Wow! We had 47 kids on Wednesday night (from 33 the week before). This is amazing since many of our CLPC kids go to camp during the summer, so our numbers are significantly down. About half of the kids present were neighborhood kids who saw us having fun. We're planning for 50 tomorrow!
I live for Wednesdays!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Grief for Children
Hey churches: do any of you do ongoing or sporadic grief counseling for children? We're thinking of setting something up, and we wanted to look at some ways churches are already ministering to children in this way.
Speaking of which, in January of last year, I went to a wonderful conference about children and grief. Just FYI.
Speaking of which, in January of last year, I went to a wonderful conference about children and grief. Just FYI.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Super Sloppy Summers
Pull out those ratty t-shirts because the kids (well, and adult helpers) are getting slimed again. We’ve got a whole group of incoming 3rd graders who can’t wait to participate. Truly, they’ve been asking me about it since September.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wikiworld
Hang on to the lap bar and strap yourself in because Children’s Worship has an amusement park theme this summer. The curriculum focuses on choices we make as Christians and the kids are going to have a blast. We’re combining all ages again this summer and will meet in room C112-113 for all services. If you don’t know which room that is, look for the twinkling lights and roller coaster murals. The CW schedule will remain the same with the kids staying in the service on the first Sunday.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
CLPC Zoo
We’re bringing out the animals again in SS this summer to teach aspects of Christian character development. Once again, this curriculum will only be used for elementary kids, but this year, we're moving the Kindergarteners upstairs!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Hangin' Out
One of the things that keeps coming up in CFM Meetings is about wanting more time to just hang out together as a church. With 3 services and busy schedules, it seems that people just aren’t connecting the way they want to. Families, too, are hard pressed to find activities that allow them to spend time together AND with other members of the congregation. Enter: Hangin’ Out. Two times a month, we’ll head out to the beach or the movies or wherever we have planned to just chill with CLPC. These outings will be low-key and simple, virtually running themselves and requiring little volunteer power. Plus, it will be a great chance to invite friends and neighbors to just hang out with us.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Summer of Change
This summer we're trying something a little different.
The CFM team has really looked hard at VBS these past few months and at what we wanted to get out of it. What we found is that while we’ve got great goals in mind for VBS, our current program is not achieving them. From the outside, VBS is polished and pretty, but the reality is that we’re exhausting our resources. It takes 3 people other than the DCFM to spearhead VBS, and all 3 of those people resigned last year due to burnout. Additionally, every time CFM committee members approach people to volunteer for Sunday mornings or for events, we hear the same excuse repeatedly: “I did my time at VBS.” It’s a one stop shot for people, and that’s not what VBS is meant to be.
One of the things we looked at in our meetings was that VBS should be an outreach, but in reality, we haven’t gotten ANY new people from VBS. We cap our numbers at 200, and most of those kids are already CLPC members or have churches of their own. Every January, the Clear Lake DCFMs call each other to schedule out the summer, so that our VBS weeks don’t coincide. What happens, then, is that kids travel from VBS to VBS, and sadly, we become babysitting services.
So what are our goals, then, and how are we meeting them this summer?
· We want to reach out to friends and neighbors (Hangin’ Out will reach out to all ages, not just kids, and Super Sloppy Summers brings in new kids who DO return in the fall).
· We want to have multi-generational events (Hangin’ Out will focus on babies through older adults).
· We want more family involvement (Many dads and working parents who have heard about Hangin’ Out have approached me about how excited they are for the family time it will provide).
· We want our kids to be spiritually nurtured (all of our programs are Biblically strong).
· We want our kids to have a smoother transition into youth group (Summer Safari)
· We want more mission activities for kids (Summer Safari and CLPC zoo).
· We want our kids to have good music (Passport to Adventure and Summer Safari will have great music, and we hope to have CDs for kids to take home).
· We want Tshirts (almost all the programs will have tshirts, I promise)
· We want to give our burned out volunteers a chance to recharge (simplify) and other volunteers a chance to do something new for a summer, so that we can enter Fall with a full team.
· We want to bring different program areas together to function as a church body and not in silos (Summer Safari and Hangin’ Out both meet this goal)
There’s our plan, and we will re-evaluate at the end of the summer to see if we meet our goals. I’m excited about collaborating with other ministry areas and about the needs that will be met within and without. More posts to come about what all the hype is about!
The CFM team has really looked hard at VBS these past few months and at what we wanted to get out of it. What we found is that while we’ve got great goals in mind for VBS, our current program is not achieving them. From the outside, VBS is polished and pretty, but the reality is that we’re exhausting our resources. It takes 3 people other than the DCFM to spearhead VBS, and all 3 of those people resigned last year due to burnout. Additionally, every time CFM committee members approach people to volunteer for Sunday mornings or for events, we hear the same excuse repeatedly: “I did my time at VBS.” It’s a one stop shot for people, and that’s not what VBS is meant to be.
One of the things we looked at in our meetings was that VBS should be an outreach, but in reality, we haven’t gotten ANY new people from VBS. We cap our numbers at 200, and most of those kids are already CLPC members or have churches of their own. Every January, the Clear Lake DCFMs call each other to schedule out the summer, so that our VBS weeks don’t coincide. What happens, then, is that kids travel from VBS to VBS, and sadly, we become babysitting services.
So what are our goals, then, and how are we meeting them this summer?
· We want to reach out to friends and neighbors (Hangin’ Out will reach out to all ages, not just kids, and Super Sloppy Summers brings in new kids who DO return in the fall).
· We want to have multi-generational events (Hangin’ Out will focus on babies through older adults).
· We want more family involvement (Many dads and working parents who have heard about Hangin’ Out have approached me about how excited they are for the family time it will provide).
· We want our kids to be spiritually nurtured (all of our programs are Biblically strong).
· We want our kids to have a smoother transition into youth group (Summer Safari)
· We want more mission activities for kids (Summer Safari and CLPC zoo).
· We want our kids to have good music (Passport to Adventure and Summer Safari will have great music, and we hope to have CDs for kids to take home).
· We want Tshirts (almost all the programs will have tshirts, I promise)
· We want to give our burned out volunteers a chance to recharge (simplify) and other volunteers a chance to do something new for a summer, so that we can enter Fall with a full team.
· We want to bring different program areas together to function as a church body and not in silos (Summer Safari and Hangin’ Out both meet this goal)
There’s our plan, and we will re-evaluate at the end of the summer to see if we meet our goals. I’m excited about collaborating with other ministry areas and about the needs that will be met within and without. More posts to come about what all the hype is about!
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