Help Me Love Them Like You Love Them!

Have you ever had that person in your life that was just difficult? Maybe it was a boss or co-worker? Maybe it was a neighbor or "friend"? I've had that person in my life and I'm sure I've been that person in others lives from time to time. At one time I had such a hard time with this and so I prayed that God would help me see this person the way He sees them. Then I started thinking; God sees us with all of our flaws, but still loves us unconditionally. I didn't want to see this person for all of their flaws. I was already having a hard time with this person, I didn't need anything else to be added onto how I felt about them. That's when I realized, I don't want to see people the way He sees them, I want to love people the way He loves them, flaws and all!
So now when I have a difficult person in my in my life instead of praying - God help me see them the way you see them, I have started praying, God help me LOVE them the way you love them.  It really works. Try it the next time you have to deal with that difficult person in your life.
Just a thought - hope you find a nugget in it!

Guest Post - It's Not What You Do, But Why You Do It!

Not sure if I mentioned it lately but I get to work with some amazing people here in Kidscoast! One of them is Lauren Crittenden. Lauren's been on staff with us in Kidscoast for what seems like an eternity...No really she's been on staff for six years. Lauren is one of our Elementary Director, she focuses on writing our creative scripts for the weekend as well as things like VBS and Christmas Programs. She is very creative when it comes to writing, I'm kind of afraid what goes on inside her head.  Anyway, Lauren sent the following to our elementary team and I asked her if I could post it as a guest post from her on my blog - so without further ado - here are THOUGHTS FROM LAUREN! I hope you find a nugget in it!

I felt very compelled to share something with all of you. A few days ago, my husband and I were listening to a motivational speaker and he said something several times that really stuck with me. He said, "People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." 

Because of you guys, we get to do a lot of amazing "whats" in Children's Ministry...life groups, worship team, stories, skits, etc. We are blessed to be able to do really cool things in our ministry. Those are our "whats". I am constantly thinking about our "whats" in Children's Ministry. We SHOULD focus on the "whats" because we want to represent Jesus with excellence, but as I was listening to the guy speak, I was overwhelmed with the desire to reevaluate my "why". 

If families are going to be more motivated by why we do Children's Ministry, rather than what we do in Children's Ministry, than it is extremely important for me, and for all of us, to know why we do it. 

I am going to share my "why" with you and I hope that you will Reply to All and share yours. I think it will encourage all of us, as a team, to know why we serve in Children's Ministry. It may even strengthen some members of our team who might be experiencing a season of weariness...as we all do sometimes.

So....here is my personal "why".

Growing up, I was raised in a very strict Baptist church. They inadvertently taught me that God is an angry God. I learned that if I wanted God to love me, I needed to behave perfectly. I struggled to live up to the standards I thought God had for me. I was a very stressed out little girl. Fortunately, God, in his mercy, rescued me from legalism and taught me that its all about His grace. I learned that I can never do anything to make God love me any more or any less. Now, I have a relationship with Jesus based on HIS goodness instead of mine. I choose to do Children's Ministry because my heart aches for our kids to know Jesus, to know that He is ALWAYS ready to open his arms to them, despite their mistakes and failures. I long for them to understand that He is our salvation, hope and joy, that a life with Jesus is a greater adventure than any we can have on Earth. That includes Disney World and summer vacation. =) During His time on Earth, Jesus was adamant that children be allowed to come to Him. He has a special place in His heart for kids, and so do I. I love to see them understand truth and I get excited watching the Holy Spirit transform their hearts and minds. They are NOT too young to do great things through the power of Christ.

That's my "why". What's yours?

I know I don't say this enough, but I love this team and I am overjoyed to serve with you.

Lauren Crittenden

Is it worth the time and energy...?

I heard a statistic once concerning Vacation Bible School that said, less than 4% of the kids who attend Vacation Bible School are unchurched. Less that 4% - that is not a lot of kids for the time and energy it takes to pull off a VBS. So as a team we started brainstorming how to reach more unchurched kids with the gospel. The idea was a Backyard Bible Club. Parents took on the responsibility to pull of a VBS in their own backyard. Invite the neighbor kids over and do VBS that way - we (the children's ministry) would provide them with all the materials they needed to pull it off; Invitations, Lessons, Craft supplies and Snack Supplies - but it never really got off the ground. Not sure if we were ahead of our time, parents just didn't have the time, or if people just really didn't care about reaching the kids in their neighborhoods - but whatever the case, it just didn't work at that time. So we put our heads together again and decided to do a program that was invented by our campus pastor at the time, Mac Lake, and it was called Nic at Nite - a messy fun time for kids and parents to come together for interactive games, worship and bible stories.  Everyone who attend seemed to enjoy it - however the team pulling it off felt it was a lot of work, for a very little win! So we decided to take a few years off from any type of Summer VBS type activities.
We decided to try something really different next, we called it Worship Week. Parents signed their kids up for different ways to worship God through the arts. We had photography, painting, singing, drama and dance. These were all taught by folks in the church that would be considered professionals in their fields. And since we had professionals teaching the kids we had to limit the number of kids who could attend. That's where we ran into some problems! So as successful as the program was, it limited the number of kids we could reach in one week.
So back to the drawing board. The leadership in the church asked if we could go back to a more traditional VBS style. We agreed, but the thought of the "less than 4%" statistic kept popping up in the back of mind.  We successfully pulled off a VBS of 800 kids, workers and staff members. Everyone loved it - we had fun doing it but it was a lot of work. Still from the stories we heard, the statistic stood true.
So here we are another year and we are staring VBS in the face - time for a bigger and better VBS. (Side Note - I am so blessed to work with some of the most amazing and talented people. This year's VBS is going to be hard to top! If I do say so myself). We are hoping for 1000 kids at our Elementary VBS this year, which I think is really do able - but the 4% starts to ring in my ear. Then one day while praying for VBS God revealed something to me.  4% may be unchurched but my purpose of VBS is not solely to bring in the unchurched. If they come that is wonderful, but my purpose is to bring the gospel to the unsaved! Not all the children in our children's ministry who attend regularly on the weekend have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior.  So by putting on a VBS this gives us as Children's Ministers another chance to share the gospel and see children come to Christ during that week. And if one comes to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior then yes all the time and energy that goes into putting on a VBS - no matter what size, is worth it. Because from that one - many may come to know Jesus, you just never know.
So Children's workers as you prepare for Vacation Bible School this year remember, its not just the unchurched we are trying to reach, but the unsaved - and yes there are still some of those attending your church today!
Just my thoughts - hope you get a nugget out of it!