CONNECT is on the 2nd Sunday of every month
September 7 • 6:15-7:45pm
For all kids 3 (by September 1)- 6th grade
Bounce Houses, Snacks, and FUN!!!
Come register your child for Children’s Choirs and Discipleship Ministries!!!!
September 7 • 6:30-7:30pm • E133
9:00am—Bible Study Fellowship for kids birth- 6th grade/ Family Worship
10:30am—Family Worship/ Bible Study Fellowship for kids birth- 4th grade
For kids ages k-4th grade. Meets the 2nd Sunday of every month at 10:30am.
Play and Praise (3 by September 1- Kindergarten)
Worship Quest (1st-4th grade)
NEW!! MAXED OUT Preteen Choir (5th-6th grade)
Lil Explorers (3 by September 1st- Kindergarten)
Nehemiah Kids (1st-4th)
LIT (5th -6th)
Take a look at the Hearts in Motion Special Needs Ministry page with information for this new ministry! We hope this is a blessing to many! Please feel free to contact us if you have question or would like more information.
A Bible is one of the most valuable gifts you can give a child. The value of the bible you choose is not dependent upon whether or not it is expensive. The Bible’s value lies in the fact that it is God’s Word. Choose a Bible that will last for several years. As a child grows she may need a Bible more suitable for her age. She may benefit from having two different bibles before entering the teen years; one as a preschooler and one to use during grade school.
1. Size: The Bible should be large enough for the child to hold easily, but not too large or heavy to carry. Consider a tote for younger children to help to carry their Bible.
2. Complete: Preschoolers and school-age children need to know that both Testaments are included in the Bible and are equally important. Choose a complete Bible rather than “Bible Books” that are storybooks.
3. User Friendly: The Bible should be easy to use. Consider purchasing a Bible that contains a Table of Contents to assist school-age children in locating hard-to-find books and verses in the Bible.
4. Realistic Illustrations: Because the Bible and the people and stories found in the Bible are true, pictures in the Bible should be as realistic as possible.
5. Translation: Choose an accurate translation of the biblical text rather than a paraphrase. The best Bible translations for children combine reliability with readability.
6. Study Helps: School-age children may wish to know more about the customs or lifestyles of the people in the Bible. Many Bibles include great maps and other study helps.
7. Durability: Make sure the cover is of good quality. Consider purchasing a Bible carrying case that will protect and add length to the life of a child’s Bible.
8. The Child’s Input: When appropriate, allow the school-age child to help select the color or cover design of his Bible. Monogramming the outer cover or inscribing the inside cover will give him a feeling of ownership.
Bottom Line: A child’s Bible can be one of the most treasured gifts. Some children will keep their childhood Bible forever and will fondly remember using it while growing up.
Information for this post was taken from the booklet, “Levels of Biblical Skills.”
Link to Article: http://www.lifeway.com/article/167205/
Children who grow up hearing music, singing songs, and moving to the beat are enjoying what experts call “a rich sensory environment.” That’s just a fancy way of saying a child is exposed to a wide variety of tastes, smells, textures, colors, and sounds. Kids who enjoy such a rich environment do more than have fun. Researchers believe they forge more pathways between the cells in their brains.
Musical experiences are an important way to help create these pathways, also called neural connections. While listening to music is certainly key to creating them, it’s when your child actively participates in music that he or she makes the strongest connections.
Research has shown that children who are actively involved in music (who play it or sing it regularly)
Let’s Play and Praise Together! Think about joining our Play & Praise Choir or our Worship Quest Choir.
Kaleigh and Courtney sat at the dinner table with Mom and Dad. Dad was reading a Bible story about a young girl Jesus raised from the dead, as Kaleigh and Courtney listened intently.
“That’s a great story, Dad,” Kaleigh remarked. “I could listen to it over and over.”
“I really like the stories about how Jesus helped people,” Courtney added. “I wish Jesus lived on earth now.”
“Girls,” Dad said as he closed the Bible, “I know how much you like hearing Bible stories, and your Mom and I really like this time we have together as a family. So we’ll keep doing that. But we think it’s time for you both to start having your own personal Bible study and daily devotional time with God, just like Mom and I do. Here are some things that will help you.”
Families such as this one are paying attention to the spiritual development of their children. Mom and Dad know that in order to have a growing and fruitful Christian life, both children and adults must keep in close touch with God. They must learn to read the Bible, pray, and read devotional helps on a regular basis.
While teaching children at church is certainly very important, parents are the ones responsible for the spiritual training of their own children. Unfortunately, many parents feel that simply by taking their children to church they are taking care of their children’s spiritual growth. God says in Deuteronomy 6:6-9, “These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” God clearly intends for parents to be the primary spiritual educators of their children. There is no better tool for helping a child develop spiritually than a parent who regularly prays, reads the Bible, and talks about God and Jesus.
Helping a child develop a growing relationship with God has many facets. First of all, a child should have his own Bible. If he does not have one yet, this would be a good time to give him one. If he has one, make sure the edition is appropriate for his age. Encourage the child to mark his favorite verses and passages in his Bible. This may well be the Bible he will use for most of his life.
