I am continually inspired by our everyday Children’s Ministry heroes in the ABNWT District! What they did this past number of months is truly amazing and inspiring. I asked CM people to send in highlights and I think it will take a second BLOG to get them all in. Please keep these reports coming. It is so great to let us know what God is doing in our District. I am hoping this will encourage you and spur on some great ideas in your context this upcoming year.
I wanted to give a shout-out to the Children’s Ministry leaders who ministered at Sunnyside Family Camp and our other camps across our District. You along with your teams led amazing and engaging experiences that the kids loved! Their faith was strengthened and many children went deeper with Jesus during those times.
Now for some “Wins” around the District:
From Heather Hamilton at Drumheller Community Church:
Our first Family Movie Night went very well with over 60 people in attendance! We showed “Luca” on our large projector screen in our sanctuary/gymnasium. We served popcorn and juice to all in attendance and gave out candy bags to the children. The families were very grateful for this event and they were pleasantly surprised that it was completely FREE. They said that they would DEFINITELY be back! Family Movie Night will be happening monthly.
From Courtney at First Assembly in Calgary:
Day Camp was amazing! We had around 50 children and 22 amazing leaders. Kieran (from Hope City Church) absolutely killed it as our speaker!
From Meaghan West in Claresholm:
This summer, each week in July, we did park dates. We advertised them and looked forward to meeting new kids and new families at local parks. We offered snacks, crafts, sports equipment, and games! We sported our CPA (Claresholm Pentecostal Assembly) T-shirts and made new friends!
From Ivy at Oasis in Grande Prairie:
We have been learning about God through being outdoors and doing fun activities. Most Sundays have been spent outdoors doing activities with Bible themes: water fight (baptism, crossing of the sea), laser tag (the battles/wars in the Bible), waterslide (Jonah and the fish, Jesus calms the storm), bikes and scooters (missions, gospel on wheels), outdoor board games, and trivia.
We have reopened the respite program for children with special needs and it’s now weekly. We are having a back-to-school event for children with special needs and their siblings. They get free school supplies, free haircuts, and french braids. This is to raise awareness for the king’s kids’ respite outreach program.
From Holly at Family Christian Centre in Fort McMurray:
Our biggest win was the number of new community kids that came to camp. This was an excellent opportunity to introduce them to Jesus and the gospel. Just being allowed to plant seeds for the future is such a privilege.
Another huge win for us was the teamwork of our volunteers. We have some excellent people that truly give it their all and just knowing that we could delegate comfortably was such a blessing – especially with the short notice on reopening!
Another win is that we got a lot of really helpful feedback about some processes with the new community people and that has significantly challenged the way we perceived things from an insider’s perspective. So it’s a win with a challenge and potential for growth.
From Shay Anderson at The Park Church in Sherwood Park:
This summer, The Park Church hosted our Annual Art Day Camp. We partnered with local artists who attend our congregation and opened this day camp to the community. The camp offered instruction in drawing techniques, watercolour and acrylic painting, and clay sculpting. The camp also included fun crafts, games and a Bible theme. This year's theme was The Potter's Clay based on Jeremiah 18. After carefully and simply explaining the gospel, it was presented to a group of 42 children. I'm happy to report that seven children received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour for the first time. This was very encouraging and rewarding to be a part of. Some of these families also registered their children in our AWANA program which commences in the fall.
This fall, in addition to our Wee College, AWANA, and 56 discipleship ministries, we will also be offering a 6-week basketball training camp. This will help the elementary kids sharpen their skills before the winter basketball season starts. It's also another point of contact between our church and the community we serve.
From Naomi Kienzler at Northwest Pentecostal Assembly in Edmonton:
One win for us this summer was having some of our children, youth and families come together to paint rocks for our front rock bed (which had formerly been a bit of an overgrown shrub area). They painted scriptures, encouraging messages, or some of the beauty of God’s creation. Amazingly this has been a great draw for many in the community to come and see the messages on the rocks. It has given us multiple opportunities to interact with them and share the love of Christ. God has used even something as simple as caring for our outdoor space as a means to reach people for Him.
From Lisa Gorsky at Shepherd’s Gate in Calgary:
Our Day Camp was such a great thing for the church! There is life and hope and a future here! I advertised the camp on Kijiji and 60% of the kids that came were unchurched!! We charged $25 per kid and made $200 on the event – which is great as we had no available money for this camp!! Camp fun consisted of tie-dyeing shirts, making slime, water day with slip and slide, fun music, and lessons from the Bible. We had three baptisms in three weeks. Such a win!!
This gets me so excited about what God is doing and inspires me to find out what God has next for our ABNWT District churches.
Keep pressing on. We have many to win into God’s kIngdom. The age of the kids we lead is at the decision age!
Kathy has worked with kids and families for over 30 years in church settings (small, medium, cross-cultural, large, and mega-sized churches), school settings, and early childhood settings. She is presently the Children and Family Ministries specialist at the ABNWT District Resource Centre. She thrives on collaborating and coaching leaders, helping them thrive.