KidsPointe

Step It Up

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:34:00 GMT

Each month in HighGear, we focus on a different biblical virtue, a quality that reflects something about God’s character that He works to instill in us. In January, we will teach about “Discipline”. Discipline is doing what you need to do now so that you can grow stronger. Sometimes when we think of “discipline”, we imagine sweat and tears and lots of hard work. We think of “No pain, no gain” or “This hurts me a lot more than it hurts you”. Instead, discipline should produce a “harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11b, NIV). We will look at the life of Jesus as he is our ultimate role model of discipline.

When your child wants to be better at something, they need to practice more. It may be on the piano or it may be on the soccer field, but whatever the case may be, it requires work on their part. If they want to know God better, they will need to put some time and effort into that relationship. We will be challenging our kids to STEP IT UP this month. Here are our challenges to your kids and to your family as well:

1. Read His Book – God’s Word teaches us what is Truth. It helps correct our mistakes. It helps us to do what is right.
2. Remember His Words – We not only need to read His Word but we need to memorize it, internalize it, and take it to heart so that we’ll be ready for whatever comes our way.
3. Talk to Him – to strengthen your relationship with a friend, you have to talk. It is the same way with God.
4. Talk about Him with your friends – Saying what you believe out loud helps to solidify your beliefs.
5. Make Him more important than anything – Worship the Lord your God!

Kids need to understand that they don’t have to wait until they’re older to get to know God. He wants to have a relationship with them NOW!! So get your shoes on, lace up, and let’s STEP IT UP together!!

Recognition Celebration for Babies of 2009

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:44:00 GMT

We would love for you and your family to participate with us in a time of CELEBRATION. Baby Recognition Celebration is about celebrating a commitment to put God first in your home and to trust in Him as your source of direction as you lead your family and parent your child. It is also a time for you and your spouse to share with your family what is most important to you and to ask them for their prayer and support. We also hope that you will partner with us every Sunday by encouraging your child to fully participate with us as we create environments to lead him or her into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

In the midst of all that is changing in your home with the addition of your new baby, we invite you to take a moment to focus on what really matters most. No one will have more influence on your child than YOU! We believe that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church. It is our hope that we can partner with you from the very beginning. We want to be your biggest fans, your strongest supporters, and your trusted guides as you raise your child to know what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Recognition Celebration for Babies of 2009 will be held the evening of January 22, 2010. Registration for this event will begin December 15th and close January 15th on the church website.

Family Worship

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:29:00 GMT

KidsPointe Ministry is passionate about partnering the heart of the home (red) with the light of the church (yellow). The result of combining these 2 colors is ORANGE. Some of you experienced this at our summer SNL event.    When those 2 powerful influences are combined, the result is high impact for Christ especially on children. This is why our small group ministry on Sunday mornings is so important. We want our parents to know that your child has another adult in their life that is pouring all they have to set a Christ like example for their child. They pray for them, encourage them, and challenge them to develop a deeper relationship with Christ. I have experienced this myself as my own children's small group leaders have made an impact on their life and I am forever grateful.

This is why we have Family Worship Sundays. You, as the parent, have a chance to model worship, taking communion, and hear the Word of God preached to you and your children and you will now have an opportunity to go home and discuss as a family what they heard and how they can apply that to their life. There is no greater potential to influence a child's relationship with God more than parents. The average church has 40 hours in a given year to influence a child. Parents have 3,000 hours per year to influence a child. We at Center Pointe desire to partner with you and help you be the spiritual leader of your home. Please take advantage of making it a priority to attend out Family Worship Day on November 29th. Your family will be challenged to grow together in your walk with Christ and I know your family will be blessed! There will be no Elementary HighGear or OverDrive offered on this day!

HighGear Small Group Picture Day will be on December 6th. Please make every effort to have your child attend HighGear with their small group on December 6th as we will be taking small group pictures on that day.   There will not be a "make up" day for this. Fliers will be coming home this month with more information. Our purpose is to continue to help make connections with other families and your small group leader.

November 29th is Family Worship Day.   Mark your calendar now!!

KidsPointe Open House

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:48:00 GMT

KidsPointe Open House During the Month of October

During the month of October, KidsPointe ministry will be hosting a “meet and greet” your child’s small group leader in preschool and elementary.

“The Elementary HighGear Experience”

We want parents to have an opportunity to put a face to their child’s small group’s leader. Our small group leaders are there to connect with the kids in their group, guide and encourage each one in their faith, and connect peers and help develop life-long relationships. We know that two combined influences make a greater impact than just two influences. Take some time to meet your child’s small group leader. You’ll have an opportunity to learn more about your child’s leader and how to contact them.

