Preschool and Children’s Ministry for Fall

In case you haven’t heard, the new service times will be:

8:00, 9:30, 11:15

Each service for adults and children will be identical. *There is an exception for children who will be on campus for multiple services due their parents serving. This will be described in a subsequent post.* Our prayer is that people will come forward to be “every week” volunteers. For example, Suzy Q volunteers to be the bed baby teacher each week at 8:00.

Babies-2s - Our littlest ones are lovingly cared for and played with during the services. While we are always instilling Christian values, these classes do not have long, structured lessons each week. Volunteers in these classrooms do more care-taking than teaching.

We anticipate needing 6-8 voluteers for the 8:00 service, 10-12 volunteers for the 9:30 service, and 8-10 volunteers for the 11:00 service.

Preschool (3s, 4s, and 5s) – These children have structured learning time. We use Elevate, Jr. for our lessons. The curriculum is prepared for you in advance, with all materials and supplies gathered and placed in the classroom. It is very important and helpful to read the lessons in advance, so that you have an understanding of the flow of the lesson. The teaching is a combination of DVD and teacher directed activities. The prep time for a volunteer is minimal, but again, it is very important and helpful to read through the lessons in advance.

We anticipate needed 4 volunteers at 8:00, 6-8 volunteers at 9:30, and 4-6 volunteers at 11:15.

Children (K-5th) – Our children will have a combination of large group and small group time. We will continue to use Fellowship Kids (Elevate)material for our lessons (which is what Praise Kids currently uses). Children will meet together for the large group time (K-2 in one group, 3-5 in another) upstairs in building B. They will begin promptly and have a 25-35 minute large group lesson which includes live teacher, DVD, and praise and worship. They will break up for small group activities for 25-35 minutes, where the scripture lesson, main point, and other object lessons are taught by small group teachers. The last 10 minutes will be in large group, where a review will take place.

The curriculum is prepared for volunteers in advance, however, we ask volunteers to gather some supplies on their own. The reason is, there will always be more small group lessons than a volunteer will have time to teach. It would be wasteful for the church to provide supplies for every activity. We can, however, supply you with what you need if we are given enough advanced notice.

The prep time for volunteering is more intense for those leading the large group portions, as these are scripted and involve more “acting” skills than “teaching” skills. The prep time for small group leaders can be minimal, though our volunteers who are true “teachers” at the core may find themselves spending more time tweaking each activity and digging into the Bible content.

Large Group Leaders – We anticipate needing 2-4 volunteers at 8:00, 4 volunteers at 9:30, and 4 volunteers at 11:15.

Small Group Leaders – We anticipate needing 4-6 volunteers at 8:00, 8-10 volunteers at 9:30, and 6-8 volunteers at 11:15.

Other Areas of Need – We also need volunteers to help with check in and record keeping in each building and for each service. Hall monitors are also needed.

If we can all get excited enough, we can even design special volunteer t-shirts to wear. We can have catchy slogans, cool graphics, and frequent parties. Am I getting carried away?

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Stuff Christians Like

I was just directed to this blog by John Acuff. I actually laughed out loud. When you get a chance, check it out. I am so impressed with bloggers who find the time, inspiration, and motivation to be consistant and witty. Maybe someday………

Looking For Input – Comments Appreciated!

I need to hear from those of you in Children’s Ministry and those of you at my church. 

I need to hold an informational meeting/training for everyone who plans to be either a large group or small group leader (for our Preschool and Children’s Ministries) in the fall.  I’m trying to determine the best time to hold this meeting.  We are transitioning to a new worship schedule on August 23rd which changes the way we do just about everything.  Here are my major questions:

1.  How do I help volunteers understand the urgency of attending this particular meeting?

2. When is the best time to meet? (before school lets out, summer, multiple opportunities)

3.  What are the MOST IMPORTANT areas to cover in this meeting training? (compared to things that could be written, communicated through email, etc.)

4.  Can a video/podcast training effectively take the place of these kinds of meetings? Has anyone successfully implemented podcast training?

I’d love to hear from you! Thanks!

