Grants for Network Groups!

ACRE would like to encourage you to start a network group of church educators! A $500 grant is available (through Faith Alive Christian Resources) to help for any ACRE member start a group. This grant can be used in a variety of ways from purchasing books for book discussions or paying for a guest speaker. This is a great opportunity for you to learn more about the educational ministry and to build relationships with other educators in your area. A trip to the APCE (Association of Presbyterian Church Educators) conference in January in San Antonio, TX for the leader is also included!

Why all this emphasis on network groups? Many church educators are volunteers or ministry staff with a heart for ministry but not necessarily a lot of training in church education. A network group can provide support and encouragement for your ministry and build a broader awareness of what church education is all about.

Recruiting Volunteers with Armor On

Summer in Michigan is great for a lot of reasons. But it always goes way too quickly and as it gets to be late July it is time to check the volunteer lists. We always like to give our teachers and leaders a rest before we ask them to commit for another year so every summer we face the same questions: Who will teach again? Who else should I ask? How many calls will we have to make to get all the slots filled?

Of course, it isn’t just filling slots. We try to match people with tasks so that they feel fulfilled in their work and so that the kids are ministered to by someone who has gifts to do what we’re asking them to do but, even with all that, the classes have to be staffed and we need names to go in every slot. I have a very many veterans who return and teach the children and youth programs every year. It is pretty easy to call them – they sometimes wonder why I don’t just assume that they’re going to do it but we both know that I need to ask them anyway. But even for some of those people I hate making the calls. Partly it’s because there are a LOT of calls to make and you can get to the point where you don’t even know who you’re talking to if you do too many in a row. But it is also because you never know when someone will hit you with an unexpected response. I was talking with Kathy, another children’s director, about asking people to volunteer. We both admitted that this is a particularly difficult part of the job. We both find it hard to avoid taking the “no thanks” remarks personally. I find that every time I need to make a call I have to get prepared. I have to somehow gear up for the conversation (which is really strange because I know and like all of these people.) Kathy says that she does the same thing. She calls it “putting on her armor.” I kind of liked that image because it really does describe what I do too. The problem, though, is that I put on the armor for Monday when I make the calls but on Wednesday, when I’m not wearing it, I get the calls returned and I’m not ready.

So, other church educators out there - how do you avoid taking the negative responses personally? Any advise?

Join ACRE Now!

If you’re a staff member or volunteer whose role fits these titles: Sunday school coordinator/superintendent, education director, education committee chair, children’s ministry director, director of discipleship, family pastor, etc., you may want to consider joining ACRE. We believe this organization will be the voice that shapes the future of educational ministry within our denomination!

The annual membership fee of $55 for volunteer educators and $65 for professional educators includes these benefits:

• Copies of three new educational resources from Faith Alive throughout the year (valued at $50), and an opportunity for your input to shape future resources.


• A $45 registration discount for the annual Grow conference.


• Full membership in the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE), including
  a subscription to The Advocate, APCE’s quarterly educator’s journal that features articles and ideas from educators in the CRC, RCA, and PCUSA (valued at $30).


• a $175 discount for the APCE Main Event (the 2009 Event will take place in San Antonio, Texas, January 28-31).


• access to $500 grants for ministry networking groups, and full scholarships (including registration, travel, lodging, and meals) for the APCE Main Event for educators who lead networking groups (five grants and five full scholarships awarded per year).

Most important, access to the wisdom of a bi-national network of church educators connected through e-newsletters, a webpage, and a blog that tracks educational ministries throughout the CRC—from opportunities for continuing ed. to great ideas from educators across North America.

For more information click here

Faithful

The year is winding down but my thoughts are about what the next year will look like. Who will teach? How many three and four year olds will be coming? How much material and supplies should I order? Sometimes my mind gets so caught up in thinking about the details that I forget to think about the people.

Ministry includes so many children. I think about the 3 year old who is allergic to wheat and the child who does not want his mother to leave. I think about the 7 year old who appears to have no friends. I think about the 12 year old who who seems to always be irritated about something. I think about the 15 year old whose parents are getting a divorce. I think about the 16 year old taking on the responsibility of driving. I think about the 17 year old who is making decisions about what do to after high school.

These thought can leave me feeling overwhelmed. How can all these needs be met? Focusing on details is a lot easier.

