Hangin With the Cool Kids

Souper Bowl of Caring

2012-01-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

The Souper Bowl of Caring is our big service project we have been doing for 4 years now with our Pre-K, Grade School, and now this year our Fusion groups at Friendship! It all started with the simple prayer of a youth group 10 years ago, "Lord, as we celebrate the Super Bowl let us remember those who don't even have a bowl of soup to eat." For Friendship Kids it started with a humble suggestion from a great friend who was frustrated as a school counselor that her corporation wouldn't allow the program because it was "faith based" so she asked me if I would be interested. Our first year 2 classes at the local intermediate school also got involved, and a few kids did an amazing thing!

We collected clothing and toys for the Wheeler Women and Children's Center. These kids blew me away, and the most heart wrenching realization was when a young man stayed behind to tell me that he used to be one of those kids living at a shelter. He and his mother escaped a terribly abusive situation, and rolled into town with a trash bag of clothes, and nothing else. He was so excited to give back, it has stayed with me ever since.

These past few years we have been so blessed to partner with 2 of our local elementary schools, and this year we added our 3rd! We are also very excited to announce partnerships with Greenwood Self Storage, and the Incredible Pizza Company! We are also stoked that the south side Walgreens stores are participating this year as well! One of our schools opened its own food pantry, and we will be able to feed so many hungry kids right in our local community.

Since the Super Bowl will be held here in Indy, we are also hoping our Service Blitz Kickoff Rally at Arsenal Tech on Feb. 4th (from 8am-10am, all kidmins welcome!) is going to be off the hook! An Indianapolis Colts player will be there to give us all an inspirational speech, then the kidmin teams are encouraged to serve somewhere in their community. We are so excited about this series, and I can't wait to post pics of the Kickoff Rally! To find out how your group can get involved go to www.SouperBowlofCaring.org

Media and Construction in The Loft!

2011-11-09T15:38:00.001-08:00

So exciting! As we have been renovating our ministry spaces, we are now focusing on our new multi-ministry space recently named "The Loft". We have added 2 televisions to our "media wall" that we will be able to sync or use separately. We will use the R and L for video gaming systems during before/after service and arrival times as well as our Fusion youth ministry. We will be mounting everything to the walls, DVD player, gaming equipment, etc. And hope to be able to cover the TVs with something like plexiglass to avoid breaking them with a loose ball from a game or a random un-identified flying object (quite frequent when children are anywhere near). This way the floors will be clean and clear for several ministries to be able to use the space without having to transition furniture or equipment.

Our next step is removing the carpet and switching to a finished concrete floor, then we will build a loft area, drink bar, and decorate with some fun and funky stuff. I will post pics as we get each piece done so people will be able to see the progress, and how small affordable changes to your kidmin space can make a huge difference on a tight budget! Stay tuned for more exciting changes as we move ahead!

Going Orange?

2011-10-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Me and my PIC being goofy at Orange. So I'm totally going to name drop and say I got to just hang out and talk with Reggie Joiner yesterday. Yeah, I said it! What an amazing day. The Orange Conference came to our city for a one day experience, and I've been left drooling for more.

What was so great is getting to hear that other people feel your struggles with how to get kids, parents, and the church connected. The most stunning visual he showed was 40 little yellow beads in a little jar that looked so empty, then several jars filled to the brim with pink beads all around the little empty jar (sorry for the bad picture quality, my Blackberry doesn't zoom in an awesome fashion).

This is the comparison of the church to the family of how much time we have to influence our kids. We have about 40 hours a year, their family has 3,000. We have (in our specific ministry) been wrestling with this issue, praying over it, and now we are seeing answers and solutions being poured on us in several different ways. I am very excited about some new experiments we will be doing, and hope to share progresses and failures as they happen. Hopefully they will be useful if you guys are trying any of these as well!

