A must-have for your children's ministry...

Kids Under Construction

Ministry Resource Notebook

This resource is all your church needs to run an effective children's ministry. It contains 5 main sections:

Foundation (Philosophy of Ministry)

Blueprint (How to Build Disciples)

Framework (Basic Support for Local Church Ministry)

Tools (Resources for Building Kingdom Disciples)

Building Inspection (Evaluation)

Order

The Church's Great Challenge

In a recent article in Equip to Disciple Charles Dunahoo takes a look at how the various PCA committees and agencies are fulfilling the important task of targeting the rising generation.

click here to read

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May 2007

This is the first e-newsletter sent out by the Christian Education and Publications Committee of the Presbyterian Church in America. Our committee exists to help the local church and its families make kingdom disciples. As we have clarified our mission to make disciples, Psalm 71:17-18 has become our defining verse:

"O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come."

We believe that the biblical mandate is clear. We must be teaching the next generation as long as we are still on earth and we must see the discipling of our children as a priority. However, even though the church’s verbal commitment to children is strong, recent surveys show that 75 percent of our 15-year-olds are leaving the church. They are not “proclaiming the wondrous deeds” taught to them “from their youth." What are we missing?

The goal of this newsletter is to encourage you to become heralds in your own church – heralds proclaiming the urgency of reaching the next generation for Christ. We want your proclamation to go forth with true conviction about the urgency to make disciples of our children. We want your proclamation to be motivated by stories and ideas that will help us empower the church to turn hearts and energy toward the children.

If you have some success stories, send them to us at sjakes@pcanet.org. If you want to share resource ideas, send them to us. Forward this to any teachers, parents, or church leaders who could benefit from the Kids Under Construction e-newsletter. Pray that this will be used by our God to “proclaim his might to another generation.”

Service Camp helps the children that regularly attend programs at our church put their faith into action. On Sundays the kids are learning to know, love, serve, and follow Jesus- at camp we give them hands-on tools and service opportunities.

Children in 1^st to 6^th grade pre-register for Service Camp, which is held at the beginning of the summer. A registration fee of $10 covers the cost of team T-shirts, refreshments, supplies, and bus transportation to the retirement community. Each day focuses on serving others: Monday – Family and Friends; Tuesday – Church Family; Wednesday – Community; and Thursday – Missions. On Friday we take a bus trip to a local retirement community to sing and share what we learned during the week.

Our day begins with an overview of our service projects, singing, and prayer. The kids learn the songs that we will use in the backyard bible club program we host later in the summer. Many of the children help their parents with clubs and knowing the music is a key to running an effective club.

After the opening, the kids are divided into mixed age groups for activity stations. Each team wears a different color T-shirt and is led by an adult leader and several junior assistants (4^th-6^th graders). The teams rotate every half hour between stations applying biblical truths to real life.

Over the years we have had some fantastic experiences serving others. I will never forget the excitement in the voice of a second grader when she said, “Mrs. G, this is the BEST camp I ever went to.” We had no games, no take-home crafts, no prizes; yet this child was experiencing the joy of serving others.

Activity Station Ideas for Service Camp

Serving Family and Friends

• Thanksgiving prayer line: Pin flags on a clothesline with items the kids are thankful for about family and friends. Pray for family and friends.
• Prayer box: Decorate a special box. Inside are 14 Bible verses and 14 names of family and friends. Kids read a Bible verse and pray for one person on the card each day for 2 weeks.
• Trail mix for neighbors: Mix together your favorite trail mix. Talk about Matthew 25:34-40 with the kids. Kids mix the mix, put it in clear bags secured with ribbon and attach a card of encouragement to give to a neighbor. Also can be done with a cake mix.
• Coupon books for parents: for chores, special occasions, etc.
• Candy bouquets for neighbors or friends: Make flowers out of candy, attach a verse and give a bouquet to a friend.
• Encouragement bags for working parents: Fill a handled bag with snacks and a note of encouragement for working parents to take to work.

