Well, 7 weeks out and things are not exactly where I had hoped they would be. A few weeks ago I left drama "try outs" completely excited and energized with the thought of having the teens take over the large group drama time. Well, it isn't working out quite the way I had hoped. It's not from lack of trying, the teens are giving us everything they have. I think the problem lies with my lack of knowledge in the drama process and lack of experience in "directing".
Tonight I have the unpleasant task of giving our teens their new assignments as we fill in the leads with some of our veteran stage performers. My hope is that everyone sticks with us and the process and in a few years, with more practice these teenagers will be our "veteran" actors.
I'm feeling frustrated at my lack of foresight in the process of leading, definitely something I am praying about. The last thing I would ever want to do is discourage a teenager, or anyone for that matter from serving in the future.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Insanity
Insanity = Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
I've seen a lot of this lately. Sunday after church my family and I went out for lunch, it was pouring rain. As my children and I huddled under the awning of the restaurant waiting for my husband to pull the car up, we witnessed a sight that I've seen a few too many times lately. A mom was yelling at her kids trying to get them to hurry along. The longer they procrastinated, the louder she yelled, more fooling around, more yelling, and on went the cycle. Same scene, different characters. A teenager and her mother were at the grocery store. The teen wanted to go somewhere, mom said no, the girl whined, mom got louder, and so did the teen. At what point do we learn that the same approach to a situation usually produces the same outcome?
It got me to thinking about our approach to traditional Sunday morning teaching. We teach the same way over and over again, and somehow expect different results. We are fortunate here at CCV to have wonderfully creative teachers who are willing to try new things. They are risk takers and I am proud of what we are doing each weekend and especially excited about the direction we are headed. Different techniques are producing different results, some great, others not so, but it is fun trying new things.
I've seen a lot of this lately. Sunday after church my family and I went out for lunch, it was pouring rain. As my children and I huddled under the awning of the restaurant waiting for my husband to pull the car up, we witnessed a sight that I've seen a few too many times lately. A mom was yelling at her kids trying to get them to hurry along. The longer they procrastinated, the louder she yelled, more fooling around, more yelling, and on went the cycle. Same scene, different characters. A teenager and her mother were at the grocery store. The teen wanted to go somewhere, mom said no, the girl whined, mom got louder, and so did the teen. At what point do we learn that the same approach to a situation usually produces the same outcome?
It got me to thinking about our approach to traditional Sunday morning teaching. We teach the same way over and over again, and somehow expect different results. We are fortunate here at CCV to have wonderfully creative teachers who are willing to try new things. They are risk takers and I am proud of what we are doing each weekend and especially excited about the direction we are headed. Different techniques are producing different results, some great, others not so, but it is fun trying new things.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Kids' Camp - the beginning
CCV takes kids seriously. The largest event we have every year is camp, it is held like clock work every year, the same time, 3rd week in July. People plan their vacations around it. We begin preparing in January and honestly could start in August. Last year we had almost 800 children and 300 volunteers in attendance. This year we are projecting even more.
Our theme this summer is BIG TOP. It is our plan to turn our building into a circus with tightrope walkers, lion tamers, elephants, and more! Our hope is to get kids so excited about being here that they bring their parents on Sunday to see their video and get their free shirt.
This year we are trying something new, we are utilizing our teens for as many components of camp as possible. In the past the worship team and drama teams consisted of mostly adult volunteers. This year we have a cast of very gifted and devoted teens that are in rehearsals right now. We are moving in the direction of utilizing our teens more and more for these large events as well as Sunday mornings.
Our elementary leader, Stephanie Carter, http://growingyourkidsministry.blogspot.com/ has a heart for this ministry. She is finding ways to integrate students into helping on stage, with tech., volunteering in the younger classrooms, and more.
As we continue to recruit for camp and work through this process I will keep you posted on our progress.
Our theme this summer is BIG TOP. It is our plan to turn our building into a circus with tightrope walkers, lion tamers, elephants, and more! Our hope is to get kids so excited about being here that they bring their parents on Sunday to see their video and get their free shirt.
This year we are trying something new, we are utilizing our teens for as many components of camp as possible. In the past the worship team and drama teams consisted of mostly adult volunteers. This year we have a cast of very gifted and devoted teens that are in rehearsals right now. We are moving in the direction of utilizing our teens more and more for these large events as well as Sunday mornings.
