Are you a busy family?

 We live busy lives. Sometimes unfortunately our lives are so busy that we fail to be consistent in helping our family to grow in faith. Here is a good article that I hope you will use to connect your kids to God. As always I am here to serve you and your family.

Family Ties to Faith

Danielle Bell and Jennifer Hooks

Connect busy families to a faith-filled outlook with these 10 time-savvy ideas!

Families are swamped. Schedules overflow with commitments. You hear or read about overextended families every day in the news. Yet there you sit, the children's minister at your church, politely -- albeit guiltily -- piping up with, "Excuse me, how can we get more faith development happening at home during the week?"

Though most families cringe at the thought of adding more activities or responsibilities to their calendars, many admit that they too would like to make time for faith growth -- if they had the right tools. Time, of course, is one of those tools.

So how can you help families and children focus on faith during the week? We've compiled 10 simple, quick ways you can help families weave faith into their everyday lives and build God-honoring habits -- without putting a dent in their schedules.

1. Cross Challenge
   
   Challenge families to play a seek-and-find game during the week. The objective is to find as many crosses hidden in everyday life as possible. Think telephone poles, signposts, seams on a basketball, and tons more. The goal is to make the game a habit, so families are continuously looking for crosses-and constantly reminded of Jesus. Remind families to share their findings at dinner each evening.
   
   Scripture: "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up" (Hebrews 12:2-3).
   
   
2. In With the Good
   
   Give family members each a card with Philippians 4:8 printed on it. Ask them to think about the activity they do most-listen to music, watch TV, play video games, cook. Ask each person to place the card on the object or in the area where he or she does the activity. During the week, challenge family members to think about the positive side of their favorite activity and try to find one thing related to that activity that fits the verse and honors God, such as cooking food for family members, keeping in touch with friends, or choosing TV shows that have a positive message. Have them write what honors God on the card and keep it visible as a reminder to choose things in our lives that honor God.
   
   Scripture: "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise" (Philippians 4:8).
   
   
3. Water: The Purifier
   
   Give each family member a bottle of water with the Scripture and questions attached. Tell families to refrigerate their water and drink a little each day, making it last a week. Ask them to read the verse each time they take a drink. Then during a meal, ask families to discuss these questions:
   • What do you think the "living water" is?
     
   • How is Jesus like or unlike the pure water in these bottles?
   • Why is water so important to us?
   • Why is Jesus so important to us?
   • How can we use water to remind us of God?
   Scripture: "Jesus replied, 'Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life' " (John 4:13-14).
   
4. Start With Jesus
   
   Challenge families to choose one weekday to begin their morning with Jesus-before they do anything else. Encourage families to pray together or do one thing that honors Jesus. Encourage them to talk about the difference between the days they begin with Jesus and the days they don't.
   
   Scripture: "I am 'the way, the truth, and the life' " (John 14:6).
   
5. Everlasting Light
   
   Give families a decorative note to post in a room they all frequent or a place where every family member turns on and off the light.
   
   Each time people flip the light switch, ask them to look at the note and remember that God offers a glorious light that'll never burn out.
   
   Scripture: "No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end" (Isaiah 60:19-20).
   
6. Self-Sacrifice
   
   Challenge family members to each sacrifice something they enjoy during the week in order to help someone else; for example, giving up a TV program to help a sibling with homework or sacrificing Xbox time to set the table without being asked.
   
   Scripture: "Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3).
   
7. Great Provider
   
   Give family members each 10 pieces of yarn, 4 inches in length. Ask them to spend the next week thinking of the many ways God has provided for them. Challenge them to find 10 things they can tie a piece of yarn to (zipper pulls, rearview mirrors...) as a reminder of how God has provided. Encourage them to say a brief prayer of thanks whenever they see the yarn tied to something-whether it's theirs or another family member's.
   
   Scripture: "And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
   
   "So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need" (Matthew 6:30-33).
   
8. Mending Relationships
   
   Ask family members to each find something at home that needs to be mended. Encourage them to talk about why the items need repair. Then challenge each person to think about a relationship they need to mend and why they need to mend it. Challenge them to go to that person during the week and offer forgiveness, an apology, or whatever's needed to bring peace to that relationship.
   
   Scripture: "So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God" (Matthew 5:23-24).
   
9. Sour Words
   
   Give each family member a super-sour gum ball to take home. At home, ask them to think about something they said recently that they wish they could take back. As they remember those words, have them chew the puckery gum and think about the sour effect of harsh words. Challenge family members to see how many days they can each guard their mouths and ensure that everything they say is true, kind, and necessary. 
   
   Scripture: "Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them" (Ephesians 4:29).
   
10. Prayer Walk
    
    Ask families to discuss the areas in their lives where they're most struggling-perhaps school, a friendship, or doing chores. During the week, families can symbolically or physically visit the location where each person is struggling and pray for the person and situation. If it's possible, make a prayer walk or visit to the location. If not, use an item in the home, such as a friend's photograph or a textbook, as a prayer prompt.
    
    Scripture: "Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere" (Ephesians 6:18).
    
    

Role Models- Who me?

