Phase 1 of the renovation includes all EC classrooms and corridors on the 2nd floor, and work will begin on the entrance by the outside playground.  This will be converted into the new Kids Connect entrance!

Beginning May 27 divisions on the EC 2nd floor will be relocating to the 1st floor areas listed below:

• Older Preschool – Yellow Hallway
• Kindergarten – EC188
• 1st Grade – EC178 (Fireside Room)
• 2nd/3rd Grade – Chapel
• Young Preschool and Older Toddler divisions will be consolidating departments in order to free up classroom space (this information will be available at the check-in tables).

Informational cards with maps and locations will be handed out in all classrooms on May 13^th and May 20^th.

Grades 4 and 5 will remain in their current location during the entire renovation.  Toddler departments will remain in their current location during Phase 1.

Phase 2 work on EC 1st floor classrooms, corridors, and chapel begins July 1. All divisions will relocate to the 2nd floor on July 1. We will update the blog with details for Phase 2 in early June.

The entire renovation is scheduled to be completed by the end of August. We anticipate all divisions returning to their permanent location by Promotion Sunday, August 19.

Thanks so much in advance for your patience and cooperation with these changes this summer. It will be worth the effort, as the changes will be new and exciting! 

‘Nexus: Central Themes in Children’s Ministry’ is available for purchase through Amazon!  From April 1st, for five days you can go to the below link and ‘purchase’ the book without cost to you!

Many of Children’s Ministries key leaders have provided input, including our own Nancy Davies!  Our prayer is that this book will impact all those serving children and families across the world.

What’s the point of children’s ministry?  Setting aside the finer details, what’s the big idea of why children’s ministry is done at all?  Is it to disciple kids, equip parents, lead children to Christ — of all the things, what’s primary?  Nexus is an exploration of the central and most important goals and priorities in children’s ministry.  You’ll find wisdom and Biblical guidance from leaders in children’s ministry who desire the best for kids and their parents.

Below is an excerpt from Nancy Davies’ article;

I watched and listened to 100+ people from our congregation tell their faith stories as they were baptized.  Young and old filed into the water and came out smiling, cheering, proud to be able to declare publicly that they were followers of Jesus.  As a minister to kids, I relish listening at baptism services.  It’s in these moments of liquid confessions of faith that I like to think that the hours of hearing Bible stories, singing of God’s love and sharing tales of faithfulness have a hand in the decision to become Christ followers.  I smile as I hear the testimony of kids that asked their mom or dad to pray with them after they came home from Sunday or Wednesday church programming.  Or I hear the story of a student returned from a mission trip where God got a hold of her heart and she declares that she won’t ride the fence any longer; she has heard from God and is placing her feet firmly on the side of walking with Christ.  I leave the service walking with a lighter step.  Yes, all the hours planning lessons, recruiting volunteers, planning events is worth the effort because lives are being changed.  

Is there a thread that runs through the testimonies giving us a picture of how spiritual formation occurs?  From Bible memorization, making church fun, serious Bible study, leading parents, bringing kids to salvation…what is the most important?  When we strip away all the fluff, what can and should be the church’s priority in ministering to kids?

To read the rest of Nancy’s article and all of the other’s, go to the Amazon Link and download the book for free! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JL627I

Parents;   Have you ever considered helping out in your child’s classroom on Sunday morning? Here are a few ways serving in children’s ministry can benefit you and your family: 

                Relationship with your child:  First, children overall are more excited and interested when you take a part in what they are doing.  Being in the classroom is a great way to spend time with your child.  It also affords you the opportunity to meet other parents and develop relationships with them.  It gives you the opportunity to observe the friendships your child has built at church, and possibly see an opportunity to foster relationships outside of Sunday morning.  After all, relationships with families that have similar values as yours help kids to grow up with confidence and confidants! 

                 Relationships with other adults:  In the Sunday morning setting, there are seasoned and brand new volunteers, volunteers of all ages, parents and non-parents.  It takes all kinds to make the ministry run well.  You can learn a lot from one another, and it is a great place to get ideas from experienced leaders on how to teach your own child.  You don’t need special skills or experience, just be a caring person that treats the kids in the group the way you would want an adult leader to love and mentor your own child.  It’s about relationship building!  It is a perfect place to get to know other adults and parents, and to build a network of adults to lean on.  Serving the church on Sunday mornings allows you to fill the role of being a contributor to the body of CCC. 

