Starbucks or Dry Cleaners?
i’ve just returned from the orange conference and i am pumped and excited! our team heard lots of great teaching, were led in some great worship, and had lots of fun together. we’ve returned with full hearts for the kids to experience Jesus more! over the next few posts, i will share some of what we learned as a team. hopefully with a post from one of the team members too!
dry cleaners
one of the speakers, kara powell, from the fuller youth institue, shared this thought:“parents view the church as a dry cleaner: they bring their kids in dirty and then take them home 75 minutes later.” this really stuck with me because this is not really what we want our kids ministry to be. now that may surprise you, and don’t think that we are saying we don’t want kids to change or “get cleaned up” while they are in kids ministry. we totally want change, but we it’s also that we want to partner with you as parents, that we want to play a part together in your child experiencing Jesus. because we know that we (the church) are not the primary or end all in leading a child spiritually. (check out who is to take the lead for a child’s spiritual growth in deuteronomy 6).
may i propose to you that we want our kids ministry to be like starbucks.
starbucks
for many of you, i probably have your attention now that i’ve mentioned starbucks. starbucks is how many people start their day. their favorite drink is a consistent part of their day and it jumpstarts all they do each day. can we be that for you as a parent? can we partner with you to be the jumpstart as you spiritually lead your child? we have several ways that we try to do that:
~parent cue email– to further and spark what has happened in one life kids. on the first sunday of each month, you’ll receive a parent cue email that has ideas for you as a parent. the parent cue is designed to spark and remind you of what to keep before your kids that week. it gives the stories, memory verses, and the bottom lines we are teaching on the weekends.~consistent leaders that are connecting with your kids spiritually, emotionally, and with lots of fun!~BIG Deal Theatre–this happens at all of the sites. it’s a shared experience between kids and their parents that gives you a starting point with your kids as you lead them spiritually. (and it’s LOTS of fun!)
who’s with me? who’s orange for the kids?