Then I remember that I really only need to be faithful. This is a word that has meant a lot to me ever since I read Real Kids, Real Faith by Karen Marie Yust. I’m not sure I am using the term the same way she does but I’ve been thinking about that word a lot lately. I have been called to serve the Lord and use my gifts in ministry. This isn’t a vocation I chose. It chose me. My focus needs to change from me to God. It helps me to remember that it isn’t my job to form the faith of the children. My job is a lot smaller than that. It is my job to provide the tools for children and other adults to know God and see recognize the gifts that God has given them to be faithful. I’m merely doing the work that he’s asked me to do – I don’t have to do everything to build up the faith of all the people I work with. I only have to be faithful in that work. And as I am, I have the privilege of listening and watching to see God’s work as I and the people I serve are being formed by God in our faith.

What about adults?

A local church educator wrote this to our email group:

I have a couple of questions about adult Sunday school if anyone has time to answer...thanks for your input!
#1- Who oversees your adult discipleship classes? ( By that I guess I want to know who chooses the teachers and the curriculum)
#2- What classes does your church offer for adults?

I'd love to hear input from anyone reading this blog. What do you do about these things?

Time Flies -- Keeping Track of Hours

Do you keep track of your hours? If your position is hourly the answer is obvious. Well, maybe not so obvious. Some hourly church workers put in many more hours than they are paid for. Some church workers are asked to track their hours even if they’re not paid by the hour. Others who are not asked keep track anyway.

So, what do you do? Do you get paid by the hour or are you on salary? If you get paid by the hour do you count Sunday mornings? If you are on salary do you track your hours?

Mid Week Church Programs

Our church is reviewing our midweek programs. Can you help us?

Our church does not serve dinner with our midweek program. Has serving dinner been successful? Do more people to come to the church programs if you offer a meal?

How long are your classes? When do you start and when do you finish? Presently our programs runs from 7:00 to 8:30. Do you have something else that works well?

Programs are offered for children in 3rd to 8th grade. Should we start inviting 1st and 2nd grade to our programs? Should we spit the group into 3rd to 5th grade and 6th to 8th grade. What works for you? What doesn’t work?

Please share your experience!

What's in a Name?

What do you call your programs? I am looking for some good (or even mediocre) names for programs at church.

So I will start with what our church calls our programs:

• The midweek program for girl’s is JOY (Jesus- Others- Yourself) Club.
• The midweek program for boys is called Boys Club.
• The 3 year old children’s worship program is called TLC – The Little Children.
• Middle school youth group is Crosstrainers.

Readings for the Education Committee

Our church’s education committee is reevaluating our education programs. I have suggested the committee read a few books to have some background in church education. Here is the lists of books I have suggested.

• Family Base Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries
• Postmodern Children’s Ministry by Ivy Beckwith
• Junior High Ministry by Wayne Rice
• Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions by George Barna
• Sunday School that Really Works by Jessie Schut
  

Do you have any other ideas?

Time for Change?

A group of educators met last week in Cascade and one of the topics we discussed was participation. How do we get children and adults to come to church and be part of the education programs? Molli told a story that got me thinking. She mentioned that in their church’s GEMS group only 4 girls out of the 9 girls who could participate came to the meetings. One of the leaders asked “Do we do this for only this small number of girls? What should we do differently so the other girls will participate?” Molli’s response was “Why do the girls who don’t come control the agenda?”

I thought that was a good question. Do the people who choose to stay home have the ability to control programs? Should we change to get more people to come out or should we ask the people who come what they want to do? We often focus on the people who don’t come. Sometimes their lack of participation has nothing to do with our programs – they’re too busy with other things or they have family obligations that conflict, for example. There are lots of things that might keep them away. And what if they just don’t like the programs? Should we change it from something that some people DO like just to try to get a bigger crowd?

So… when do you change the program? Isn’t attendance a clear indicator that it is time for a change? Is there a time when low attendance is not used as an indication of a time to change the program?

I’d love to see some comments.

So Much More

Today I met with a group of church educators who work with adults. An interesting time in the discussion was when we were wondering about spiritual hunger. Is there a spiritual hunger? Are people too busy to have time to hunger after a spiritual life? It seems that once a person has turned 18 years old that they think they don’t need church education. Is the preaching on Sunday enough?

My grandfather used to buy theological books. Did he have more time to read? Did he feel that he had to safeguard the churches theology more than we do now? Is it is sign of our busy lives that we don’t think about church education?

Deb’s Rienstra’s new book So Much More was mentioned. Just the title is intriguing in that it challenges us to think, learn and live life as Christian with an attitude that there is so much more for us to do and learn. We serve a great God and our knowledge of him shouldn’t stagnate.

Is Children’s Worship too expensive? If wooden figures could talk...