                Your Child:  Having the opportunity to see how your child interacts with others in the classroom allows you to see where your child might need encouragement, course correction or other avenues to express themselves and succeed.  Do you know your child’s top three character traits?  We all know what our children are good at, like being polite or funny, or listening well in class, but we don’t often think about their deeper character strengths like wisdom, kindness, perseverance and curiosity.  However, these traits are what really make our children tick and what motivates them.  

                Spiritual Parenting:  Reality is you, as a parent, function as the spiritual leader in your home, whether you want to or not.  Having a greater awareness of the Sunday morning lesson content can help you, as a parent, take the learning one step further during the week.   Opportunities to make connections between real life and the spiritual truth discussed on Sunday morning are less likely to get passed over.   This will give you a place to start, in order to get into better Biblical conversations at home.  Also, understanding the foundation being laid during the grade school years will help prepare you for the teachings in middle school and high school, and allow you to help your child transition to Student Ministries.

                 Spiritual Growth:   Spiritual truths and learning are valuable to all of us.  Whether you are coming in at ground level or a seasoned believer, the lessons taught help you get on the same page with your child.  You can learn right along with your child, or you can get a better awareness of your child’s level of spiritual understanding by observing them and their peers in the classroom (and in many cases, you might be pleasantly surprised!)

                 4/14 Window:  Statistics show high percentages of teens and young adults ages 15 to 24 are departing from the Christian values they were raised with, so it becomes critical to aim lower at the 4 to 14 [age] as the beginning place for significant concentration.  We are looking for leaders to come alongside kids to build a strong faith, and help them to take it on as their own. 

                   Authors:  Darla Bair, Dawn Belknap, Shelley Brooks

Do you struggle with planning a family night?  Do you run out of ideas or things to do to make it fun?  Are you looking for topics from the Bible to discuss, but aren’t sure where to even start?

The Kids Connect team would like to come alongside you and help you with some tips and ideas, using the Homefront Monthly Magazine.  On February 10th, bring the family and come to the Homefront Family Night and we will take you through some of the activities that the Tru team has come up with, to help you with family nights.

If you can’t make it that night, grab a Homefront Monthly off of one of the Secretary/Check-In tables on Sunday morning.   The next step is to decide on a day and time that works well for your entire family.  It can be an evening, afternoon, or morning.  Just commit to building this time into your family’s natural rhythm.  (It’s usually best to build this time around a meal!)

Next, look through the HomeFront Monthly and see what stands out.  Choose one or two experiences that you would like to incorporate into your family times this week.  Don’t feel burdened to complete all the activities at once, but carefully select which ones will fit your family best.  Each issue of HomeFront Monthly provides more than enough experiences to last you throughout the month.

Remember to HAVE FUN!  Strive to make each gathering unique to your own family as you enjoy spending time with God and each other.

The Homefront Family Night is Friday, February 10, 2012 from 7:00-8:30 PM in the CCC Old Mill Student Center. 

 This is the week that we head into the Project 4:4 reading as a church, and the Kids Connect staff have received several questions about how the reading of the Bible will coordinate with the adult reading.

Through 2012, all family members have the opportunity to read through an appropriate version of the Bible.  Neither of the children’s Bibles include all of an adult version, so the children will not be at the same place as adults, but everyone will learn the “Big God Story” as we move through the year.  Children of all ages will cover a chronological overview of the Bible in 2012 with age appropriate stories of the Bible.  A recurring theme throughout the year will be that God made a promise and he fulfilled that promise in Jesus.

First and foremost, as parents and adults, we need to remember that the benefit of reading the Bible with children far outweighs the benefit of reading a specific section to coincide with the adult reading.  Surveys consistently show that giving young people opportunities to talk about faith in the family or church context, assists them in identifying and understanding what their faith is about.  Talking about Jesus moves children towards a greater understanding of who the Jesus they believe in really is, what He has done and why He came to earth.  So have conversations with your children each week, ask wonder questions as you read together as a family (I wonder why God created animals before people…  I wonder if the animals could speak…  I wonder ifAdamand Eve were afraid after they ate the fruit from the tree God told them not to touch…  I wonder how God felt whenAdamand Eve disobeyed…)

 Preschool and Kindergarten

If you are using the “Jesus Storybook Bible” with your children you will move very quickly through the Bible and will possibly read the stories over and over.  The stories do not always coincide with the Kids Connect lesson however the HomeFront weekly resource will direct you to the correct portion of scripture for that week’s lesson. 