In the weeks to follow, parents will receive an invitation in the mail inviting them to come and meet their child’s small group leader during our “plug in” time leading up to worship. We are asking parents to bring in a parent/child information sheet (included in invitation) so that our leaders can get to know their kids better. We are scheduling our open house so that parents with multiple children in the program have an opportunity to meet all of their children’s leaders.

Elementary Schedule
October 4: Kindergarten and First Grade (9:45-10:05 am) (11:00-11:20 am)
October 11: Second and Third Grade (9:45-10:05 am) (11:00-11:20 am)
October 18: Fourth through Sixth Grade (9:45-10:05 am) (11:00-11:20 am)
October 25: Fourth through Sixth Grade (9:45-10:05 am) (11:00-11:20 am)

Please plan to come early to HighGear on your scheduled dates!

"The Preschool Experience"

Come experience a Sunday morning with your preschooler. See first hand what goes on behind those preschool doors every Sunday. You will experience a preschool style lesson and worship then have a brief time with Ms. Amanda (Nursery & Preschool Director). Ms. Amanda will explain the strategy behind our preschool curriculum and what we want each child to know before they go to the elementary department of KidsPointe. Parents will be invited to join their preschooler according to the color of their child's class. Watch the mail for your personal invitation or contact Amanda Nolasco with any questions.

KidsPointe Update!

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:41:00 GMT

In the month of November, our elementary kids were challenged to bring in quarters to pay for packaged meals for kids all around the world. This was to support Kids Against Hunger and these meals provide so much nourishment for the children that doctors would actually prefer these meals over medicine for the kids. Each meal consists of soy, rice, a chicken stock base, and vitamins. Each meal cost one quarter. Our kids brought in $458.70 which paid for 1,835 meals. On November 23rd, our kids were actually able to package the meals and prepare to send them to Haiti. It was a wonderful experience for our kids and they did an awesome job of forming an assembly line and getting 9,180 meals prepared to be shipped around the world. We are extremely proud of our kids as they are making a difference in our world.

What's Happening in OverDrive K-3

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:45:00 GMT

Hi Parents!

We just wanted to share the exciting things that are happening with your kids in Overdrive.
As you know, Overdrive is set up to expose kids to every aspect of The Wheel (Seek, Study, Share, and Serve Christ) that is the core value here at Centerpointe. Activities are set up in a learning center atmosphere and kids have the freedom to pick and choose which activities they would like to do. So far the kids are really enjoying it and doing a great job.

In September, the SEEK activity was to decorate a prayer journal that will remain in class all year for each child. The October activities are thought provoking ideas that help kids focus on God and prayer by writing or drawing their thoughts in the journal. We also have time where we provide CDs players and praise music for kids to sit quietly in private worship.

The kids were most excited by our SERVE activities. In September, we made service coupon books, created a magnet to remind us to serve others, cut out shapes for the children in the hospital to paint or color, and we washed toys for our nursery area. Some of us even ventured to the preschool muscle room to wipe down the large play items! In October, we are making a fall activity bag for the kids at Children’s Hospital and a placemat for folks in the nursing home. We are weeding the church flower beds and praying for each other.

The STUDY activities for both September and October tie into the High Gear lesson and involve studying the memory verse or focusing on the virtue for the month.

In SHARE, we are working on sharing the love of Christ with others. We made greeting cards and wrote or drew a page with the blessings God gave us to give to others. In October, we are going to make Scripture Verse magnets, a page for grandparents, a page with the meaning of the virtue, and a tree of thanks all to share with others.

We hope you are as excited about this program as your kids are and we welcome any activity ideas you have.

Thank you and God bless you,

The Children’s Ministry Overdrive Team

Lazy Days of Summer?

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:27:00 GMT

When I was a child, the summer seemed to last so long! I can remember those days when my brother and I had countless adventures, family vacations, campouts, VBS, and many hours at my Grandparent’s pool. Now as an adult, the summer seems to fly by! My family has already been on vacation, finished a summer swim season, experienced Christian Camp, and spent a lot of time with friends. It seems like they just got out of school. Now, fall sports are beginning and we need to go “back to school” shopping! What ever happened to the lazy days of summer?

