The Backyard Vacation Bible School for Christ Community Church finished on Sunday with a Picnic after church. Mike (the Pastor) shared these statistics with us: there were a total of 95 kids and 50% of those did not go to Christ Community Church. I thought that was fabulous. I was very impressed with the evangelical nature of the program and wondered whether we should even ever think of having it in a church facility whenever we build one. There is a clear benefit to having it in a community where kids of all backgrounds can come and join in the fun and the host homes can keep up with their neighbors throughout the year.
As I was working at one home-site I noticed a little girl who lived across the street come out to get her mail. She was intrigued with the activities we were doing at the host home so much so that she dropped one of her envelopes without even noticing. I waved to get her attention and pointed the envelope out to her. Later, she came cruising by on a scooter and waved to us as she passed, obviously trying to get a closer look at just what we were doing. Perhaps next year she will join us.
It seems to me that these days the easiest way to the heart of the parents is through the hearts of the children. In an age where parents are hyper-concerned about their children and their safety, etc. it speaks volumes when people pay attention to children.
I met a lady last week who hung back just to talk to me. She was a visitor with two children and wanted to know what exactly was available for children. She told me that, as they looked for a home church, what was most important for them was that their children be engaged with the truth of Who God is. Now I'm sure they were interested in sermon style, worship style, warmth of the church and all, but what she emphasized is that children's ministry was the "make it or break it" item they were looking for.
One of the reasons that I have chosen to do what I do, is that I firmly believe if we wait to minister to our children, then we will lose them. I am also a big believer in ministering to youth, don't get me wrong, but I believe that nine times out of ten, if you haven't won their hearts before they enter High School, then it is much harder to minister to them.
Parents are the primary disciplers of their children. This is true and I believe that 100%, but it is important that the church assist them. I believe that the church experience our little ones have is crucial to their desire to remain connected or disconnect later. I think the biggest mistake we make in children's ministry is to go to one of two extremes. Either we make it so fun that we lose the point and teach the child nothing OR we focus so heavily on the cognitive process that we make it extremely dull. There is a comfortable middle which is to make learning fun. If we can achieve this then we can make it easier on parents who have to fight the battle of the Sunday Morning "Idon'twannago".
This is what I'm laboring toward: solid teaching with sensational fun. I continue to labor toward the goal. Pray for me as I do.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Hearts of the Children
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Long Time...No Blog
I apologize for my lack of blogging in the past couple of weeks. I've been working at a feverish pace and trying to keep my head above water. I wanted to update all of you on how things have been going so far.
This week is VBS. How in the world do we have VBS without a building? We have it in back yards! We have about four houses in about an 7+ mile radius from the church that are host houses. There are a lot of neighborhood kids who come and the whole event is really focused mainly upon the unchurched. As I was talking to the pastor we were both wondering aloud if we really even wanted to utilize the facility for VBS even when one is built. The reason is that it is so wonderful to have it at homes and in a way were unchurched kids don't feel as awkward.
Sign ups indicated that about 100 kids are involved, but we will see what the numbers are toward the end. They tend to snowball as momentum builds during the week. On Monday I visited all four sites briefly. On Tuesday I spent the whole time at a host home and will do the same for the other three host homes during the rest of the week.
On Tuesday I was able to spend a little more time with kids from the youth group. Some of them were working the VBS and others I offered to meet at Sonic on Tuesday for a time just to hang out and get to know them. I was able to meet a few of them today. They are really great kids.
For the past few weeks I've been eating dinners with different families. It has been great to network and get to know these famililes and their kids. I've had dinners with youth families and families with young children. So my typical day stars around 8:30AM and ends around 8:30PM and sometimes I will come back to my apartment and work on some things for the next day.
I have been traveling back and forth to Chattanooga. Christ Community has been gracious enough to let me go home on Wednesday in the evening and return Saturday in the evening. This week is a little different because I'm in town for VBS all week. So it is a bit of a longer stretch until I see Tennyson and the kids again. That is, honestly, the hardest part; not seeing my family as much.
We've quite a few showings on the house, but no offers as of yet. We are optimistic that the Lord will bring a buyer along soon and in His timing. Continue to pray that the Lord will choose to do so soon.
Besides the prayer for our home to sell, pray also for the children this week who will be impacted by VBS. We will have a picnic after church on Sunday at the park across the street from where the church meets. We are hoping to connect with a few new families there.
Thank you again for your prayers. I can almost "feel" them. I will do my best to keep the blog updated on a more regular basis.
Zack
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