February 18th, 2021
By Angie Boone
While I first set out to give you some exciting Children’s Ministry updates, I quickly realized that I first wanted to share what has been on my heart. As we approach a year since Covid hit and life as we knew it changed, I am feeling so blessed and thankful for the new opportunities this time has given me with my work in Children’s Ministry. During the first few weeks of the pandemic I often found myself looking back in the rearview mirror at how things once were. Many times I found myself overwhelmed with sadness and despair. This feeling of hopelessness had me questioning what would happen to Children’s Ministry if we couldn’t do things the way to which we were accustomed. A few months into the quarantine, I found myself thinking back to changes that were made a year prior to the pandemic and was in complete awe of how God had been working to prepare Children’s Ministry for what was to come in 2020. No one was prepared for a pandemic…. God was! You see, a year prior we had changed our Children’s church curriculum. Who knew that this change would enable us to minister online to our children so seamlessly? God knew!
Children’s Church has been meeting online since April 2020 and is still going strong. When we meet we discuss the lesson, read from our bibles, and learn how we can apply biblical principles to our everyday lives. But the most inspiring part of our time together is our prayer time. There is nothing more breathtaking than listening to children selflessly lift each other up in prayer. They are requesting prayers for their teachers, healthcare workers, family members, neighbors, and each other and with so much heart and faith. I am truly inspired by each and every child that I have the pleasure of meeting with each week. I love their devotion, participation, curiosity, and questions. I love that I not only have the opportunity to lead them each week, but I also learn from them. I am so grateful for the opportunity God has given me to get to know the children on a more personal level. I am excited to hear about their week and things they are looking forward to, and I LOVE hearing their prayer requests and praying with them.
This quote from Jeffery Reed always hits home for me. “Children’s Ministry is not a holding cell for maturing Christians. It’s the launching pad.” Launch pad by definition is the area on which a rocket stands for launching, typically consisting of a platform with a supporting structure. Children’s Ministry is essentially the platform with which we launch our children up to become followers of Christ and where we are their supporting structure along the way. We all know that not every launch is a smooth one, so with this said, I ask for your prayers for Children’s Ministry and each child that comes through our doors or attends our online worship time.
Now for some updates and reminders!
While I first set out to give you some exciting Children’s Ministry updates, I quickly realized that I first wanted to share what has been on my heart. As we approach a year since Covid hit and life as we knew it changed, I am feeling so blessed and thankful for the new opportunities this time has given me with my work in Children’s Ministry. During the first few weeks of the pandemic I often found myself looking back in the rearview mirror at how things once were. Many times I found myself overwhelmed with sadness and despair. This feeling of hopelessness had me questioning what would happen to Children’s Ministry if we couldn’t do things the way to which we were accustomed. A few months into the quarantine, I found myself thinking back to changes that were made a year prior to the pandemic and was in complete awe of how God had been working to prepare Children’s Ministry for what was to come in 2020. No one was prepared for a pandemic…. God was! You see, a year prior we had changed our Children’s church curriculum. Who knew that this change would enable us to minister online to our children so seamlessly? God knew!
Children’s Church has been meeting online since April 2020 and is still going strong. When we meet we discuss the lesson, read from our bibles, and learn how we can apply biblical principles to our everyday lives. But the most inspiring part of our time together is our prayer time. There is nothing more breathtaking than listening to children selflessly lift each other up in prayer. They are requesting prayers for their teachers, healthcare workers, family members, neighbors, and each other and with so much heart and faith. I am truly inspired by each and every child that I have the pleasure of meeting with each week. I love their devotion, participation, curiosity, and questions. I love that I not only have the opportunity to lead them each week, but I also learn from them. I am so grateful for the opportunity God has given me to get to know the children on a more personal level. I am excited to hear about their week and things they are looking forward to, and I LOVE hearing their prayer requests and praying with them.
This quote from Jeffery Reed always hits home for me. “Children’s Ministry is not a holding cell for maturing Christians. It’s the launching pad.” Launch pad by definition is the area on which a rocket stands for launching, typically consisting of a platform with a supporting structure. Children’s Ministry is essentially the platform with which we launch our children up to become followers of Christ and where we are their supporting structure along the way. We all know that not every launch is a smooth one, so with this said, I ask for your prayers for Children’s Ministry and each child that comes through our doors or attends our online worship time.
Now for some updates and reminders!
- Children’s Church meets live on Sunday mornings online at 10am via Zoom and in-person at 11 am in the Sanctuary. Links for online service are available on the St. John’s Children’s Ministry Facebook page. All children are welcome. Please pass this invitation to your family, friends and neighbors. If you would like to be added to our weekly Children’s Ministry email, CLICK HERE
- Saturday, March 20th St. John’s Children’s Ministry and St. John’s Christian Nursery School will host Rise Up with Jesus, an interactive family Easter Event. Registration is required for this free event and will open on Friday, February 19th... so keep a look out on our webpage! (Rain date: March 27th)
- Volunteers are needed to help with family activity stations. Please email me angie.boone@discoverstjohns.org
- Saturday, April 4th St. John’s Children’s Ministry along with St. John’s Nursery School will have our Easter Egg Hunt. Please be sure to register your children for this free event. Registration on our webpage opens March 4th.
- Vacation Bible School will take place June 21st through June 25th.
- This year our theme is Rocky Railway: Jesus’ Pulls Us Through
- Registration Opens April 1st and will be available our webpage
- In March, I will be offering a reading club opportunity to ANY adult who is interested. The study group will use Max Lucado’s newly released book, Begin Again: Your Hope and Renewal Start Today. This group will be offered as an online community as well as an in-person meeting opportunity, which ever works for you. This group will run for 5 weeks during which time we will read and discuss the next step towards hope and renewal in God's promises. If you are interested in joining this study, please contact me.
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