Here at church, the feeling is the same. Where has the summer gone? There haven’t been any lazy days here at church. If you walk down the elementary hallway, you will notice each week that there have been people working in the building. We have transformed 2 areas into what will be our OverDrive rooms for the fall. Our kids are getting a taste of what OverDrive will be like on Sunday mornings by taking each age group into the enrichment area so that they can experience what it feels like to put Lakota’s wheel (seek, study, serve, and share) into action! We are also working on our small group rooms downstairs. Walls are being painted and carpet is being picked out. Besides all the existing building changes that are being made, there is a lot going on behind the scenes to prepare for finishing the upstairs for our 4th – 6th grade kids. We have been getting permits, receiving and selecting bids, and adjusting the building plans to meet all our needs! It is very exciting as the unfinished area will begin to be transformed this week.

There will be no slowing down in the month of August!! As we complete the work upstairs, there are several things that we are going to need help with from volunteers to get this project done. Please consider donating your time and your expertise in any of the following areas:

• Installing carpet squares (upstairs and downstairs)
• Installing wall base
• Installing blinds
• Painting
• Building a stage
• Building a stage set for both the upstairs and downstairs areas. (carpentry work)
• Building and installing a tech booth (carpentry work)
• Installing lights

Please contact me if you are willing to help out in any way in the month of August. I will keep a list of volunteers and will call when we are getting close to whatever area you volunteered to help with. So far, there have been many people involved in this project and it will continue to take many more to see this through to completion. I am so thankful that we have a church family that is willing to roll up their sleeves and pitch in. I firmly believe that our kids are going to grow to be more like Christ because of our new program. I am so excited!

Parents – please be watching for a letter that will be coming in the later part of August that will have a lot of information about the fall. This letter will confirm what hour your child will be in his/her small group. It will also explain new check-in procedures and where to go/what to expect on Sept. 7th.

Lastly, not only are we busy working in the building, training volunteers, placing kids in small groups, and working on our fall curriculum, we are also recruiting volunteers!!! So far we have 165 volunteers signed up to serve next year! That is an awesome number!! However, we still need 104 more volunteers. Almost all of our volunteer positions rotate on a month/off a month. The only position that does not is a small group leader. Please consider volunteering in the children’s ministry. I know you would find it a blessing. Here are the specific needs we have:

Nursery- 33
Preschool – 17
Preschool Check-In – 5
Small Group Coaches – 8
Small Group Leaders – 12
Tech volunteers – 2
OverDrive Volunteers – 24
Welcome Center Host – 3

I am looking forward to an incredible year and I look forward to serving along with you as we all strive to be more like Christ!

Tammy

Great things have been happening in Children's Ministry!

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:14:00 GMT

There have been a lot of fun activities happening in Children’s Ministry! I wanted to take a minute and share with you what’s going on in the ministry with JaM Days, Summer Nights Live, 6th grade Crossover, and our summer programming series for KidsInC Sunday worship. Enjoy these long warm sunny days!

JAM Days 2008
The wonder and passion of a preschooler is captivating. During the week of JaM Days, we were able to see first hand how a preschooler loves to give his or her heart to God. They love to show God how much they love Him through their songs, artwork, and their friendships with one another. When asked, “What was your favorite part of JaM Days”, most of the kids answered music! We teach that God created us for worship and that we worship Him in all that we do. Their favorite songs were My God is so Big (The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything VBS Music CD, www.thomasnelson.com; Superhero, Hillsong Live Worship for Kids, www.hillsongmusic.com; Great Big God, Nigel Hemming and Jo Hemming, 2001 Vineyard Songs; and Every Part of Me, FamilyWise Music, www.rethinkgroup.org.

During the week, our mission was Hannah’s Socks. We collected over 400 pairs of socks to give to her mission! Hannah’s Socks is a non-profit organization focused on providing clothing necessities to the less fortunate in Toledo, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; and their neighboring communities. With all of your help, many children will have socks to wear this winter.

Thank you to all who helped in making this event a huge success! Amanda Nolasco and Connie Caton did a great job organizing and recruiting volunteers who made it possible for all to have an exciting week. And to Laura Wells and Beth Dodson who organize all of the registrations and helped all of the boo-boos feel better.

Thank you for sharing your children with us and allowing us to have a time of worship and fun! We had lots of smiles, giggles, and excitement as we worshiped, studied, and played together. Moments such as these are why we are passionate about serving Christ to the children!

Family fun event and week long event for elementary kids has been postponed for Summer 2008. We are taking off a year to focus on new programming for Sunday mornings. SNL will be back next year! Mark your calendar for the week of June 21, 2009.