To all you Kidmin people, keep up the good fight. God has specifically gifted, equipped, and called you to what you do. He is enough, and will provide the resources (Philippians 4:19)

Field Trips: Stress Inducers Stress Relievers?

2011-10-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

In the past field trip day meant one very sure thing, bring my migraine medicine. The stress of organizing a caravan of 40 cars and 50+ kids, getting everyone buckled in, then unbuckled to go potty, then buckled back in...well, not the most stress free activity. As the years have gone by, it seems that my stress level decreases with each success. This year was a doozy! I decided to lead the caravan since I wasn't riding with another student and managed to get myself and 3 other cars lost on a very bad side of town with no "back-on ramp" to the interstate.

Seriously, the directions specifically said "veer left", then the road we were supposed to take immediately veered right! I gladly stopped at the first business I came to (A truck stop with lots of tire spikes and gates. Were they to keep you out, or keep you in?) and asked for directions. They directed us down the road, only to come to a very confusing construction detour! I almost lost it, but decided to try laughing it off. It worked, thanks to the very go with the flow passengers in my car and we finally made it to the pumpkin patch 15 minutes behind everyone else. Oh, did I mention no one could get in without me? Yeah, 70 people standing in the rain waiting for me to show up, let's just say not my finest moment.

Although I thought picking pumpkins in the rain in 60 degree weather wouldn't be a great time, the kids had other plans. Instead of whining or complaining, they loved it! Shock me! Then some of the parents started commenting about how they hadn't been out in the rain on purpose in years, and it seemed to change the whole day. The kids loved the pumpkin picking, they kept the pony rides open just for us (Bless those people and bless those soggy ponies!), and the petting zoo was amazing. I was challenged to do the straw maze, started it, then immediately panicked and backed out. This thing is a cave of straw bales, pitch black and sound proof. Bottom line, I knew I could have an asthma attack in this place, die, and they wouldn't know for a really long time. Then a couple of 5 year olds pushed me out of the way laughing and dove in. Ego shattered, time to try again. So, I did it! Trusty cell phone in hand, I conquered my fears and was really proud of myself all day. And really soggy. Soggy and proud, proud of being soggy! So, long story short I didn't give myself a migraine from stress, petted a llama, and watched a few kids (this one included) try something for the first time. Epic success.

Fire Truck Day!

2011-10-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

So, what job could you possibly have that would allow you and your entire staff to wear pink plastic firefighter hats all day? You guessed it, PRESCHOOL! We held Fire Safety Week on the last week of September. The kids learned all about how to get low and get out when there is a fire. We also learned the classic, STOP, DROP, and ROLL if you are on fire! Thanks to the Greenwood Fire Department and some wonderfully patient medics and firefighters, 60 kids made their way through an Ambulance and a real life Fire Engine!

We have the awesome privilege of getting to be big kids ourselves. If they would have let me, I totally would have put the whole outfit on! Well, I will have to save that for another day... but I digress! Fire Safety is such an important part of every family no matter how big or small. My husband and I experienced a house fire about 5 years ago when a log rolled out of our fireplace one evening. It was a terrifying experience, but now we have a plan to rescue our animals, call 911 (we didn't realize you should do that when your house is on fire!), and get out. Yeah, I seriously didn't even think to call 911 at the time, all I could think of was "the sink sprayer won't reach that far!" It was pretty crazy. Until next time!

How Do You Hype Your Kid's Series?

2011-09-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

I was having a chat with Pastor Dustin (our Creative Arts Pastor), and he had some great questions and some great answers that really got my wheels cranking. So here goes:

Q: When promoting a series do you target the parents or the kids?
A: Both! So now what?

Q: How do you target a kid?
A: Hit them with what they get excited about, put a piece of candy in a tiny baggie with a cool promo card about the next series. Include "preview" games with the last one or two lessons of the series leading into the next one. Get the kids pumped with teasers, like only telling them what ingredients will be involved in the games next week, then saying you are going to have to come back to find out!

