CommunityKids

940 Weekends

Hello!

Another school year is over!  Hard to believe, I now have a child in 10th grade and one in the 9th grade. It seems like it was just last week that Lauren was putting the baby Jesus from a nativity set in the "naughty corner" (she was two and i guess she figured since she spent a lot of time there, everyone should!)  and Austin was collecting every stick he could find because not only were they great swords - you could shoot with them as well!

You all know what I'm talking about - it seems like we spend the first half of our kid's childhood wishing they were older and could do more for themselves and then the second half wishing they needed us more. Time is flying and we have to make the most of it. I saw this video a few minutes ago and it inspired me to not take for granted the time we have with our children becaue the clock is ticking - check it out.

http://www.cmconnect.org/video/video/show?id=2099194%3AVideo%3A145023

940 weekends from the time they are born until they graduate from high school.  Seems like a lot until you have one in high school.  Made me want to cry! :)

Plan a great weekend with your kids - whether its ice cream, swimming, movies, or whatever - you will be glad you did! Have a great weekend!

Julie

Children's Camp Mandatory Meeting

Please remember that all campers and at least one parent are to attend the pre-camp meeting this Sunday on the Fort Smith after the second service.  Please bring the money that you owe (checks payable to Community Bible), a filled out health form (we'll have one if you don't or find it here), a an insurance card or a copy of your insurance card.  We will discuss departure, return, conduct, and what to bring along with answer questions. 

We leave Monday!!!  Should be a great week.

See you Sunday.  - Matt

Preschool Tithing project

  This Sunday, May 17th, the 3’s, 4’s and Kindergarten will learn that we worship God through giving. We thought this would be a good opportunity to help them learn about tithing. We will emphasize that everything we have comes from God and when we give back to Him our resources can be used to help others. We give with our money, our things, and our time. We are sending home some churches that you can put together with your child. They can collect change over the next few weeks to put in these churches.  I would suggest giving the kids small chores to do to earn some money and then you can help them decide how much is appropriate to give away. On June 7^th we will have the kids bring their collections back to class. We are going to allow them to go into the worship service during the offering time and let them give their gifts to the church. I hope this will be a wonderful learning experience for the children. Thank you for taking part in this with your child!

 

Stacey  

 

Babies everywhere

Sunday about 10 different babies were dedicated between the two services.  It was very neat to see proud parents stand with their child and say to the congregation that they are going to do their best to bring up their child in a God first, Christian home.  So to the parents of children that have committed their children to Christian upbringing I say "Thank you for leading the way!"  "Keep going because you can do it!" 

Community's Children's Ministry is behind you all the way!!!

Also, speaking of babies,  Rachel Todd, Donnie's wife gave birth to Shepherd Scott today.  A beautiful 8lbs 22"boy.

Babies everywhere is a pretty good sign that your church is doing something right.  May God be praise by young and old alike as we all come together to know him better and to transform our worlds.

Matt

Good Morning! 

In C-123 we are continuing our study of worship and all the different ways we are able to worship God.  Below are a couple of ways for you to continue the learning at home.   Remember, moms and dads that Deutoronomy 6:5-7 commands us to take everyday opportunities to impress God's word on the hearts of our children. It's not enough that they hear it at church they need to be living it out at home. That's what will make it stick! We have to be intentional about looking for teachable moments in the mornings while rushing to get ready for school, during the afternoons as we scramble from one activity to the next and also at night when we finally are able slow down. The day is full of teachable moments - we just have to remember to watch for one!  Easier said then done, I know.

O.K., here are two activities to get you started this week. These both reinforce the idea of worship which is what we are studying on Sunday mornings. Need more help? I usually do! Check out the following website.  Great Stuff! Filled with different ideas and activities on a whole bunch of different topics. I loved it because you can search by topic - so easy! This really is a site you want to check out. 

Go have a great week and I will see you Sunday!

Julie

www.D6family.com

Joyful Shout

Memorize Psalm 100 together as a family. Try to memorize one verse a week. Copy the psalm and post it on the refrigerator. Read it together at least once a day. Play “Radio” to memorize the first verse. Let one person be the adjuster who controls the volume (by moving hands apart for loud and together for quieter) while the others say the verse. Let everyone have a turn being the adjuster.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all ye lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

 Praise Paperweight

When the Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke the disciples for yelling out praise, He said that if they were quiet, the rocks would cry out. (See Luke 19:40.)