6th Grade Crossover
Congratulations to all of our 6th graders who moved up to Student Ministry! We are excited for you to move up and begin a new chapter in your lives. When God created you, he created you for a purpose. He has a special plan designed specifically for you and Him. It will be exciting to watch you grow and mature into the person God created to serve for His purpose. You have been a joy to teach, nurture, and encourage. You all are very special to us and we’ll miss you in children’s ministry!

This summer in Kids InC worship, “See-Do” curriculum series will be featured. See-Do is a series based on the theme verse of James 1:22, “Do what God’s Words says. Don’t merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves”. We’ll explore different Bible stories that teach us how to live out our faith in practical ways. We will learn to, “See the need and Do the deed” to help out others and to please God.

Kids, InC Volunteers are Appreciated!

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:55:00 GMT

Did you realize that a little word of encouragement can make a person’s entire day and that a huge dose of encouragement can make a person’s entire week? It’s true!!!

May is a month where we typically show our appreciation for those involved in our kid’s lives. In our local schools, teachers are honored with gifts, special lunches, and many words of encouragement from parents and children. They work hard to teach our kids the academics that they will need throughout their life.

Our volunteers here at LCC also deserve such appreciation and encouragement!! They spend each Sunday teaching Biblical truths that make an eternal impact on the lives of our children. Currently, we have 179 volunteers involved in Kids, InC in some way. This dedicated group of volunteers is such a blessing to our kids and our parents.

Let’s shower them with appreciation by writing them a note of thanks, give a small gift certificate, or flower, or bake them some goodies! Let’s pour out our love, encouragement, and appreciation to them for serving the Lord though children.

On Sunday, May 4th, we will be celebrating all our Kids, InC and Student Ministry volunteers in room 119. Come and enjoy some treats and enjoy the fellowship of others as you take a minute to feel appreciated for all you do for the ministry to kids and students at Lakota. Please come even if you are not on a rotation this month. We want to encourage and appreciate every volunteer!

To all the Kids, InC Volunteers,
Thank you so much for your involvement in our ministry throughout this past year! Your hard work and efforts are appreciated more than you will ever know! You may never know what wonderful seeds you have planted in our kids this year. We do know that our kids have been blessed to have you in their lives. I hope that you have been blessed as a result of serving and loving Him through them!! Thanks so all you do!

It is a blessing to serve Him along with you!

Tammy

KidsPointe Ministry Opportunities

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:46:00 GMT

Looking for a great new opportunity to serve in a ministry at Lakota Christian Church? Look no further, KidsPointe Ministry has many opportunities coming this fall. As we are in the process of overhauling our elementary program, we have created some great new areas to serve. We will now have 2 main areas in the elementary department where we will need lots of adult or mature teen help.

One of our areas is HighGear where we offer high energy worship and our small group ministry. We will be looking for small group leaders for our kids. Each group will have no more than 10 kids in it and the groups will be the same all year long. Our kids need an adult who gets to know them and can minister to them throughout the school year. There is no teaching involved--that part will be led by our large group teachers. The small group leaders will lead small group activities. This will be discussions, games, or hands on activities. All supplies and items you may need to complete those activities will always be prepared and ready for you when you come into the room. The only thing a small group leader needs to focus on are the kids of their group. You just need to be a person who likes to have fun and wants to make a difference in the life of a child.

The second new opportunity is in our enrichment room that we are calling OverDrive. We will be looking for volunteers who can help facilitate activities where the kids get to choose what they want to do for that day. This room will be set up with centers that will be changed each month. The activities will correspond with the virtue that is being taught in HighGear for the month. We will also be focusing on the Wheel where we will give kids the opportunity to experience each aspect of the wheel. The kids will SEEK in our reflective station where they can listen to music and reflect what the song means to them through journaling or drawing a picture. They will be able to STUDY as we challenge them to look up scripture and participate in activities where they dive into the Word for themselves. They will be able to SERVE as we actually give them things that they can do to serve here at Lakota during the morning. Examples would be cleaning toys, pulling weeds, cleaning the communion trays. We will also give them opportunities to SHARE as they make crafts for nursing homes, write letters to sponsored children from another country, and learn more about the missions that our church sponsors. We are very excited about this room and will need many volunteers as we will be having an OverDrive room for each age group.

Check out our KidsPointe Volunteer Job Descriptions!! You will find opportunities like rocking a baby, playing with preschoolers, and welcoming new guests to hanging out with kids and making an impact on their life. We need all parents involved to pull this off in the fall. Now is a great time to get involved in one way or another. This is going to be so exciting and the kids are going to love it! Are you ready for an explosion in the kids department? I am and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in the lives of our kids. I am excited for my own kids! I hope you are about yours too.

Serving Him along with you,

Tammy