At the Orange conference, Craig Groeschel asked us as parents and leaders what our goals are for our kids. Yes, we want our kids to be well-rounded, well-educated, happy kids. But, our true desire for our kids should be more than this. We, (as parents and leaders) are called by God to raise single-minded, Christ-centered, biblically-anchored world changers.

Craig challenged us to do this in a couple ways.

1. Enlist Supporting Voices
Who are some of the supporting voices in your kids’ lives? We as parents are an important voice in our kids’ lives, but they need others as well. Are other voices encouraging your kids to be single-minded, Christ-centered, biblically-anchored world changers? Are you encouraging this?

For years, my husband and I led youth ministry at a local church. Many kids would come to us as a safe place for prayers, concerns, questions, joys, and life. While they talked to their parents, they sometimes needed someone, outside their family, to go to. As we now are raising our own children, we have this desire for other Christian influencers in our own kids’ lives. We cannot be the only voice they hear.

At One Life KIDS, we want to be these supporting voices for your kids. Kids are invited each Sunday into relationships with Christ-loving adults. In elementary, kids are divided into life groups where they interact with the same adults each week. The Orange philosophy is that it takes a church and a family together to raise a child in Christ. Let us be some of those supporting voices for your kids!

2. Raise the Expectations
We spend a lot of time asking our kids what they are going to be when they grow up? What do they think life will look like then? The truth is, they are living right now. They are worshippers now and they are Christ’s servants now. Our kids go to school each day with kids we may never meet, kids that may never walk into a church. Let’s raise the expectations and encourage our kids to be leaders now.

What can they do? My daughter at age 4, accepted Christ into her heart. The next day at preschool while sharing with her friends, another child asked to do the same thing. At age 7, after witnessing a friend accept Christ, she went to school the next day and asked other friends if they knew Jesus. When another friend said no, she said, “see me at recess.” Last night, she was writing a song about Turning to Jesus. I do not want her to wait until tomorrow. I want to raise the expectations now and let her lead now.

How exciting this all is! We say at One Life KIDS that kids are worshippers now. Part of worshipping is serving and leading now – where they are. Let’s together raise kids who love God with all their hearts, minds, and souls. Let’s together as a church and families help raise a Christ-centered generation.

I’ve had the privilege of attending the Orange conference 4 or 5 years in a row. I love it more, learn more, and connect more with others every year.  This year seemed different to me, in a couple of different ways:

First, my wheels began to turn when I sat through a session on how to partner with our local schools to help teach values and character building to kids in the community by using our Big Deal type programs. I loved this idea of freeing the teacher’s time and using our resources to teach these kids values in a fun, creative, and “cool” way.

Secondly, I was challenged as a leader to seek renewal for my own heart every day.
Carey Nieuwhof said “every leaders faith, character, and hope are tested at some point, how can your passion for ministry burn brighter over time?”  No one wants to be led by someone who has lost their passion.  So, this was a challenge for me, a daily renewal of my own heart to flame that passion. I am excited to see what God has in store for me personally and as a leader.

Oh and there’s a third thing, I love, love, love, the people I get to connect with when we do this trip to Orange. These people who love our kids are truly that, people who love our kids, and I am so thankful for who they are and their passion.

i took gymnastics as a child at the YMCA, but i never mastered it.  i did learn a few of the basics for the beam, floor, and the vault though.  the vault was fun and quick, and for me not as scary as the beam or the uneven bars.  this morning i am thinking of our volunteers and especially new ones.  i truly want our one life kids volunteers to be vaulted into their role.  so this post is going to be directed to our current kids ministry volunteers and how they can “vault” new volunteers when they train and apprentice them.

1.  pretend you are quitting and have to train your replacement:  what would you list out and make sure they know?  think through all aspects of what you do and include the details for how to do those things.

2.  use some of the steps in vaulting when you work with a volunteer:  if i remember some of the steps to performing a vault, you first have to get in place, survey your path and “task”, then you push yourself off and run with force down to the vault; then you leap onto the vault board which propels you into the air to the vault, where you place your hands and perform a twist or something like that finishing by landing on your feet, hands up in the air.  and you really have to stick the landing.  now, how does that translate to training a volunteer?

get in place:  help find someone that has the gifts to perform the role you serve in

survey the path:  give an overview of what you do in your role

push off:  go through the five step process of gradual turning over of the volunteer role to the person you are training

leap to the vault board:  encourage and point out the things the new volunteer is getting right that will give them more energy

stick the landing:  release the new volunteer to finish it.  they have gone through all the steps, and they can raise their arms in triumph for accomplishing their “vault.”