Our elementary leader, Stephanie Carter, http://growingyourkidsministry.blogspot.com/ has a heart for this ministry. She is finding ways to integrate students into helping on stage, with tech., volunteering in the younger classrooms, and more.
As we continue to recruit for camp and work through this process I will keep you posted on our progress.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Because I can't, he can
Today was one of those gloomy weather, my son is home from school sick, my husband is out of town, feeling a little down kind of days. I find that on days like this my mind begins wondering and that voice of self doubt creeps in. I started looking around thinking about all the ways I have slacked off on house cleaning, how I had a to-do list a mile long at work that wasn't getting done, phone calls to friends that were way over due, surely I'm not the person God wants me to be.
So I decided to sit down and pray. I thanked God for my unclean house, thanked him for my children who made it that way. I thanked God that my husband has a job that he loves, I thanked him for my job and the friends that I had made over the last year. I thanked him for having enough faith in me that he trusted me with the task of leading our children's area.
The more I prayed the more I realized that it really is true, through my weaknesses, he is strong. I opened up my bible to James chapter 4:7-10
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.
I am thankful that God finds me useful, honored that he is able to work through me, and painfully aware that I am nothing without him.
So I decided to sit down and pray. I thanked God for my unclean house, thanked him for my children who made it that way. I thanked God that my husband has a job that he loves, I thanked him for my job and the friends that I had made over the last year. I thanked him for having enough faith in me that he trusted me with the task of leading our children's area.
The more I prayed the more I realized that it really is true, through my weaknesses, he is strong. I opened up my bible to James chapter 4:7-10
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.
I am thankful that God finds me useful, honored that he is able to work through me, and painfully aware that I am nothing without him.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Where are we headed?
I will officially start my new position as Valley Kids Director in June and the first thing I have asked myself is, “Where are we headed?”
Just to give a little background, I am directionally challenged. I get lost often. When we moved to Pennsylvania I went to the grocery store and couldn’t find my way home. After driving back and forth on the same road with ice cream melting in the back seat, I called a neighbor I had just met and asked them to guide me home.
Last year as we opened Providence Christian Preschool the very first thing I tasked myself to do was to create a road map to guide us ahead in our school year. It was very simple; students came in with X knowledge and they needed to leave with Z. It was something that was clear, specific, and measurable. Naturally I desire to do the same with our children’s ministry as well.
I now find myself on a road less traveled. As I have researched scope and sequencing maps, I am finding that the road is not only less traveled, but seems to not even be paved. Many boxed curriculums have independent goals and outlines to their programs, but if I wanted to have a baby in our church, send them through our preschool program, and into elementary, I would not have a clear vision of what they would learn when they left us.
I think we owe our children more than that, we owe our parents more than that, we owe God more than that. I need to know that I have done a sufficient job of planting the seeds God has tasked me to plant. If that means writing our own curriculum, supplementing bits and pieces with others, whatever it takes; we need to get it done. We can’t do it though until we know where we are headed.
I’ll let you know how the paving goes.
Just to give a little background, I am directionally challenged. I get lost often. When we moved to Pennsylvania I went to the grocery store and couldn’t find my way home. After driving back and forth on the same road with ice cream melting in the back seat, I called a neighbor I had just met and asked them to guide me home.
Last year as we opened Providence Christian Preschool the very first thing I tasked myself to do was to create a road map to guide us ahead in our school year. It was very simple; students came in with X knowledge and they needed to leave with Z. It was something that was clear, specific, and measurable. Naturally I desire to do the same with our children’s ministry as well.
I now find myself on a road less traveled. As I have researched scope and sequencing maps, I am finding that the road is not only less traveled, but seems to not even be paved. Many boxed curriculums have independent goals and outlines to their programs, but if I wanted to have a baby in our church, send them through our preschool program, and into elementary, I would not have a clear vision of what they would learn when they left us.
I think we owe our children more than that, we owe our parents more than that, we owe God more than that. I need to know that I have done a sufficient job of planting the seeds God has tasked me to plant. If that means writing our own curriculum, supplementing bits and pieces with others, whatever it takes; we need to get it done. We can’t do it though until we know where we are headed.
I’ll let you know how the paving goes.
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