Click here to continue reading and learn more ideas for service camps and VBS

Serving Our Church Family

• Summer fun kits for staff, elders and deacons: The kids assemble white gift bags with sun screen, a book, lemonade mix, paper napkins, cups, and plates. The kids decorate the bags, make cards of encouragement, and pray for the church leaders.
• Book on tape (or CD) for the preschool department: Select favorite preschool books and have the kids read and add sound effects to the stories. (A huge hit at our church!)
• Muffins for the music team: Bake muffins (box mixes are easy!) for the music team to enjoy on Sunday morning after they serve. The kids copy scripture verses onto cards and decorate with music-related pictures. Close by having the kids pray for the music team.
• Favorite things: Give the staff, elders, and deacons a survey of their “favorite things.” Include things like candy bar, soda, snack food, restaurant, and Bible verse. Purchase items and put in a gift bag. Add a card with their favorite verse and words of encouragement.

Serving our Community

• Toy sale: Advertise for all families in the church to bring used toys, books, and music for a toy sale. Advertise the sale to the community. Proceeds are used for a community project like buying blankets or Bibles for children.
• Food drive: Collect non-perishable food items for the community food pantry. Many pantries are in need of donations during the summer months.
• Hand-stamped note pads: Get plain note pads at the local copy center and have the kids use a small rubber stamp to personalize each page. Put the pads and a pen in a clear bag secured with ribbon. *A great gift to give the residents at the retirement center.
• Car wash: Have the kids make posters for a FREE community car wash. Don’t accept any donations. Have the kids thank the customers and tell them it is their gift to the community.

Serving our World (Missions)

• Invite a missionary to share about their work on the mission field. Commit to praying regularly for the missionary. The kids will be motivated to pray if they have a name and face to remember.
• Prayer circle: Make a map showing where the missionaries your church supports live. The leader tells a little about each missionary. Make posters with each missionary name. Have the kids stand in a circle and pray by name for each missionary. The kids take the maps home and continue to pray with their families.
• Check out the outreach project provided in your vacation Bible school curriculum. Many publishers include a project for the children to do that reaches out into our world. Sending Bibles, making blankets, or buying goats for a village in Africa are all great ways for the kids to make an impact for Jesus in the world.
• Postcard vacation: Collect postcards from the local area. Have the kids write messages for missionaries. Send several in an envelope to missionaries overseas to share with the people in their community.

Backyard Bible Clubs

“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8b

Backyard Bible Clubs has been a great opportunity to reach the un-churched in our community. We choose a traditional VBS curriculum and adapt it for our needs. Early in the spring the coordinator begins recruiting hosts. The role of the host is to provide the home, access to a TV and DVD player and a large indoor room or garage in case of rain. A Bible teacher, along with one or two adult and junior assistants, rounds out each BYBC team.

In the beginning of May we have one training night for all our teams. We decorate with the VBS theme, show the promotional DVD, review the Bible lessons, and highlight the memory work, crafts and activities for BYBC. During BYBC each team receives a large bin of supplies. The coordinator packs the bins with all the visuals, craft supplies and decorations needed for the club. The bins are passed from club to club throughout the summer, and restocked as needed by the coordinator.

Before school closes for summer vacation the hosts walk around their neighborhood with brochures and registration information, inviting children to attend BYBC. Personal contact within neighborhoods is a real plus when inviting neighbors to clubs and later for doing follow-up. We encourage families to register in advance, but plan for walk-ins as well. Most clubs average 15-20 children.

The team personalizes their Backyard Bible Club. They decide the age group, time of day and the order of activities for their club. BYBC include a Bible lesson, craft, memory work, song time, snacks and games. We encourage each club to host an end-of-the-week event such as a lunch or dessert time for the parents to interact with the BYBC team and to invite the families to church. We use the registration information to follow-up with families by mailing them information about worship and other programs at the church. Personal contact with host families has been extremely important in reaching out to un-churched families.

Each year we look forward to the opportunities Service Camp and Backyard Bible Clubs give to help us share Jesus with the children. Service Camp gives the regular attendees an opportunity to serve and BYBC is a wonderful format for introducing Christ to un-churched families in our community. Our divided effort helps us to accomplish our unified goal of teaching children to know, love, serve and follow Jesus.

Presbyterian Church in America
Christian Education and Publications
1700 North Brown Road, Suite 102, Lawrenceville, GA 30043-8122
Phone: 678.825.1100 Fax: 678.825.1101 Email: cep@pcanet.org   

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