3.  coach before and after:  now i never made it far enough along in my gymnastics training to get a personal coach, but i have seen coaches with their gymnasts.  they coach them before and after they perform.  they lay out what they can expect as they are preparing and after they have done it, they talk about what they’ve done right and what needs improving.  so when you are with a volunteer, discuss and talk through expectations before they serve and talk through how they’ve done after they’ve served.

what methods have been really successful for you in training a new volunteer to “vault” them into excellent serving?  what hasn’t worked?  share with your team.

bandage needed

the other day we discovered a cut on our daughter’s finger that had become infected. it was red and swollen and needed attention. as i cleaned it and bandaged it and worried that the infection was a bit bad, i began thinking how that at the stage she is now at, i don’t give her a once over look as often as when she was a baby. when chloe was a baby, i checked frequently her ears, eyes, nails, fingers and toes, and all other created parts to know that she was okay and healthy. i took care of her nails and all of those things. but she is growing up.  now, at almost nine years of age,  she takes care of of a lot of those things on her own. but this injury made me realize that i still have to do some checks to make sure she is healthy.

avoiding the spiritual bandage

what became my next realization was that i need to do a spiritual check in as well to see that she is healthy and moving in the stages of spiritual growth. here are a few things that we can do as parents to check on and develop our kids spiritual growth:

• look and listen–hear what they are talking about.  it will tell you what they care about and can give you a reading into their relationship with Jesus.  once you know where they are, you can take them to the next stage.
• keep upgrading their Bible–as a child grows, they stop reading the picture books, so we need to upgrade their Bibles as well to fit their development.  there are some awesome Bibles out there that will work for all kids, at all stages (there’s even a comic book version!)
• grow together as parent and child–choose some things that you can do together that grows both of you spiritually. worship together to music you both enjoy in the car, read psalms either in the morning or evening and share what you are thankful for that day, use the parent cue cards given out at One Life KIDS to give ideas, or begin teaching your child how to journal.

what are things you do to check in on your child’s spiritual health and things you do to keep them spiritually healthy and growing?

in just a few days, a team of leaders from one life will be heading to atlanta, georgia to be more infused in orange!  we are heading to the “orange conference” and i am excited to take a team that represents nursery, preschool, elementary and students.  you may remember that we value the next generation at one life.  in fact it is part of who we are.  we want to change the worldview of the next generation.  from the cradle to college, we want the next generation to have a solid Biblical worldview and live that out.

a big part of what we will be hearing and learning is about partnering with parents in spiritually leading our next generation.  be watching for tweets and facebook posts and pictures to see and hear all we are learning.  be in prayer for the team as they go (andi, betsy, kat, kitten, racheal, rebecca, sarah beth, and tonya)

as a believer and a parent, this question has probably crossed your mind and been on your heart often.  at one life church, we want to partner with you to help your child experience Jesus, or in other words come to believe in and choose to follow Christ for their life.  so what can we do as parents to nurture our kids’ in their decision to follow Christ?

help your child get to know who God is

take everyday opportunities to imprint the character and person of God upon your child’s heart.  when they are very young, pointing out God as creator through experiences in His creation are many.  walks in gardens, trips to zoos, hiking, picnics, and even a trip to visit a newborn baby all provide opportunities to point to Him.

when your children are older, reading to your child or their reading the foundational stories of Bible characters and discussing them provides opportunities to see how God works in our lives and always has good and His purpose planned for us.

begin to talk about sin and the consequences of sin

talking about sin is not popular.  our secular worldviews can tell us that whatever we believe is okay and that there are no consequences.  to just be a good person. furthermore, we don’t like to hear the bad stuff and be told that we’ve done bad things and that there are consequences.  but as a parent, we know that we have to address and correct and point our kids to the path of God.  so we have to have the tough conversation about sin.  and the opportunities will come up, because we all mess up.  and when those times come, talk about the wrong done but don’t stop there.

listen and watch for signs your child is wanting to make a decision for Christ

your child’s heart and their conversations will begin to give you clues that they are ready to make a decision for Christ.  they may realize that they have sin in their lives and know that they have to do something about it.  or they may recognize God as in charge and want to be on His team.  their questions and conversations will guide you to open up the opportunity to pray with them.  when the opportunity comes, pray a simple prayer like this:

“dear Jesus, i know that i am a sinner.  i am sorry for my sins. thank you for your gift of forgiveness. help me to always follow after You, my life leader.  amen.”

be sure to also check out our baptism class for kids that have made a decision for Christ and want to share it with everyone by being baptized.  parents and kids attend together.

why didn’t God answer my prayer?

as a mom, i experienced this question this past weekend. and i have to be honest. i was stumped. i didn’t know what to tell my daughter. i wasn’t prepared for this question. as parents, questions like this can come up frequently and as parents it’s okay to not have the answer every time. here are a few thoughts as i’ve reflected about this and how we as parents (or kids volunteers) can respond to this question.

