CHILDREN'S CHURCH: Vision Statements

Keep your children’s church vision clearly in mind as you prepare from week-to-week.

If you have not yet written down your vision, perhaps these ideas below will help you:


“Our vision for children’s church is to see our children receiving Christ and growing in Him and developing an intimate relationship with God through prayer, reading God's word, worship and learning to serve Him. We involve children in evangelism and church ministry through music, puppets, drama, Scripture memorization and games. Our future vision is: to touch the future generations; reach out to other children beyond our local church; train the children to evangelize; and to involve the children through participation in children's rallies and outreach.” (Gateway Community)

“Through being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, the teachers and helpers of the Children's Church will endeavor to teach the Word of God to the children so that they will have a strong foundation and their relationship with God will grow, and so that, as we teach the children, they may apply it to every aspect of their lives, both at home and at school. We will nurture and develop their love for God and each other, as well as for the Scriptures. They will also be given the opportunity to develop their prayer life. Every new child will be given the opportunity to ask Jesus into their life as their Lord and Savior” (Living Word Baptist Church)

Sunday School Offering Incentives

Giving, as well as everything which happens in Sunday School, should be fun! Here are some ideas you might want to try!

A QUARTER FOR EVERY . . .

Bring in a quarter for every beanie baby you have, for every pillow in your house, for every window in your house, for every pet you own, for every pair of shoes you have.

BANK

A bank with moving parts motivates children, and adults, to give.

BOZO CIRCUS GAME

Place several buckets in a row and play a type of Bozo circus game.

MILE OF PENNIES CAMPAIGN

Requires 84,440 pennies, laid edge to edge, to stretch a mile. The "Mile of Pennies" campaign is a great theme for a special campaign for children.

OFFERING CONTAINERS

Make different, creative offering containers each week to correlate with the lesson that Sunday. This makes giving fun!

QUARTER FOLDERS

Send home quarter folders that hold $10.00 when full. Have contests to see who can fill theirs the fastest, who can fill the most, etc.


SCALES

Have someone make a balance - an upright piece of wood with a piece of wood screwed across (about 2 inches from the top). Attach buckets to each side of the cross piece. It will lower to whichever side had the most money in the bucket. The kids quickly learned to bring change and not dollars!

TO ENCOURAGE YOU: "From the Good Shepherd"

FROM THE GOOD SHEPHERD
by Sherri Langton
(Used by permission)

To the sheep with the heavy heart
Who wets pillows with your tears;
I have arms to wrap around you,
I have strength and listening ears.

To the sheep with the empty eyes
Bruised and battered from the fight;
I have hours of compassion
To soothe you through the night.

To the sheep with the trembling voice
Who wonders which way to go;
I have eyes that see the valleys
Where the tattered breezes blow.

To the sheep with the weary soul
Who can hardly more endure;
I have quiet flowing rivers
With water tasting pure.

I have pockets full of sunshine
When your autumn turns to brown;
In your winter I will hold you
And in My pastures lay you down.

PEW PARTNERS - CHILDREN'S CHURCH ALTERNATIVE

If your church does not have children’s church yet ministers to children whose parent’s do not attend, you may want to organize a “Pew Partners”program.

Secure volunteers in your congregation who are willing to sit with one or more children.

This will maintain a semblance of order in the church, as well as provide these children with loving “faith models” with whom they can relate.

TEACHER APPRECIATION POEM by Linda Stevenson

FROM HEAVEN'S POINT OF VIEW

If you could only see right now
From Heaven’s point of view,
You’d witness mighty miracles
From what you say and do.

Jesus said, “You’d hear the prayers
That fall upon My ear.
You would see souls daily growing
As My Word from you they hear.”

“The gift that I have given you
Will forev’r change man’s heart
And help him grow deep in his faith
As Truth you will impart.”

“Each man and woman, boy and girl
To whom you’ve shown the way
Will stand up for you in Heaven
With thankful hearts one day.”

“They’ll tell you how they came to know
The Truth that set them free,
Because you took the time to teach
And tell them about Me.”

So thank you for your faithfulness.
One day you’ll fin’ly see,
From the fruit of all your labor,
Great your reward will be.

By Linda J. Stevenson

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL (VBS) PLANNING

Vacation Bible School continues to be the most effective tool a local church has in the areas of evangelism, outreach, extended ministries, training, and nurturing.

1. PRAY

Spend the month of January praying for God to reveal what He wants for your summer programming. God knows the best way for reaching children within the sphere of your church's efforts. Ask Him!


2. DECIDE YOUR PURPOSE

Put in writing your purpose for conducting VBS. Ask: "Why are we doing what we're doing?"

3. SET THE DATE

Set the date for the school, and put it on the church calendar.

4. ORDER CURRICULUM MATERIALS

5. PRAYERFULLY ENLIST STAFF

If VBS is God's work, you can count on Him to provided the needed help. List all needed positions and have the church as a whole pray for people to respond. Rather than a general call from the pulpit (anyone interested in working in VBS see so-and-so after church), contact people individually. Ask specific people for a specific job. Avoid appearing out of nowhere with a help request! Build relationships first.


6. PROVIDE CLEAR, DETAILED JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Many potential workers misunderstand the task they are asked to perform. No one can satisfactorily function in a given role unless it is clearly understood what is expected. Included in the job description should be some indication of what the worker may expect from the church, as well as what the church expects from the volunteer.

7. RAISE VISIBILITY OF VBS THRROUGH PROMOTION

The more excited people become, the more likely they will want to be involved.


8. TRAIN YOUR STAFF FOR SUCCESS

Training helps ensure that what you delegate will get done because your volunteers will know how to do it. Plan individualized training sessions, if necessary. Have seasoned teachers mentor new ones.

9. MAKE PLANS FOR KEEPING YOUR CHLIDREN SAFE

Regarding safety of the children, put on the registration form a section saying, "Who will pick up your child at the end of the day?" Parents receive a letter 1-2 weeks before VBS saying you will need to park and come in the building to pick up your child/children from specified rooms. To avoid confusion as to where to go, send a map of the church to the parents clearly labeled as to where to pick up the different grade levels. Maps and signs all over the church also eliminate confusion.