Suggested reading for January to coincide with Kids Connect lessons                 

 Grade School

If your children are in grade school, you have two opportunities for tracking with the reading.  Follow the reading schedule in the “One Year Children’s Bible” to read through the Bible in 2012.  Or you can use the HomeFront weekly parent resource to read the portion of scripture that corresponds with the Kids Connect lesson for the following Sunday.  For instance read Genesis 2 – 3 in preparation for the lesson this Sunday, God Created Us to Be with Him. 

 Each week parents receive an email with suggestions on bible reading and activities to introduce the Bible story.  The email is titled, “What are my kids learning this week?”  If you need to register for the parent email, send a request to jeffn@cccomaha.org.  The HomeFront weekly is handed out every Sunday and it is posted on the CCC website/Kids Connect/HomeFront.  Please ask a Kids Connect staff member if you need help finding the HomeFront weekly.

 The Kids Connect staff team is praying that each family will grow in knowledge, understanding, grace and love as you read God’s word.

Tradition; what are the traditions of your family? Either as you were growing up or that you are starting with your own family? What is a tradition? I’m sure Merriam-Webster has a great definition, but it is just something you are passing along to your family. It could be your beliefs; it could be customs from a previous generation, or something you want to start within your own family, that your kids will remember and treasure.

As our kids got old enough to start creating some of our own traditions, we started two. One was to put up a manger scene, which we added to every year. We were pretty frugal, so we would add on to the scene at the end of the year, when everything went on sale. Then, the next year when we put it out, there would be fun new pieces to add. The other tradition was to go to Christmas Eve service. These two simple ‘traditions’ grew into something just a little bit different as our kids got older. They understood that we celebrated Christ’s birth on Christmas day, so it didn’t make sense to them to put baby Jesus into his manger when we first set it up, as that was usually two weeks or more before Christmas. So, we started a game of ‘hide and seek’ with the baby. The baby would be found and moved to another place by family members throughout the two weeks leading up to Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve, we would have potato soup and tuna fish salad, a tradition carried on by my husband and me, from my family. Then, we would get dressed up and go to church. When we came home, we would change into our jeans or jammies, and then set a time for the search for baby Jesus to end. At the designated time, whoever had hid him last would take him out of hiding and ‘place’ him in his manger bed. It was so precious to see them do this when they were little. As our kids have gotten older, the tradition has not stopped. The manger scene is up, and the person who placed him in the manger last year has hidden him this year, to get it all started again. I am pretty sure as our Granddaughter gets a little older, that she will be joining in on the fun!

What are the traditions your family has for this time of year? If you don’t have any, it is never too late to start. I pray that you and your family will have a very blessed Christmas, and enjoy your time together, making memories and coming up with traditions.

Merry Christmas from Kids Connect!

What about Kids Connect? Kids grow best when they hear God’s story throughout the week. Kids Connect Sunday lessons will follow the chronological sequence of Project 4:4. Parents will have a rich backdrop for family discussions based on their personal reading commitment.

Preschool Children / Non-Readers From Noah to Moses to King David to Paul, The Jesus Story Book Bible tells the Story beneath all stories in the Bible. Every story whispers the name of Jesus as children discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God’s great story of salvation, and at the center of their story, too.

Elementary Children The One Year Children’s Bible provides kids with a daily reading to deepen their understanding of God’s word and instill in them a love for reading their Bible every day. An easily accessible Bible encyclopedia and index of key people help kids better understand what they are reading. Through Project 4:4, kids will engage with the Bible every day in a way they can understand.

November 18, 2011, Homefront Family Night at Old Mill.

Parents, bring your kids and attend Homefront Family Night to get a better understanding of how to use the Homefront Monthly magazine. We will be selecting 4 activities in this month’s Homefront for you to do.

Here are just a couple of the activities; Create Identity Beads-God’s Word says we are a family who has been chosen, adopted, redeemed, sealed, and given an inheritance in Christ. We’ll use alphabet letter beads to make a bracelet or necklace that will remind you of your identity in Christ. Traditions family timeline-we’ll get you started on creating your family’s timeline, with significant dates, then you’ll take this home and build on it to create your own family story.

This event is for all ages, so bring the whole family! It starts at 7:00PM in the Student Center, and ends about 8:30PM.

Helping Kids to Know, Love and Follow Jesus

In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) we hear the command to make disciples by teaching them as they go. The vehicle of disciple-making is teaching. As a Kid’s Ministry leaders we want to teach them to know Jesus…a knowing that uses the mind to understand the stories of the Bible AND a knowing that opens the heart to see what our mind cannot see. A heart knowing requires relationship with Jesus, each week we strive to combine the facts (mind) with our passions (heart) in order to integrate knowing into every aspect of living.