This article is from Worship KidStyle Spring 2009.
By Ameerah Lewis
You don’t have to be the all-knowing teacher. You are just a regular family sitting around talking about the Lord. No need to be at a kitchen table or in the office. The living room, or even Mom and Dad’s bed, are great atmospheres for casual and comfortable conversation. If you have nice weather, moving your Bible time outside is also a great idea.
It’s important not to read theBible to your children like it’s a fairy tale. Emphasize that the stories you are talking about are real. Then, share examples of similar things that God has done in your own lives. This will build your children’s faith that God cares about your family and will always be there for them. It also makes God more tangible and real to your kids.
When you set an actual schedule, it adds significance to your Bible time. It also allows you to promote the event and get your kids excited about it. As your kids begin to get older, they understand that this specific time is family time, and they know to schedule around it. If possible, involve both parents in your family Bible time. It shows the children that their mom and dad both put a priority on God and on them. If one parent has a strenuous work schedule or travels a lot, it makes this family time even more important. It is better to do your family Bible study less often and have the entire family there, than to have it weekly, and miss out on everyone coming together.
Most families do not have a chance to really pray together outside of blessing their food. Allowing yourself to really open up and pray a heart felt prayer in front of your children will teach them how to approach God in prayer for themselves.
After the parents have led the family in prayer a few times, give your kids a chance to take turns doing the opening prayer. For the closing prayer, open the floor and ask each person to add in something specific that they would like to pray about. Encourage them to pray for themselves, or to intercede for others. This is a great hands-on way to teach them about the power of prayer.
The most important family Bible study tip is to personalize this special time to fit your individual family. Here are a few ideas. Do your kids have a favorite meal or restaurant? Do they like ice cream or fruit smoothies? Reserve these special treats for Family Bible night, and make it a tradition to go there afterwards and discuss what you’ve learned. Turn your Bible time into a pajama party. Have everyone run and change into their PJs before you get started. Then, pop popcorn, and enjoy your time together. If you have older kids, have them lead the lessons. Let them pick Scriptures they want to talk about, and come up with fun ways to share it with the family. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination. Sit down with your family, and ask your kids what kinds of things they would like to do.
Remember that your family’s Bible time isn’t your chance to beat your kids over the head with the Ten Commandments and the dangers of fornication. This is your chance to share God’s love with them in a way they can both understand and enjoy. It’s also your opportunity to help them build a strong spiritual foundation that will stand up to the temptations that they will face in the coming years.
So, make the time to sow your ideals and values into your children. You don’t need a special degree or calling on your life. You already have one—it’s called Parenthood.
Ameerah Lewis is an educator and host to a Christian Web site called Hem-of-His-Garment, an online Bible study ministry dedicated to helping Christians fall back in love with their Heavenly Father. Through her personal battle with Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia, Ameerah has been able to minister grace to hurting people who need to know that God often brings a purpose in pain. For more information visit Ameerah’s Bio Page.
This article is from About.com and can be found here.
There are things we can do to help our kids love the nations and the cause of Christ, even though a heart and calling for the Great Commission is ultimately something only God can grant. Here are a few ideas from Ryan and Anna, who are currently preparing to serve in Asia with their two young daughters.
We keep a stack of prayer cards on the dinner table and rotate through them during mealtime prayers.
The stories of Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, Gladys Aylward, and other missionary pioneers are captivating ways to orient a child’s heart on the most important things in life.
Teach your kids from a young age that being a good steward of their money involves channeling resources toward the the cause of Christ in missions. Older kids can donate some of their lawn mowing and babysitting money. Younger children can earn money doing chores around the house which can be set aside for missionaries.
Many children of missionaries around the world would be delighted to get mail from a child their age in their parent’s culture. Your child (and the whole family) will learn valuable insights about living abroad through the eyes of a child. Additionally, when the missionaries visit your church, your child will already have a relationship with the MK and will be able to include them more easily.
Inviting missionaries over will be as much of a blessing to your family as to the missionaries. Host them for dinner or for a whole furlough. Build or buy your house with this in mind.
There are ways to live life which help children grasp the reality that discomfort and suffering are normal and rewarding parts of the Christian experience. Volunteer at a rescue mission; house a single mother; move to the inner-city.
As your children grow in knowledge and skill, encourage them to think about how they could use their gifts in missions work. Then, if God says, “go,” release them to go!
Don’t expose them to only the American perspective on news and realities around the world. Go out of your way to make them more aware than the average American Christian about geography, world history, and the plights and perspectives of people across the globe.
Ask them questions about the content and look up facts about the missionaries’ location on the Internet.
Operation World, the Global Prayer Digest, the Joshua Project, and Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). Kids of Courage is the youth-oriented arm of VOM and offers activity books, spotlights on the persecuted world, and more.
Most of all, pray every day that your kids will develop hearts that mirror God’s compassion for the nations and love for his glory in them!
This article is from DesiringGod.org and was written by Tia.
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1164_10_ways_to_help_kids_love_missions/
