Coolchurch Kids- Abundant Life Church

Two Are Better Than One!

Our elementary verse this month comes from Ecclesiastes 4:9 and it emphasizes that two people are better than one. You can check out the verse video below if you and your family would like to learn it.

This concept is simple but not alwasy easy for children to comprehend or appreciate. As a parent or guardian we are always trying to help our children to become more independent as they grow up but we must be careful to not leave out the importance of cooperation and needing other people in our lives. One of the best ways that we as parents can help our children to embrace that two are better than one is to share with them how they, your spouse, a friend, or a neighbor are important to you and how they make you better.

If your kids are into Disney Channel then you could also reinforce this concept through the best cartoon out there right now (In my opinion), "Phineas and Pherb." In every episode you can witness how these two brothers working together can do so much more than they could ever do alone. Just a thought! If you have any stories of how you are able to reinforce cooperation with your children please comment and share your story.

FUSION

Fusion is: Family and Church fusing to guide kids in loving God, loving people and loving life. A Fusion pack is a free simple tool that parents can pick up monthly at either of our campuses. This pack is set up to help parents to have conversation with their preschool or elementary age children once a week about the key truths the children were taught at church.

This month we are talking about Cooperation: working together to get something done. This month's pack will give you some great practical ways to encourage your kids to grow as they grow in this  virtue. Also, if you and your family are intersted in working on memorizing this months verse I would invite you to check out this weeks verse video below. Hopefully the video can reinforce Cooperation and serve as a tool to help memorize this months verse.

If you have not picked up your FUSION pack, please visit the FUSION booth at either the Happy Valley or Parkrose Campus. Click here for more information about FUSION.

Cooperation

Bottom line..."Doing the undoable takes more than me."

 

What a Weekend!

This weekend at church we had the wonderful privilege of getting to see people proclaim publicly that they are followers of Christ though baptism. I always consider it a complete blessing when I get to do the baptizing like I did with 4 individuals this weekend. But something else happened this weekend that blessed me more than I will be able to adequately describe in this post.

During the baptism time at our 10 service I was able to encourage one dad who is a Christ follower and who has already been baptized that he could be the one to baptize his 6 year old daughter rather than one of us pastor's. He and I talked briefly about how to baptize his daughter and he was ready to go. I told him that I was by his side to help him if he needed it. He obviously did not need help and he did a great job. I can't describe well what I felt in that moment but here is my feeble attempt. When this dad baptized his daughter I felt such an affirmation that this one moment was such a great descriptor of what I believe God has called us to in Family Ministries at Abundant Life. Partnering, God has called us as the church to partner with families. We as a ministry don't have this all figured out but in this moment I believe God was allowing me to catch an amazing glimpse of what it is like when we partner. I felt more blessed in watching this family during this baptism than I have ever felt in getting to baptize anyone.

FUSION

Family & Church FUSING to guide kids in loving God, loving people, loving life.

What is Fusion?

The basic concept of FUSION is combining both the influence of parents and the church to impact our children to love God, love people and love life. 

Each month there will be a FUSION pack available for families to take for free.  The FUSION pack is like a pamphlet that has one section for each week in the month.  The FUSION pack content reinforces what we are teaching your children on the weekend.  We want families to use the FUSION pack as a tool to duplicate the truths that are being taught here at church. 

What is important to remember is that every family is different and that no two families will be doing FUSION exactly the same way.  Some may choose to discuss it over dinner, or in the park, in the car, at the bowling alley, and so on.  We want families to tailor their FUSION time as a family the way that best fits their lifestyle.

On average a family spends 3000 hours a year together.  Each year a child will spend at the most between 40-50 hours at church.  If we combine our efforts as two influences (Family and Church)we feel that we can more greatly influence the spiritual lives of kids.

How or where do I do Fusion with my family?

We want families to customize their FUSION time together. The time it actually takes to go through the material is between 5-10 minutes. Families may feel they want to designate a whole evening as a night together and have FUSION to be a part of that time. Some families may have just enough time to go through the material in the car, or over dinner. We want families to have fun and do what works for them.

Are there any events associated with FUSION?

Every other month we will be having a FUSION celebration at the church that will take on many different looks. The purpose of the FUSION celebration is to provide a low cost event for families who are participating to come to the church and have a blast as a family. Also, to get to spend some time being encouraged and encouraging other families who are also participating in FUSION.