Celebrating the Mile

Something very exciting happened today.  Although it is something in my personal life, it applies to my ministry as well.  Hang with me to see how…..

Today, for the first time in my life, I ran a mile without stopping! Even in high school where we were required to run a mile for the fitness test, I had a strategy of running the straits and walking the curves.  I never actually ran the whole mile without stopping.

At first, I was disappointed.  My goal is to run a 5K.  Eventually I would like to run a marathon.  One mile seems so far from those goals.  When I knew I had to stop running (feeling light-headed, veering off the treadmill, etc.) I was really bummed that I couldn’t run longer, farther, and faster.  The 5K began to seem unattainable.  I left the gym feeling completely discouraged.

As I walked to my car, I suddenly realized – Wait a minute, I just ran a mile! I’ve NEVER done that before! That is worth celebrating!

As I began planning my celebratory breakfast, I thought about my ministry.  I have some 5k goals and  marathon goals.  I realized that there are going to be small, “mile” achievements along the way.  It is easy for me to look at the end and get discouraged with how far I have to go.  I need to remember to celebrate those miles.

So as I complete my “environment” proposal for my pastor, I will celebrate! I’ve never presented him a formal proposal about our ministry space before.  When we transform our first hallway I will celebrate, because we’ve never had anything but beige on the walls before! 

If we don’t take time to celebrate the ”miles,” we may never have the endurance for the marathon.

My bacon was delicious this morning – a breakfast of champions.  That’s how I like to celebrate!

Taco Bell

This gave our staff a laugh a couple of weeks ago.  I thought I’d share it with you too.

C3Kids Part V

It is difficult at best to try to sum up everything I learned, felt, and experienced at C3Kids. 

Here a few take-aways -

1. A Clearly Communicated Vision Unites and Inspires – I was absolutely amazed at the unity I saw displayed at C3Kids.  They were a little sneaky, but I figured them out! It really didn’t matter what break-out session was being taught.  The same messages were communicated time and time again.  The speakers would constantly refer to the core values.  The examples given regarding the core values were the same across the board, whether the session being taught was Kid-vangelism or myTunes.  Everyone seemed to “own” the vision.  No one appeared to be going through the motions.   You couldn’t differentiate between pastor, staff, volunteer, family member – everyone owned the vision.  Everyone seemed to be personally invested.  That was really amazing to see.  I pray that our church family can begin to own our vision in the same way!

2. Creativity coupled with Know-How Ignites – Add Passion and watch out! – Taking a tour of the Preschool and Children’s areas of Fellowship Church was another amazing experience.  You could walk in any office and wonder, “Am I at a church office, or did I stumble into Disney World?”  Creative is the word of the day over at Fellowship Church.  There are people who know how to do exactly what needs to be done to make Elevate and Elevate Jr. come alive! There are writers, animators, pastors, etc. filling the roles they were created to fill – and bending and stretching from time to time! It makes me wonder – when do we begin writing/producing our own curriculum? I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but I get inspired seeing “what could be.” Step one – work on our environment!

3.  The 4 Minute Principle – I hope I’m getting this one right – I heard it explained first on the tour, and then referred to frequently.  We have about 4 minutes to make an impression on parents.  Two minutes when they drop off and two minutes when they pick up.  What are the children doing during those times? What does the environment speak? How are we welcoming the children? What are we telling parents without even saying a word? I am going to sit down with some of my team and ask those very questions.  I’m excited to have a “do-able” goal of revamping just 4 minutes.  It’s only 4 minutes, but that 4 minutes will make a huge difference in our ministry!

I’m sure I will think of a million other things to share, but for now this will have to do! I am very thankful for all of the effort Fellowship Kids put into this conference.  I was inspired!

C3Kids Part IV

Wow! I just got home from the conference.  I was worried that I would leave feeling overwhelmed and discouraged after seeing how far we need to go to get our ministry to a new level, but thankfully, I left more inspired than anything.