YES ME!

Our children come into contact with so many different people each and everyday. School, friends,media (TV,radio,magazines), sports. All sorts of people have the opportunity to be a role model in our kids lives. The question is, what type of role model are they? Who is the major influence in the lives of our children? Over the years I have shared with the children and with parents the importance of knowing who our children are being influenced by. Our children are going to be influenced whether we like or not by people outside our home. They will be influenced positively or negatively. That is why it is so important for us to be a part of our children's lives. We need to be aware of the people that may have an influence in our kid's lives. We can't always control the people who come into contact with our kids, but we can teach our children how to make moral decisions when out of our sight.
One area we do have control over who is influencing our children is right in our homes. What type of influence am I to my kids is the question that we must ask ourselves. Am I modeling godly behavior? Do my kids see me reading the bible,praying,helping the poor etc....?
Do you remember the commercial several years ago about the dad who kept asking his son where did he learn about drugs and finally the boy said "I learned it from watching you Dad"! Our kids are watching our every move as they are learning how to live life.Unfortunately parents in the home are not the only influence the children receive. A BIG QUESTION we must ask is, what/who am I allowing to come into my home that is influencing my kids.
Now listen, I am not against television, music,magazines, sports etc...., but I think it is a dangerous thing to let our kids be influenced by people we don't really know. Let's face the truth some of these people are influencing our children negatively and ultimately are pulling them away from God. I think we should all want to be the heroes in our kid's lives rather than a rock star,model,reality t.v. personality so on.
So, how do we do this?  Here are 4 things that we can do:

1. Pray- ask God to search your heart, Lord am I the type of role model that you want for my kids? If not take a courageous step toward becoming one
2. Model- become the parent that your son/daughter want to grow up to be like rather than some person on T.V. or some music star or some sports hero
3. Who- find out who their friends are, who their friends parents are, go on a recon mission before sending your kids into the war zone.
4. Monitor- keep watch on the type of message that people are giving our kids through the media that we allow into our homes

Mom, Dad these are our kids, they are worth it! Do we want to see our world change? Do we want to see our nation become a moral nation again? I believe we all would say yes! Then YOU be the major influence in your kids not someone else. Because guess what? You already are! The decisions we make everyday affect our children. Check out this link for some news on the type of people that are an influence in the lives of our young people https://e.commonsensemedia.org/pub/sf
  As a Children's Pastor I am here to partner together with you to make this happen. Everyday I ask God to help me live for Him. And when I am with kids I convey that pray to them. As always I am here to serve you and your kids.

New Kids Church Series

Upsidedown Town Kids

Starting Sunday January 8th

830 & 11 am

Come with us to a very strange town, a place where people live their lives upside down. Now that doesn't mean the people there stand on their heads or that you'd climb to the ceiling to get into your bed. It's the wrong choices they make that we call "upside down." And some of their choices are the strangest around! Some of the people choose not to forgive. Others give up quickly and that's no way to live. There's a woman who gives warnings and tries to be nice, but she neglects to follow her own advice. There's a man named Jack who refuses to go back. There's a worrisome man with panic attacks. There's a friend who hears advice both good and bad. That story ends up with an entire town mad! There's a tale of a couple who refuse to help others. But that's not all the stories, I can think of one other. There's a man with the coolest device anywhere! But though he has many, he refuses to share. Yes there are many lessons that teach and confound. And we'll learn from the Bible many truths quite profound. When we don't live as God wants, we live life upside down. So travel with us, my friend, to Upsidedown Town!

It's Almost Here!

In a little over 48 hours Christmas morning will be here! Kids all over will be running to the tree to find their "treasure".  I remember the laughs and the faces of joy that were on the faces of our boys as they opened their gifts. Those memories will always be a part of my life. This year Paul will begin to build his memories with his 18 month old boys. I am sure his house like many others will be full of excitement!

At our last kid's church service I asked the kids what they thought Christmas was all about.  The overwhelming response was Jesus! Well that wasn't the answer I gave them. Christmas is all about gifts. The look on their faces was priceless! Now don't worry I haven't been teaching kids any wrong messages. Christmas is all about gifts, actually it is about a gift. The gift of God's love by sending His son Jesus to us. What better gift could there be?

When Christmas morning does come I guarantee you that the kids will run to the tree and when they see a present with their name on it they will tear it open eager to see what is inside. I have never been one to carefully open a present trying to save the pretty paper, nope I tear into it just like a kid. Wouldn't it be silly to receive a gift and not open it? Yep it sure would!

God has given us a gift and He wants us to open it. It is the gift of salvation through His son Jesus. Just like we give gifts to our children out of love, God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life! See I told you Christmas is all about gifts. God Bless you and Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2011

This Christmas season is starting off to be the best ever. We just finished our church's Christmas production " Welcome to our World". We had 5 shows and every night was a packed house. Most of my role was singing in the choir except for a short role as King Herod.