Make a praise paperweight. Go outside and let each person find a rock (about the size of a fist). Write words of praise on the rock using paint or markers. Some suggested phrases could be: God is good, Amazing God, God Rocks! God, WOW! You could also add stickers, jewels, ribbon, glitter or whatever you have to make it look good.

 

J O Y

Joy...defined by Webster's as being happy.  So what brings me joy? What makes me happy?  My wife, my kids, my church, food, and hobbies.  Sure they do, but is that really true happiness, true joy?  In some ways yes, but in the scheme of things pprobably not.  What brings me joy is when I glorify God, when I honor him.  In children's ministry terms joy is defined like this...

J - Jesus

O- Others

Y - You

Simple to remember and very Biblical! Put God first, love others second, and you fall into third.  Are we being good examples of true JOY to our kids?  It's a great question and a necessary fix if we aren't.

Matt

Prayer talk

As I was talking and sharing with the Kindergarten this past Sunday, I was reminded about how impressed I am with their young minds. We spent the morning talking about how praying to God. We talked about what makes them happy, sad, lonely, and scared. Then I tried to help them understand that prayer is really just our conversations with God where we open our hearts and share with Him. We can talk to Him about anything, anytime. During all of this, I had one little boy say “I know a verse that will help me, ‘Pray to Me and I will answer you’.” This is Jeremiah 29:12.  I was amazed that a child this young really understood and applied the scriptures to his life. He already had learned what God could do if he just turned to Him. These children know and understand so much at their young age and I’m privileged to get to spend time with them each week. I learn so much from them. They “wow” us even when we least expect it.

 

Stacey

 

"Healed"

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 talks about what God has done for us through Jesus.  Children's Ministry at Community is excited about this summer and will focus on these scriptures.  Our theme will be "Healed" and we will carryout this theme for the whole summer.  We will concentrate on how the gospel can heal us and what our service responsibilities are.  It should be an exciting summer.  Here are a few dates that may help you prepare.

June 1st - 4th - Kids Camp for kids finishing 3rd - 6th grade - sign ups are limited for info email Matt

June 16th OneDay Camp from 9am - 3pm for kids Finishing K-2nd grades (sign up now with Julie...$20)

July 21st - 23rd - Champ Camp for kids 3 years - entering 6th grade - 6:00 - 8:00 PM - Free

August 14th 7 - 9pm Back to School Community Night at Alma Water Park

August 12, 13, and 16th C-456 Mission Project/Back to School Giveaway

Mark these dates...summer is almost here...

Transformed Children Transforming Their World

Good Day, Matt

This 'n That

Good Morning!

I hope you had a great weekend and that you were able to attend the night of worship last night - let me just say -  amazing! It made me cry in a "good" way and I always love that. Know what I mean?

O.K., in C-123 we have been learning about worship.  We are on tour with a worship band and each week we are learning another way we can worship God.  Next week we learn that we can worship with our offerings.  Because of that focus, we are going to give the kids an opportunity to give an offering to God each week for the rest of this unit.  This is optional and if your child would like to participate I encourage you to have your kiddo work for the money.  I think this will make it more meaningful and be a better learning experience.  Just a thought!

Also, summer is on its way and it is time to sign up for our One Day Camp.  One Day Camp will be for 1-3 grades and will be on June 16th from 9-3. We will have a slime theme (can't beat that can you!?) and will spend the day doing all sorts of crazy, fun activities and learning at the same time.  The cost will be $20 a child and will cover the expenses for the day. I'm excited and can't wait (seriously) - it's going to be great and I will be passing along more information to the kids as we get closer to June.

If you would like to volunteer during the One Day Camp, let me know - the more leaders there are, the more fun we'll have! Have a great week and I'll see you Sunday!

Julie

Boy Scout Information Meeting This Sunday

A reminder that Boy Scout Troop 7 will have an information meeting this Sunday after church in The Venue.  If you have a child that is interested this would be a great time to check them out.  Boy Scout troop 7 meets every Monday evening on the Fort Smith campus.