621 & 371

The first week of Super Summer Spectacular has come to an end and it was an amazing week. There were 621 children who participated and an unbelievable 371 volunteers who served. We have another week of SSS that will be going on at our Parkrose campus the week of July 27th-31st so please be in prayer about that week as well. I have updated this post with our SSS video of the week so that you can check it out. I am praising God for what He did in the lives of children and what He is going to do in the lives of more children in the Parkrose area. 

Swamp Bath

Through the Eyes of a 5 Year Old

Just wanted to share with you a fantastic story about how God is using Abundant Life Church to minister to children. This story is being shared through the experience of Steve Jones a tremendous part of this team and written by his great wife Chris.

So right before Saturday evening service, a little girl about the age of 6-8 years old approached Steve on her way into ALC.  When Steve greeted her, she walked right up to him and shook his hand and said "this is the happiest place on earth" whereas Steve replied "but this isn't Disneyland".  She said "Disneyland isn't the happiest place on earth....this is!  I just can't wait for Saturday to get here so I can come praise Jesus!".  Steve then told her that she was in fact correct....Abundant Life is the happiest place on earth!

 

God is so good! I pray that He will continue to use the people of the church so that all children who enter this place will also feel that this is "the happiest place on earth."

How Can We Help?

What is the best way that we as a church could help you grow as a parent? Earlier in one of the posts I had asked who is responsible for the spiritual development of a child? The consensus from the comments is that parents rather than the church are the ones responsible. There in lies my continual challenge, how can I and more importantly we as a church help equip you as a parent in your effort to see your child or children grow in a strong relationship with God.

Would you like resources (books, DVD's)?

Would you want to attend a parenting type class or seminar on how to help your child grow Spiritually?

Would you like to have a parenting curriculum in your Lifegroup?

Does this blog Help? If so, what topics would be of most help for you as a parent?

Please comment and let me know what you think. 

I Love Music

I love music! There is no other way to say it. What I have discovered over the years is that my love of music has transferred to my children due to listening to music in the car while we take trips or just run errands.

I don't know about you but what I have noticed is that our kid's (4,6,7) really absorb what they hear in the car. That is, when they are not hitting one another or sticking their tongue out or making a sound that annoys the other. No, but in all seriousness I have learned that they are listening. Just last week while driving around we were listening to my newest music purchase off of Itunes, the new release by a great young Christian group called Starfield. The CD is titled "I Will Go". After we listened to the first four songs my 6 year old son Conner said "hey dad, can we listen to that hosanna song." The second song on the CD is titled "Hosanna" and after hearing it once he was hooked. As a parent I love when my children request listening to great music.  Especially music that encourages them to give their love, attention and focus to God.

I thought I would share with you some of the great new Christian Music that we listen to as a family. If your interested you can check them out for your self. Or if you have other musical selections or suggestions please comment and share them.

Edgy Worship Music:

Hillsong United- "All Of the Above" www2.hillsong.com/united

Desperation Band- "Everyone Overcome" desperationonline.com

Starfield- "I Will Go" www.starfieldonline.com

Rush of Fools- "Rush Of Fools" www.rushoffools.com

Steve Fee- "Steve Fee" feeband.com

Hopefully there might be some music here that you as a family can all enjoy. Also, for your little ones check out the page to your left that says Worship music downloads for preschooler's

Let me know what you think!

Here's What We're Aiming For

I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you our goals in ministering to children. In all we do we are seeking to share God’s love by teaching God’s Word and modeling our love for God to the children. We have a phrase that we are beginning to use here in Children’s Ministries called “Most Important Truths” or MIT’s. The most important truths are what we are really trying to communicate, teach and model in this ministry. One of our goals is that all children who participate in any area of our preschool ministry will leave that area of ministry as they grow and move into our elementary area of ministry believing these three most important truths:

God made me

God loves me no matter what

God gave me His son, Jesus

Another goal is that all children who participate in any area of our elementary ministry will leave that area of ministry as they grow and move into Junior High ministry believing and living out these three most important truths:

God wants me to love Him

God wants me to trust Him with my life

God wants me to follow Jesus’ example

By intentionally teaching and modeling these Most Important Truth's we believe that we can be most effective in ministering to children.

What do you think about these Truth's and the idea of really focusing on teaching and modeling them for the different age groups?