My notes are still packed up, and it is almost 3am, so I’m going to save more specific info for later.  Here is a really cool thing that happened though.  Pastor Mike Johnson (who is the father of the Elevate curriculum and Pastor of all things children for FC) asked to meet with everyone who twitters after the 2nd session on Friday.  I went down front to meet him, expecting a quick hello – match a name with a face kind of thing.  Instead, when we were all gathered, he invited us (8 of us I believe) to have lunch with him and his family in his office.  We had the opportunity to hear from Mike and to share our own ideas with each other.  It was a wonderful time.

I will really miss being at Orange next week, but I have to admit, I don’t feel like I’m “missing out” after everything I learned and experienced at C3Kids!

C3Kids Part III

Just met Lady Tristen.  The kids will think that is really cool.

The general session this morning was really incredible.  The Preschool Pastor was the speaker.  He talked about 4D – Dream, Design, Develop, Do.  Here are some of the keys:

Dream – The dreamer asks, “What could be?” ex.) Jesus had a dream to make disciples.

Design – The designer will ask, “How will it be?” ex.) The design for Make Disciples – Go, Baptize, Teach – The disciples modified slightly by Showing and Saying 

Develop – The developer will ask, “What is needed for it to be?” ex.) The disciples had to DEVELOP a new way to minister to the widows.  They enlisted the 7 to develop a new way.

Do – The doer asks, “When Can it Begin?” This is when your specialists come in to do what they do best.

More later…….

C3Kids Conference Part II

Yesterday I took a class on “Follow Up.”  I know this is an area that needs improvement in our Children’s Ministry.  I’m not sure if I’m inspired or overwhelmed after hearing how Fellowship Church does it!

Here’s the skinny -

1.Each new guest gets a postcard in the mail that can be redeemed for a prize upon the child’s return.  The guest’s parents also get a phone call thanking them for letting their child come, asking if they have any questions, and asking if they would like prayer for anything.

2. “Misser” calls are also made at 3 weeks and 6 weeks.  If a child has missed 3 weeks in a row, there is a “misser” call made to the family telling them their child has been missed, and asking if they can pray for them in any way.  The same thing happens at 6 weeks.  If the phone is disconnected or there is a wrong number, an email is sent.  If the email is kicked back or not on file a card is sent.

3.  “Center Stage” calls – Everyone was called to tell about the new series beginning (Center Stage) as well as the Pastor’s new Sermon Series. 

4. Regular attender calls – Anyone who had 60% attendance over the last 8 weeks gets a call.  They thank the parents for bringing their children so faithfully, and ask if they have any prayer requests.

5. “Serious” prayer requests are also given follow up phone calls.

6. Any child who has expressed interest in becoming a Christian or who has recently prayed to receive Christ gets a “Kid Faith” phone call.  These calls tell the family about the upcoming “Kid Faith” class (which is required for baptism) and baptism service.  The parents and children attend the class together.

7.  Service recruitment follow up calls – An example given – After a father/son retreat weekend, several fathers were noticed as having tremendous leadership skills.  If those fathers were not currently serving, they were called and told that they were noticed during the retreat, and wouldn’t they love to use those leadership skills to impact children for Christ?

The girl who taught the Follow Up class says she makes about 80 phone calls a week.  She devotes Thursday afternoon to the calls (except first time guest calls) for about 3 hours.  All of the staff (and this is a mighty large staff) shares the phone call load.  No man is an island at Fellowship Church.  There are scripts created for every kind of call.

Besides phone calls, small group leaders are also asked to write one note to someone who was in their group before they leave.  They give the note with the child’s full name on it to a staffer who addresses, stamps, and mails it on Monday. 

Each child also receives a birthday card from the staff, even if they only came one time during the year.

Like I said – the information is very inspiring and helpful, but also a little overwhelming.  I’m going to implement some of these ideas now, and save some for the fall when our entire program changes.  Since I only have 2 part time staff in my department, I’m going to need to enlist some volunteers to share the call load.  We have a tremendous number of guests who come through our doors, so the calls could make a real difference.  I’ve called here and there, sent notes here and there, but not with the strategy and planning required to be effective.  So much to do!