the interior decorating that was done for AW and post them tomorrow.

Do you remember Vacation Bible School? I do – the memories are hazy, but I remember making odd crafts, and singing “I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N” at the church my family went to and a few churches attended by my friends.

The church we attend now has it’s version of Vacation Bible School, called Adventure Week. You could think of it as Vacation Bible School on steroids. It’s for kids from 4 years old through 5th grade. Due to the population of the church, Adventure Week (AW) repeats 4 times. This year the idea is that all children who usually attend a particular service on the weekend, will attend one particular week. This will enable them to do AW with people they will most likely see throughout the school year. Of course families can choose which week is best for them, if they can’t attend during “their” week.

• Week 1 – for kids who attend the Saturday 5:00 service
• Week 2 – for kids who attend the Saturday 6:30 service
• Week 3 – for kids who attend the Sunday 9:30 service
• Week 4 – for kids who attend the Sunday 11:00 service

We usually attend the 5:00 service, so this is our week. Woody is attending, I’m volunteering, and Tigger is in volunteer childcare. Now obviously I am biased, after all it is “my” church (we’ve been attending since August 2001.) But, WOW!! Do they ever know how to reach kids!!! The entire preschool building and Creative Communications Center (area for K-5) have been decked out to look like a theme park. We now have an aquarium, a zoo, a ball park, an aeronautical space unit, and a city center area – all surrounding a 2-story castle with waterfall in the rotunda. I believe the term used would be “eye candy” – and boy is it! I get excited just thinking about it! And that’s just the “cosmetics” of AW…

The heart and soul of AW is the teaching and the show (theatrical production.) Each of the five nights will be different, and memorable. At the end of every night, all parents receive a handout that explains what their child learned while in attendance. This is what the handout from last night says:

Welcome to Courage Kingdom! Night 1

Main Point: I will have courage to do what God says!
Bible Verse: “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NLT
Bible Story: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace, found in the book of Daniel.

Today marked the beginning of Adventure Week 2007! In the Bible Study room, your child met Ehud the chef, Deuce the ringmaster, and Tre the clown. They are close friends who work together in the Berry Blast Park within Courage Kingdom. Tonight Deuce and Tre decided to ride the rides while the park was closed. Ehud hesitated because it was against what God says. Ehud told your children the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. How they were thrown in the fiery furnace because they would only worship God and not the golden statue. God protected them and they did not burn up. Then King Nebuchadnezzar saw the fire had not touched even one hair on their head! So the King told everyone they should praise the god of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! Your children encouraged Ehud to have the courage to do what God says and not to break the park rules.

In the theatrical production of Clash for Courage Kingdom, your child met Wally Watson and Billy Peterson who are in line to take over Courage Kingdom when Mr. Courage retires. Billy stated he is clearly the right choice for the job: listing out all of the ideas he had over the years to improve the park. Wally began to object, reminding Billy that those were actually his ideas. Later that night they discovered all the statues in the park come alive at night, and Queen Xandra wants to take over the park so children can no longer come. It is up to Wally to help save Courage Kingdom! He foils the Queen’s Plan A, but the Queen is already working on Plan B!

Remind your children to have courage to do what God says.
We will see you tomorrow!

In addition to the lesson and the show, the kids also have a snack and play some games.

Last night, 748 kids attended. Even though our church is considered a “mega” church – that number staggers me. 748 – I’m sure many are members that attend regularly, but I know there were many visitors, too. How exciting that this could be a child’s first contact and possibly first memory of church! 748 – and that’s just the first night of Week 1. I can’t even imagine how many children will attend by the end of Week 4!

Please pray for the continued success of Adventure Week. Pray for the volunteers and staff – that their strength and endurance would be renewed each night. Pray for the children – that their hearts would be open to accept Christ and to learn biblical teaching – all 748 of them.