Q: How do you target a parent?
A: Create a Facebook event, create a web page with a challenge, like "tweet about this series using #tribal", use anything you can to get the parents involved in what their kids are doing! In the past to create a buzz for our Summer Break (huge summer outreach event)event, we put balloons with a nut (the kind that goes on a bolt, not the kind you eat!) inside. When you spin the balloon, the nut will roll creating a buzzing noise. The adults remembered what it was like to be a kid, even if it was just for a few minutes, they were talking about it for the next few weeks! #winning

Q: What do we want kids to feel like after the promotion?
A: "What we want kids to leave with is 'Mom! I can't miss next Sunday!' "

So my question to all you bloggers, church goers, non church goers, and everyone in between is, how do you hype your next Kidmin series?

Upcoming Series, and Oh the Places We Have Gone!

2011-09-09T06:32:00.001-07:00

Oh my! So we have been renovating our Children's Ministry spaces, added a new Preschool classroom to our Preschool and Childcare ministry that runs Monday-Friday, moved offices, and have painted just about everything! We are now looking at some funky designs for our Multi-Ministry space, and finishing the special touches on our classrooms and offices.

So, the biggest change is that we have hired an Associate Director of Children's Ministries! My new PIC (Partner in Crime)is Jessica Seelye, so you will probably hear me refer to her often. We have been making some diabolical plans for our upcoming Children's series, and wound up message planning for the next year! Our Christmas series is going to be amazing, we are going for a Nightmare Before Christmas- black light poinsettias and trees- and totally non traditional with the decorations. I can't give too much away, our graphics aren't ready yet, and we are still fleshing out our message titles, but I am so pumped!

We are also going to be doing an amazing worship series with the kids leading into our Easter series, which is going to be medieval! No seriously, m'lords and m'ladies! Oh, I forgot to mention Jessica likes to break into random accents just as much as I do, whether a back-in-time conversation, British, or Australian, so....yeah.....
Anywhoo, our worship series is going to feature a quiet time built into the lesson where we light candles, and have incense going, quiet praise music playing, any other ideas for facilitating quiet time? This is something I didn't even know really existed until I got saved even though I went to church on and off my whole life. I am hoping to show kids that by using different elements they can have a quiet time where they can feel the presence of God. Then giving them practical ways they can create a quiet time with God everyday at home! Well I'm Audi-5000 for now! Until next time bloggers...

Does your past haunt you or bless you?

2010-12-20T05:38:00.000-08:00

So often a favorite thing to do with my husband is to reminisce about our past, and laugh at how incredibly stupid we were! At times I tend to get embarrassed or ashamed at myself for those choices I have made. But lovingly he reminds me that he wouldn't change a single thing, because no matter what- God has used those experiences to shape us and equip us to do his work now. As I was reading this morning in Ephesians, something Paul said just jumped out at me, prompting this post. Ephesians 3:2 "Assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles."

Now if you are saved you have probably heard over and over every time you read the Bible God reveals different things as if it were new every time. It's funny to think of some "church people" who could never fit into a bar scene, hang out in a tattoo shop, or enjoy a birthday party at a brew-house. But God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace in ways others can't. Because of all those past experiences the two of us can minister in areas and locations that other people are convicted about even going! I can take his message to people that others can't even get in a conversation with, I can use our culture to spread his message without compromising His standard, our marriage can be a shining light to our friends and family going through tough times. God gave us, God gave me such a special responsibility. And it is special. Not everyone can reach the same crowd, and sadly our church community tends to judge so fast. So, if you take anything from this random post let it be, save the job of judging for God and spread his love without bias. You never know what seed you may plant, and I am living proof people cared enough to reach out to me in a way that changed my life for eternity.

I am so incredibly thankful to all of those people in my past and present for their love and support, and continued ministry in God's service!

Christmas in September?