One of the most impressive things about the production this year was the presence of many teenage kids that were part of the children's ministry. I call them my "babies". I love to see the kids that were part of the kids church take part in ministry.  I felt like a proud dad watching them dance,act and sing. The main role of Mary was played by Alexis and she did an excellent job. Wasn't it just yesterday that she was in kids church? Our kids grow up so fast. I hate to sound so cliche' but cherish the moments that they are young because before you know it they are all grown.

Christmas is a time of wonderful traditions. If you don't have a tradition yet this year begin one with your children. The most important tradition we can have  during Christmas is to teach our children that Christ, Emmanuel came to our world. This is wonderful opportunity to help our children connect with the God who came to us. George Barna of The Barna Research Group says " if you want to change your society, connect kids to God". I encourage you to seek every opportunity to connect your kids to God. Our kids team is committed to partnering with parents to help them achieve this.

My prayer for you this season is to teach your kids that Emmanuel has come. God bless you and Merry Christmas. 

Billy

In the spring of '99 we held our first of many outreach crusades. Up to this point we had been busing kids in from the community to take part of our traditional church VBS. Earlier that spring Bill Wilson from Brooklyn New York had visited our church to speak about his ministry to inner city children in Brooklyn. Bill is known throughout the world with his sidewalk Sunday School trucks and for having the world's largest Sunday School at 45,000 kids! After he spoke we had the opportunity to sit down with him and pick his brain. One question we had was it a good idea to combine kids from the traditional church and the kids from the projects who did not have a church upbringing. His answer was no! To be honest I didn't believe him thinking that well it is different here than there. Boy was I wrong! We quickly learned that it was not a good idea to combine the two.  Thus we started a crusade to target the children in the community with the same message but with a method that was different.

Billy was 4 years old when he came on the bus with his older siblings, yeah we knew he probably wouldn't get it but we felt it was safer having him there for 5 nights rather than in the neighborhood where he was living. My wife agreed to help monitor the children to help maintain some type of order.  The rules were simple: 1.stay in your seat 2. whistle means quiet 3. respect each other 4. have fun! Billy was in the section my wife was monitoring. Billy tried to break the rules by keep getting out of his seat and my wife kept telling him to stay seated. Billy did not like that and began to yell at my wife calling her "every name in the book" and threatening her that he was going to have her beat up. All for trying to keep him seated!

It would have very easy and some would even justify leaving Billy at home thinking that he was causing too much trouble. In my last post that is what a hired hand would do, give up because it is too much work for one kid. But the shepherd in us said to keep at Billy because he was created by God.

I was the bus driver on Billy's bus and kept him close to me so I could keep an eye on him. Billy kept coming every week and to be honest we didn't see much change. One night I was driving the kids back home and Billy was about 6 years by now and he still sat behind me. I was turning the corner and Billy leaned forward and ask me " Pastor John do you think Jesus loves Me?" I answered " yes Billy He loves you very much, do you love Him?" Billy answered "Yes!" My heart burst along with the heart of God. That day the angels rejoiced!

Billy soon afterward moved to another neighborhood beyond where the bus went and we didn't see him for several years. The next time I saw Billy he was a teenager and I asked him if he still loved Jesus and he said "Yep." I hope that Billy and I will meet again in heaven.

I share this story in seminars,teacher meetings and any chance I get. Why? Because God has a plan for every person, even if that person is Billy.  And God has a plan for your kids too. I want to encourage you to give your kids every opportunity to connect with God. A good place is kids church where kids worship with kids and hear a message geared toward them to help them connect with their maker.

From my heart

As December is almost here my thoughts go back to December 1995. This was the time that I answered the call of God to be a Children's Pastor. I entered the ministry with a whole bunch of questions (the biggest one "are you sure you want me Lord"?).  Surely there is someone better than me. But God was clear when He called me. Was I afraid? Absolutely! But with the "call" in my heart I said yes and I have not regretted it since.

Over the past 16 years I have seen children grow and some have even gotten married( I have performed a couple of weddings) and now their kids are in kid's church! Wow are those kids getting old! And oh boy the stories I could tell! One of these days I am going to put all the stories in writing and publish a book.

I have been asked what I enjoy the most as a Kids Pastor and the answer has always been the same. I love seeing kids connect with God. The times around the altar whether at kids church or in the neighborhood is a very special moment that I hold dear to my heart.

In January 1998 Andrea and I went to a children's pastors conference in Nashville Tenn. On the long bus ride home (I don't enjoy flying) God spoke to my heart about the ministry. God wanted me to shepherd His kids. Being an under shepherd to the Lord is a huge wonderful responsibility. If you would stop by my office you will see what I am talking about. On my back wall is a huge picture of a shepherd walking down the road with his sheep following. I want to help lead the kids down the road toward God. John 10 speaks about the shepherd and the hired hand. I don't do this to get paid or because it is my job. The call of God is what drives me and it is His love that compels me to do what I do.
On my door there is a sign ( I borrowed the quote from the Air Force and adapted it) it reads " my business is kids ....so every kid is my business. I truly mean this. I am here 24/7 for you and your kids, please do not hesitate to call on me.

I have created this blog to connect with you and to share what God is doing in the ministry and in your kids lives. Thank you for allowing to be a part of your family.