As we plan programs and Bible lessons, we ask ourselves, “Does this lesson, activity, or event help kids to know Jesus? Do the activities ultimately point to an opportunity to know Jesus better?” The goal as kids move on to student ministry is for them to have transitioned from the basics of just knowing the name of Jesus to an understanding that:

Jesus forgives

Jesus is the son of God and the son of man

Jesus is the living word

Jesus is the Lamb and the Savior

Jesus loves unconditionally

Jesus answers prayer and speaks to us

Jesus is God’s chosen redeemer

Jesus is at the center of our teaching. Keeping Christ central informs the songs we choose to sing, how we pray, who we choose to lead, what point we draw from the Bible lesson, what we celebrate. All of these components lead us to understand that we were created to worship Jesus, not ourselves.

Jeremiah 24:7 (ESV) states, “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God…” Please pray with us as we move into a new ministry year that children at CCC will know Jesus.

One of the reasons we chose the TRU curriculum for Kids Connect is the parent resources that are provided each week. Parents are children’s primary spiritual teachers so we love equipping parents to grow in this role. We see CCC as a partner with parents to raise up the next generation to follow Christ.

Resources are great, but only if you use them. We’ve asked Jen Dougherty, a long-time CCC attendee and mother of 3 to share how she uses the HomeFront with her family.

SB: Jen, tell us about your kids and your involvement at CCC.

JD: I have three kids ages 11, 8 and 4. My husband and I have been attending CCC since 1995. Right now I am a 2nd grade small group leader at the Old Mill Campus.

SB: What have you noticed about the TRU curriculum that is different from what we’ve used in the past?

JD: I love the Big God Story and that the kids learn that each Bible story fits on a timeline of events that are sequential. Without a time line, it’s difficult for them to understand the context of where the story fits in to the big picture. It’s confusing for kids because they don’t understand that Jesus didn’t live during the time of Moses or that David comes after Noah. The timeline helps pull it all together.

SB: How has this switch impacted your family?

JD: TRU is more cohesive. Everybody is getting the same thing which makes it easier from a family perspective. The Homefronts make planning a family night easy. We used to scramble to plan something for family night—pulling from Heritage Builders or searching for ideas online. Now, we have the option of planning something fancy if we have time, or keeping it simple with the Homefront activities.

SB: Tell me about your family nights. How did you get started doing that?

JD: When our kids were little we started by reading from their Children’s Bible. It only takes one minute to read a story and they come to know and expect it. When our kids got older we started setting aside one night a week for family night…most weeks anyway. We read the Bible together and we may do an activity or just talk about the questions in the Homefront. We’ve been doing that for about 3 or 4 years now.

SB: Is it hard to do this regularly?

JD: Yes, and I’m not trying to say that we are doing things perfectly. We are not always consistent and sometimes we squeeze the Homefront in while driving in the car or at bed time or dinner time. That’s the great thing about having it right there.

SB: Other than setting aside specific family times to talk about God, how else do you help you children grow spiritually?

JD: I pray with them. Pray, pray, pray with your children.

SB: When do you pray with them?
JD: All the time. In the morning while dropping them off at school I pray that God would show Himself to them. We pray at dinner and bedtime. When they come home from school and have had a bad day, we pray about it right then. We love the blessing cards too [from the TRU curriculum]. My next goal is to find a verse for each of my children that I will pray over them regularly.

SB: Have you noticed any fruit from these efforts?

JD: I’ve especially noticed my 8 year old’s faith growing. My 11 year old will ask tons of questions and the 8 year old will be listening and taking it all in. If we didn’t purposefully and intentionally talk about these things, I don’t know if they would ever be thinking about it. They just have grown more disciplined and they know the Lord better every day. I think they love each other better because of the time we spend in the Word.

SB: What would you say to other parents who are beginning to use these resources and attempting to lead their family spiritually?

JD: We have to impart the importance of intentionality. We can just be lukewarm. These are our kids. As a small group leader in Kids Connect, I can tell which kids are geared to receive the blessing and hear from God. It’s obvious that some kids are not getting anything at home. It’s great that they come on Sundays, but parents really need to understand that they can make a huge difference in their kids’ spiritual growth by leading the way.

SB: Thank you so much for sharing your experience and helping us stay focused on the importance of setting aside family time.