2010-08-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

Our Friendship Kids Christmas planning meeting is only about a month away, and I am stoked! Got some awesome ideas from other kidmin blogs, (shout out to Pastor Jared of smalltownkidmin, love the free resources!) and I am wondering what pop culture ideas you could throw into the mix to get the brainstorming juices going. So far I love the idea of a "Minute to Win It" theme, but not sure how I can tie that to Christmas.

Also, working on revitalizing our Nursery recruitment process, and gleaned some fab ideas from Children's Ministry Talk. One thing that really stood out to me was, "It's always a matter of Vision, not need." WOW! So true! I am currently working on getting the Friendship Kids Sunday Morning Vision something people are excited about. I have been holding meetings with all of the Castaways volunteer staff to launch the revised Vision for the the FK ministries. Once people hear where we believe God is leading us they get excited, and that encourages me and gets me pumped too! I will keep you posted as the Vision casting continues!

Until next time!
Jamie Jo

I need a Volunteer Vitalizer!

2010-08-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

It's here! It's here! Preschool is officially here! 44 kids and one cookie fundraiser later we are in full swing for the 2010-2011 school year. Each year it seems God takes me through a spiritual ringer, making sure that I understand that He is in control of everything. Although we are still looking for two key employees, things are at least now manageable for the time being, and only by his grace have we been saved yet again!

So, in Sunday Morning Programming news we are planning on a huge goal being met. Currently we have our preschoolers in with our K-5th group. This was a last resort when we had a severe volunteer shortage about 1-2 years ago. This will be the third time just as we are ready to get those guys their own space that we find ourselves in another volunteer shortage! So, time to ask, how do you keep your Kidmin volunteers energized, refreshed, and involved? I have an idea for a position called a Volunteer Vitalizer, someone who can send encouragement notes, bottles of M&Ms to the nursery volunteers, etc. Cheesy I know, but what works?

Mandatory is a word I hate, people being forced to participate are just that, a bored person taking up space because they have a kid in the ministry and are forced to participate. NOT the atmosphere we need to energize kids for God! On the other hand, I have never had someone approach me and say, "I just love serving in Children's Ministry, it is possible you have any room for me?" So this is my quandary, constant shortage just when it seems like things are finally going the way they are supposed to! Please share!

Until next time!
Jamie Jo

Preschool is coming!

2010-08-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

Wow, so far so good keeping up with at least one post a week! So, one of the most exciting times in ministry is preparing for school. Oh, and the smell of fresh school supplies and new paper! I am in the middle of trying to rearrange my room and my brain for a much more open feel to the curriculum. No more "laminated lady" as Lisa Murphy would say! I can let go of the control to give these kids the sensory experiences they need! Yes, I can!

So, how do you challenge yourself to let go? For me it was shaving cream. Each kid gets AT Least one can, and more if they want it, and I just let them go to town! Talk about almost having a cow, that was hard! Now I know why Lisa recommends not introducing more than one new thing at a time if you are making the transition, because they tend to get the "escaped inmate" mentality.

Yeah, you guessed it, I got out the liquid watercolors too. Now in a normal room where that would be an everyday thing no big deal. But when you are transitioning- the kids kind of go into a frenzy because they think this may be their last chance, EVER! So we had kids dumping full tubs of watercolors on the cream, then someone grabbed the full strength colors, and now we have a very rainbow-festive color for our carpet! Bound to happen in a great preschool classroom, but hard for this control freak to process (and double hard to explain to her boss!). God so uses these situations to stretch me everyday, and for that (although it's hard) I am thankful. I can't control His plan, and these kids teach me little by little how to let go every day! God bless our mess!!!
Til next time...
with love, Jamie Jo

Trying to earn God's love?

2010-08-05T04:26:00.000-07:00

Wow! Hit in the face this morning with Romans 4:1b-5.

What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”[a] 4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.

