What do you do when you don't know what to do...
Verse for the week: 2nd Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
I was listening this week to a talk by Bill Wilson, from the Metro Assemblies of God in Brooklyn. Amazing testimony by the way… he shared a story from 2nd Kings chapter 7 that I really felt to pass on to you this week… He was abandoned as a child taken in by the local pastor and his wife, he never felt the ‘call of God’ to minister to the children in Brooklyn, the kid like him that nobody wanted, he just saw a need and worked incredibly hard to make a difference. His thought was to set up a Saturday morning Sunday school and his first week saw 1500 kids outside the door of a very small Spanish church they had rented for the day… recipe for disaster 1500 inner-city kids, church that could only cram in 200 and 3 adults… Through the many struggles that he encountered this story in 2nd kings kept him, and continues to keep him going as now the ministry reaches 10’s of thousands of children through Sunday school bus ministry that runs every night and all day Saturday.
The story begins as the Syrians had surrounded the city of Samaria, cutting off it’s food and water supply (a common war tactic) just waiting for the people to be so week from famine capture would be easy. There are 4 leprous men however outside of the city who have an interesting conversation, one that I think many of us have had in times of tough ministry or personal issues…
(3) now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, We will enter the city, the famine is in the city and we shall die there. And if we sit here we die also. Now therefore, come, let us get us and surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall like’ and if they kill us, we shall only die.”
Odd kind of conversation… but one that isn’t so foreign to ministry… Those men were caught between a rock and a hard place with every move ending in potential death, no options looked all that pleasing to them however they did something that we all need to do when we are stuck in a tough situation… if they went back they would die, if they sat still they would die… what do you do, when you don’t know what to do… go forward. God doesn’t always revel the amazing plan that he has for you and your ministry, just as they leprous men didn’t realize the great miracle that was going to happen (read on it’s great!) but what do you need to do when you don’t know what to do… go forward cause there is great potential in that, you can’t go back, you can’t sit still… we have to move forward.
What’s Going on…
Begin the year right for all your volunteers in kids Ministry.
Plan to attend one of these great training days with your volunteer group. They will leave with new friends, a greater vision for ministry and a chest full of practical ideas for Sunday morning. The cost is $15 per person (optional lunch additional in some locations). Please register your group number as soon as possible to assist our host churches in planning.
I have attached a few typical conference schedules, where some workshops may vary from location to location these are the most typical layouts.
LIFT Volunteer Conference Dates & Locations
September 22nd
Bethany Pentecostal Chapel, Manitouwadge
Contact: Gary Burt bpchap@shaw.ca
October 13th
Calvary Pentecostal Temple, North Bay
Contact: Holly Harling office@calvarytemplenb.org
Or Shirley A Daly shirlnlesdaly@cogeco.ca
October 20th
Timmins Pentecostal Church, Timmins
Contact: Joanna Gloade timpent@ntl.sympatico.ca
October 27th
Central Pentecostal Church, Elora-Fergus
Contact: Pam Whan events@cpchurch.ca
November 3rd
Rockcliffe Gospel Temple, Owensound
Contact: Colleen Seaman cseaman@bmts.com
November 10th
Essex Gospel Tabernacle, Essex
Contact: Dale Ruttan egtkids@bellnet.ca
November 17th
Hi-Way Pentecostal Church, Ingersoll
Contact: Brad Sumner ypastorbrad@yahoo.ca
November 24th
Central Gospel Temple, St. Catharines
Contact: Pamela Sykes pamsykes@centralgospel.ca
December 1st
TBA – GTA
Story from the field
“Bobby, a foster child living with a church family, had been abused and never spoke. One Sunday the lesson was on Jesus’ love. His teacher, Kevin, Taped a picture of Jesus on a mirror and had each child come up to the mirror to see himself with Jesus. It was Bobby’s turn and when another child tried to push him away, bobby spoke for the first time. “No it’s my turn now. I want to see me with Jesus. Jesus loves me.”
“How do you think David was feeling as he faced the giant Goliath?” Nancy asked her class. With complete confidence, a youngster answered, “How scared could he be? He probably saw the video and knew he would win.” The rest of the class agreed.
Recommended Reading
I actually haven’t read it but it came highly recommended by some who filled out our kidzvillage questionnaire this summer. “The Fabulous Reinvention of Sunday School” by Aaron Reynolds
Best Ministry Site
Voted best overall was www.kidology.org and www.childrensministry.com and for those of you who voted our site www.kidzvillage.ca the best I do appreciated it however I believe that you were just sucking up (haha) speaking of our site though its going through major transformation as its encountered some programming errors (don’t have a clue)… our new site is just getting its final touch up and should be on line by October… I’ll let you know.
Questions from the FIELD – HELP someone needs your help!
I am looking for a Standard Publishing 2004 VBS curriculum called 'POWER UP'. If any of our churches used it and have it in storage somewhere and would be willing to let our church (LIVING WAY - Englehart) use it. I would be extremely grateful. My hope is to use is in our 3 mid-week kids programs starting up very shortly. So an immediate response would be even more appreciative. Contact Peter directly at ptruel@ntl.sympatico.ca Thanks in advance for the help!
Volunteer teachers are diamonds.
Then again, diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their job Sunday after Sunday after Sunday….
Pam
Children’s Ministry Director