Recently a new member in our congregation marveled at the expense of the Children’s Worship program. She wondered if the wooden figures were worth the expense. She suggested that we could just use clothespins or paper figures.

As I thought about this I picked up one of the wooden figures. It has been used in our church for almost 20 years. The wood has changed color from age and finger oils. I wondered how many children and how many worship leaders had used that figure to tell a Bible story. Some of the first children to use this figure are graduating from college this year. Some of them went on to be helpers in our program, then leaders. Now they are moving on to other churches and bringing what they learned with them.

Many years ago our church made a financial investment -- shelving, figures, fabric, larger classrooms, etc. If this was just a one year program then the money probably wouldn’t be worth it. But this program has been here for an entire generation. These figures have given many leaders, helpers and children an opportunity to gather around and experience the stories of God together. It is in a richer worship experience for the whole church because we are thinking about and involved in worship. The figures were a bargain.

Adult Education

At a recent gathering of church educators, one educator was commenting about the lack of commitment by the adults to church education. How do we get parents to stop dropping off their children for church education and get the parents to attend? Parents are teaching their children that church education is only for the children. How do help adults value church education? How do we get parents to include church education for themselves in their busy schedule?

Girl’s Club

Our church’s Girl’s Club (we call it Joy Club) consists of 20 girls in 3^rd to 8^th grade from a core city environment. We have a hard time finding materials that speaks to all the girls. We’ve looked at several curricula and still haven’t found one to use. We haven’t been able to find one that really fits the girls who we have attending our girls club. For example, one curriculum focused on talking at home about faith with their mothers and fathers. A number of our girls come from families that do not have a church home and some don’t live with their parents. One of our girls was taken away from her mother for neglect. She lives with her grandparents. We need to be sensitive to her and the other girls in our group as we chose curriculum. Another curriculum talks about playing with American girl dolls. First of all, these dolls aren’t inexpensive. They’re out of the league of more than a few of the girls we serve. Also, though, some of our girls are taking care of real babies. At least two of our girls talks about taking care of their older sister’s baby. We have a pretty wide range of experience in a pretty small group and this makes finding a curriculum a real issue for us.

I’m sure we are not unique in this setting. I wonder how other educators are meeting these challenges. Any suggestions about curriculum for a group like this are appreciated

Teaching the catechism

Trying to make the catechism meaningful to teens is tough. I think the questions and answers from the catechism become even more meaningful the more you study them and the more you hear them. Of course, it could be that just getting older (and wiser?) helps. Maybe many of us appreciate things like the catechism more as we get older. There is a reassuring sense of oneness to hear other Christians respond to “What is your only comfort in life and death?”

As a denomination, the pastors aren’t preaching from the catechism as often as they used to. Does this mean that catechism study is less valuable than it used to be? Should the catechism still be taught to young people? If so, what is the best place for that, youth group, church school, Wednesday night programs?

If we do think teaching the catechism is important, what format is most effective? Do the same materials work for teens as well as adults? What materials have worked well for you? What format do you use? A catechism weekend retreat? Weekly church school?

I would appreciate hearing from other educators.

Ministry is messy!

I could run the perfect program. I could plan, prepare, make signs and make the perfect program happen. But then I would be planning, preparing, and making signs. Okay, I make signs. And I take great pleasure in how centered, colorful and helpful my signs are. I also plan and prepare. But the perfect program has never happened.

The perfect program is only in my mind. Unfortunately my mind isn’t perfect. Maybe I should say fortunately. Because what happens in my programs isn’t perfect. Children and adults are talking to each other. A child leaves just as the story hits the pinnacle to go to the bathroom. I say ministry is relational but sometimes I forget and try to run the perfect class. God isn’t concerned with gorgeous crafts and perfectly behaved children. He is concerned about my relationship with him and the children seeing God’s hand on me. Our church’s children run in the hall, climb the hall walls, and even drink punch in the nursery! They are spontaneous, energetic, and love their God. They don’t sing on pitch and they climb on the cupboards. They would rather make paper airplanes then draw pictures. These children are challenging and fun and I have the privilege of working with them to further God’s kingdom.

SO my perfect program won’t happen. But what does happen builds the faith of the children and the adults of my church. I get the opportunity to make a place for this to happen. Whenever these people meet and talk about God and tell the stories from the Bible, good things happen. I can’t control the children. I can’t control the adults. It reminds me of when I put my babies in the crib at night after a long day. I would put the baby in bed and pray, “Lord, I did my best today. Now you may take over while I get some rest.” In children’s ministry I do my best and then the Lord takes over. His design is always better than mine.

Getting Started

I hope this can be a place for discussions about church education.