So often I try an earn God's love, instead of just accepting what he gives me every day. I work so hard to make my bright shiny offering, and then find out I wasn't anywhere near the place he wanted me because I was SO focused on doing this thing, all for him, but really all the while ignoring what he is telling me. Anyone else out there?

"But that was not God's way." So simple, so plain. Our work doesn't get us any closer to God. So as we are moving forward in our Sunday Morning Children's Ministry with vision, creating new age groups, and renovations I just pray that I can keep these verses with me as I truck along! Until next time!

Vision in Children's Ministry: The Getting of Wisdom!

2010-07-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

I am in the middle of wrapping up our Summer Program for childcare, and preparing for the preschool year ahead. This means lesson plans, and field trips, and a whole new crop of parents and kids. All the while, we are going through vision updates, and major changes in the Sunday Morning Ministries as well. This entails staff meetings, one on one meetings, and getting everyone on the same page. For me this means the getting of wisdom! But it feels like I'm just getting old!

For about two years I directed the Children's Ministry as a volunteer, and have been on staff going on my third year since we started the Preschool and Childcare. It's hard to believe where the program has come, and how many changes I have been through in that time. It's funny in leadership how easily I expect my volunteer staff to accept change, and how hard it is for me myself! What do you do to help your volunteers and staff facilitate changes to your ministry? Have you found group meetings to be effective, or do you prefer one-on-one when talking change? Love to hear your wisdom as you learned it either by success or failure. There is always something to learn from every situation, God's way of teaching me involves ways I would not choose for myself normally, but looking back of course his way was the best. Until next week!
JJ

Paint and plungers.....

2010-05-07T04:25:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I last blogged, that is how most of my blogs start out, but here I am again! We are getting ready for preschool graduation, launching a new Sunday morning series, working on planning the Childcare Summer Program, writing our own summer outreach program called Summer Break that will involve the messiest games I have ever created, getting ready to except infants for childcare in the fall, and feeling a little exhausted! Perry Noble had a great tweet yesterday that said something like when you get to the end of your rope, you find Jesus waiting there saying what took you so long! So often I will feel overwhelmed, as many of you other Children's Ministry Directors know we all wear many hats. For years I worked full time, had a part time gig, and did the Director thing for church. Now although I have a lot going on, it's nice to look back and and realize at least all those things are done in the same building now!

As we head into Summer I am going to be fearlessly trying some new approaches to our program. More hands on learning experiences, having stores of flour, baby oil, shaving cream, watercolors, cornstarch, paints, and all sorts of accessories. Yesterday was stress level 10 as I begin to challenge myself to let go of my inhibitions, and let the kids go crazy in discovery with the paint! I used a shower curtain on the floor, and several bath puffs, fly swatters and plungers (awesome ideas courtesy of Lisa Murphy, check her out at ooeygooey.com) for them to paint with. The sheer jubilation kept me going as I "encouraged" the kids not to get paint on the carpet, try to keep the fun on the blue mat, and it was great! They had a ball, and when they have fun it's hard for me not to!

Although the carpet got some paint on it, I will always think about our fun day each time I look at those little splatters or little stains. I believe Christ uses children to mark our hearts this way, staining us with joy, innocence and pure love. I have been blessed to have 55 children in my preschool and childcare ministry, and another 30-40 on Sunday mornings. The things God shows me through these kids can't be put into words, it's like the Holy Spirit has to translate those utterings of my soul. How blessed I feel to be trusted with planting God's word, I wish I had someone to care for me that way when I was young, and my prayer would be that God continues to use me, because I love it, and I see his face through it.

What kids can do....

2010-01-31T05:54:00.000-08:00

About 4 or 5 Sundays ago Friendship Kids began collecting non-perishable food items for local children in the Clark Pleasant school system, and also began bringing in clothing and other items for the Wheeler Center for Women and Children. Currently our goal is to distribute the food collected to families in the Whiteland/Greenwood area, and we will need to transport all clothing, game, and toy donations to the Wheeler Mission Ministries storage/distribution facility.

