New seasons always usher in some amount of change, but the complexities of 2020 have brought even more so! Below are the latest updates to our Children’s Ministry in light of the continuing realities of Covid19.
CLT Transitions
As many of you know, I oversee an incredible group of women called the Children’s Leadership Team (CLT). This fall, I’m thrilled to announce that Megan Tucker is our new Club (3rd-6th grade) Leader. Having volunteered with Club last year, Megan has already developed relationships with many of the youth in that class. She’s an avid explorer, a wonderful question asker, and a deep thinker, which makes her a great addition to our team.
With Club at the helm of Megan, we’ve moved Jess Preston into the role of Operations. Jess will help with the nuts and bolts of Children’s Ministry as well as focus her energy on projects that benefit all our children. She has a dear heart for serving behind the scenes and we are grateful for her continued involvement with this ministry.
Covid Disruptions
Due to the complexities that Covid has brought, the CLT has decided not to offer Sunday School on Sunday mornings, until January, at the earliest. On the one hand, this is super disappointing. I wish you could hear how much our teachers love being with your kids! It’s also such a delight to see budding friendships between children in their classes. Sadly, this is just one more area of life, where we’re feeling the loss of normal rhythms and routines in Covidtime.
Intergenerational Worship Developments
Hot off the press, Ordinary Season Worship Journals!
As disappointing as it is not to have Sunday School this fall, we are excited about how God can use this time to grow us in different ways. Primarily, we are seeing this as an opportunity to deepen children’s engagement with the entirety of our Sunday morning worship service. We’re not looking to distract your kids on Sunday morning, we’re looking for ways to help them participate as fully as they can, however they can.
We’ve rolled out some children’s bulletins at our Outdoor Services, but this Sunday, I’m excited to announce that all Preschoolers-6th graders will be receiving their very own age appropriate Worship Journals for the fall. Jess has created these journals with activities for each Sunday that we hope will spur children on to active listening and give them ways to respond to what they’re hearing and seeing.
Survey Results!
Thank you to all who participated in our fall survey. The following observations stood out to us the most:
The top two items parents are looking for are: Age Appropriate Bible Lessons & Fellowship for kids and parents.
Parents are looking for once a month frequency.
The majority of parents are willing to meet in person for classes and events.
Synthesizing all this info, we’ve created a plan to offer two class specific Bible lessons a month. The first lesson will be offered in-person on a Saturday morning (think of it like Sunday School but unhitched from Sunday mornings), but we’ll have an at-home option for those who are unable to join us. And the second option will be recorded and sent via email for at-home viewing.
The first in-person Family Ministry day for this fall is tomorrow, Sept 12th (RSVP here) and our second will be October 10th.
What isn’t changing?
Lots of changes, yes?! But as disruptive as these times are, we hope to preserve and build-up the connections children have with their teacher and their class, as they grow in their understanding that God Made Them on Purpose, He Loves them Completely, and He Goes with them Everywhere!