1.  explore God’s word together: again, it is OK if you do not have an answer to all the questions that are brought to you. but, don’t just leave it. tell your child that you will seek out an answer together and then check out His word for what He says about it. in this particular situation you can point out the many prayers in the Bible that were not given an answer immediately. (hannah, paul, job, jacob, and more).  as you search, look for how God worked in those situations.  follow the prayers of the people you are exploring and let it guide your prayers.

2.  point to God’s sovereignty: letting our kids be reminded of God’s hand, all-powerfulness, and control that He has on all of life can bring peace to our kids as they wait God’s answer.  point out the stories that show this in action.  (joshua and the battle of jericho,  Jesus’ death on the cross, and more)  these stories can show that God can be trusted and we CAN place our hope in Him.  our focus this month in elementary is on hope:  believing that something good can come out of something bad.  romans 8:28 is a great verse to rely on to know of God’s sovereignty in all situations.

3.  keep at it:  this walk we are in is a journey, and there are many pitstops along the way.  one way to track the journey is to journal about it so that you can point your child back to God’s work in their life.  seeing His hand that has been faithful can build greater faith in our kids and ourselves.

this is a difficult question, and i confess that i don’t have the answer, but i’m exploring it on my own and together with my daughter.  praying for you today as you encounter hard kid questions.

what other ideas do you have to help kids when prayers of theirs haven’t been answered?

the occasional exerciser

since january, i’ve been trying to up my exercise routine.  it has increased, but it is still in the realm of an “occasional exerciser” which unfortunately isn’t yielding the fitness results that i want. i can blame it on time, being too tired, and being too busy, but the fact is it’s not happening because i’m not making it a priority.  the same can be true of any goal we desire in life…if we aren’t making it a priority, it’s likely not happening, or not happening at the results that you want.  

the occasional parent

we are all guilty of not parenting at times.  and it can be blamed on time, tiredness, being too busy, and more, just like the reasons for not exercising.  parenting is tough and requires lots of energy, emotions, courage, and wisdom.  we can be pulled away from parenting in so many ways.  our jobs, our own personal needs, our wants, the world’s temptations, and more.  just recently i had to remind myself to parent my daughter.  to not lose that time to invest in her life.  thankfully, our God gives us all that we need to do what He has called us to.  most of the time we just have to remind ourselves to take the time with our kids. this week, evaluate your time as a parent and pray for God  to show you what you need to do to be the parent He’s called you to be.

what are ways you have found success in investing in your child as a parent?

students’ hearts for myanmar

this past weekend our students at one life church had a worship experience that kicked off their year long (but i say it’s life long) challenge to “live simply and give big” for myanmar (and ultimately the nations). they experienced a taste of what myanmar is like through a prayer room, a baptism room, living quarters, dining quarters. they saw and heard what it is like for the orphans in myanmar to live. the student leaders put this all together and did an incredible job!

kids’ hearts for myanmar

the next day after the worship experience, the students then shared what they learned and heard from the experience to our one life elementary kids!  they brought the displays into the kids theatre, and led the kids through what they saw and shared from their own heart.  the kids listened, experienced, and my prayer is that their hearts became open to loving and caring for orphans and the nations.  here are some of the wins i see from this weekend:

• students, parents, and kids experienced what myanmar is like and the needs there
• students mentored our one life elementary kids, growing their own hearts as they grew kids’ hearts
• students were given ownership to reach and change the nations (and they took it!)

families’ hearts for myanmar and all nations

families, you can help to continue to grow your kids’ hearts for the nations (our nation included).  this means we nurture a heart of compassion in our kids.  some of that will come from us, as parents, being an example of compassion when we encounter need. through our example of being compassionate, our kids will pick up on that and hopefully follow that example, not just be a fan.  here are a few ideas to spark your lead in growing your child’s heart for the nations:

• expose your child to global experiences to open their hearts to more than they see everyday
• serve as a family in a local compassion based outreach
• pray for the nations (get a globe or a world map and choose and mark a nation to pray for)
• learn about a new nation each month

what can you do to grow your child’s heart for the nations?  

our team leaders gathered yesterday again to plan and prep for reaching kids and families far from God this easter.  i am still beaming over the gathering!  there was brainstorming and creativity and excitement in the air!  each team owning this day to create an awesome worship experience for the next generation. be sure to thank your OLK leaders the next time you see them!  they do a TON of great stuff for our kids!

the teams!!!

jason, one of our storytellers, checking out the props for the teaching for easter

our kids small group leaders plan to lead and build relationships for the next gen

our kids frontline gets ready to greet families and get them checked in

the teams!!!

our nursery team plans for our youngest worshippers

our kids production team planning the easter worship experience for the next gen

sharon bournigal shared her gift and provided chair massages to our leaders!