There was a very unexpected twist to the collection of all these items. Three children who attend church (Jake, Jeremy, and Alli) here were talking about the project at school, specifically in Doug Beers' classroom. The kids were so pumped about it, their friends wanted to help out too. So Mr. Beers put some notices in the classroom newsletter and the response from the kids was amazing! Not only did donations start pouring in from their classmates, but the class next door heard about it and wanted to help out too! This Friday I was asked to CPI for a special presentation, the children had collected over 100 grocery bags of clothes, games and toys for the Women and Children's Center! It was overwhelming to say the least!

After we had a question and answer session, a boy approached me to share his story. He said, "You know how you said sometimes moms and kids have to run away in the middle of the night, and don't have any place to live? Well that happened to me. Me and my mom lived in a place like that." It was so hard to hold myself together as this little boy shared his sad tale of how he was being horribly physically abused, and how he and his mother under the cover of night ran away to Indiana. So often we like to limit our experience with charity to giving a few things here or there, because it hurts so bad when we are faced with the harsh truth. I left that classroom with a very different kind of appreciation for the loving people that surround me every day. If you would like to get involved in this movement, please get in contact with me!

We are organizing a group to transport all of the donations to the shelter, and to tour the Wheeler Center for Women and Children as a family. We know one thing for sure, children are impacted by experiences. I would love for you and your family to experience something as awesome as I did!

Kids are twice as absorbent as the other leading brands...

2010-01-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

So, I came across this video on a dude's blog, Wes Rose, and it just made me smile all day. NEWSFLASH WORLD! Kids absorb everything! The scariest, yet most satisfying thing is when I hear them being me, so parents you must be in a constant state of terrified bliss!

Tonight I went to my happy place, I bought new containers for my preschool room! I heart organizing! So I am stoked about some new mini boats I got for $1, and that all the containers have holes in them which let the bleachwater drain and dry, and that I received a lesson on Asian currency from my checker at Walmart. It's the little things.

But this video is proof that it's those little things, that teach our kids what we're made of [like not telling the checker that I really didn't care about the differences in the manufacturing of Asian currency compared to ours,that I already spent an extra hour agonizing over boats or hoola hoops or fake money (that was just an ironic coincidence), and that I really don't want to listen;]. True patience, true compassion, true love, even if it means sacrificing a few minutes here or there. They eat it up like Oreos that have fallen on the floor, so fast it's shocking and we don't even realize it happened! Give them clean Oreos, give them God to gobble up.

So, I'm new around here!

2010-01-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well this is my first official blog. Lookout, I said it would never happen, and well, most of you who have a relationship with God know that those are many-a-famous last words. So over the years many people have said they would love to know what goes on inside my head. To sum it up, proceed with caution! Just kidding. No, really, be very cautious in there, I have a lot of important stuff laying all over the place.

I am currently the Director of Friendship Kids, which a fancy way of saying I do all things kids at our uber-cool church, Friendship (www.experiencefriendship.com) nice plug, huh! And it's literally where I hang out with the cool kids, hence the inspiration for my blog title. Much more to come, I don't want to overwhelm you all with me, but, if you know me at all, you will get used to my STRONG but lovable personality.

A few fun factoids:
I think I tell hilarious jokes (see my twitter profile)
I always said I would never do "kids" whether having them or in ministry ( God and people who knew me before Friendship get a big kick out of that one!)
I have been blessed with an amazing husband
Amazed that the above mentioned husband had not been driven clinically insane yet by yours truly ;O)
I really enjoy using cyber smilies :O)
And my puppies and kittens love it when I scream "momma's little babies" when I give them kisses on the nose! (yeah, we are those people and we like to dress up our pets. It's sick, I know, I just can't help myself!)

So I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Hangin With the Cool Kids, and tell your friends to subscribe!
Peace!
JJ