Amp Yourself!
I just read a great article on discipling children’s and youth workers that got me thinking about what we are doing to help our volunteers succeed. I have tasked Danelle Rush our NexGen Specialist and Jake Randolph our Student Ministry Coordinator with the important task of developing leaders, but I am not sure that I have sufficiently challenged our volunteers to invest in developing themselves. So here it is.
Amp yourself!
- Spend some time each week reading some scripture and discussing what it means in your life with someone else.
- Plug yourself into some children’s ministry blogs to develop your understanding of current children’s ministry trends.
- Take the Spiritual Disciplines Class with Richard Manlove on Sunday mornings to go deeper in your relationship and understanding of God.
- Ask Danelle or Jake about a 1 or 2 books that you could read to become a better teacher or communicator.
- Speaking to Teenagers by Doug Fields
- 9 Things a Leader Must Do by Henry Cloud
- Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries
- Talkers, Walkers, and Doers: Unlocking Your Child’s Unique Learning Style by Cheri Fuller
Reconnect with our Orange Vision
5 Reasons why we Think Orange at Harrah Church – Taken from the Reggie Joiner at the Orange One Day in Dallas
- STRATEGY | It gets our leaders aligned and on the same page.
- MESSAGE | It brings a clear path and map for unforgettable environments for our kids to encounter core spiritual truths in a life-transforming way as they grow up in Harrah Church. Presentation, not just information leads to transformation.
- COMMUNITY | Small groups the greatest gift that we can give to our kids and parents. One of the greatest things we can give our families is another leader in the life of your children who speak life-changing truth in the lives of our children. We stive to put consistent leaders in their life so that they can connect in a deep and meaningful way.
- INFLUENCE | We believe that students have a responsibility to change the world around them. Our students need to understand how TO BE the church. We want to give them something significant to do. At Harrah Church service has a greater role in discipleship.
- FAMILY | The family has 3,000 hours a year in the life of a student, but the church only has 40 hours. Both the church and the family have responsibilities to teach children about God.
We think that our potential to influence the family is linked to what we think about the family. We know that the family and church working together has a greater potential to change our children than if we were working alone. Some people are influenced by the church but everyone is influenced by family. Somewhere along the way everyone developed a picture of what you think family should look like. According the the last US Census taken – 23.5% of families have parents who live with their biological children. If you hold to tightly to an idea picture you set yourself up to become disillusioned. We realize that all kinds of families attend Harrah Church and live in our community and we want to help all families live in the love of the Father above. None of our stories are the same, but God can use all of our families to change our world. There is no perfect picture of families in the Bible. God doesn’t use perfect pictures, He uses broken people.
We desire to help broken people and families tell a story of restoration. God desires to work through every family to demonstrate his story of redemption and restoration.
How are you connecting with our Orange Vision for the church and family? Are you asking your kids what they are learning in church? Are you asking the KidMin and StuMin leaders for resources to reinforce our lessons in the home? Have you looked into the CueBOX? Are you regularly volunteering? Have you sought out a person to be a consistent voice in their life of your student?
Resources:
- Think Orange by Reggie Joiner
- Parenting Beyond Your Capacity
- Shift: What it Takes to Reach Families Today
- The Slow Fade: Why You Matter in the Story of Twentysomethings
Orange Parents
I ran across a resource for parents who want to know more about our Orange Strategy at Harrah Church. It is http://www.orangeparents.org/ and you will find a blog from the Think Orange pioneers Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof. Here is an excerpt from the About Us page:
Orange is what you get when you combine two primary colors—red and yellow. If you paint only with red, you will get what only red can do. If you paint only with yellow, you will get what only yellow can do. But when you paint with red and yellow, you’ll get new possibilities, fresh solutions, vibrant outcomes.
We use the color orange to symbolize what it means to parent beyond your capacity. Orange parents understand that by tapping into a wider community, they have the potential to make a greater impact in the lives of their children.
I really hope you will jump over and check out the Orange Parents website and blog and that it will become a resource for you as a parent.
read moreOrange Tour Road Trip
One of my favorite conferences experiences from the 2010 was the opportunity to take a large team to the Orange Tour stop in Dallas. This was an opportunity to sit under the teaching from the leaders of the Think Orange movement. Reggie Joiner, Sue Miller, Chuck Bomar and several others walked us through the Essentials of Orange and in our breakout sessions we learned how other churches are implementing the Orange Strategy within their churches. Our team had a great time together, we learned a lot, and a dinner on the way home I could sense how deep the teachings that they heard that day had dug in.
In 2011 the Dallas Orange Tour stop will be on January 20th and I want to take a bigger group. This is an incredible opportunity for you to hear from the leaders of our movement, to network with other Orange Leaders, Small Group Leaders, Story Tellers, Volunteers, and to connect with other volunteers from Harrah Church. It is open to anyone working with students from birth through graduation or anyone considering joining the team. The conference cost for Harrah Church people will be $35, which is a discounted rate. Last year we went down after Wednesday night service and stayed in a hotel close to the host site. We will do the same this year and have details on the lodging costs in the coming weeks.
Last year this event SOLD OUT twice and we will need to get tickets early. Contact Jeremy Davidson or Danelle Rush to register for the Dallas Orange Tour and join us for the road trip.
read moreVolunteer Recognition for October
OCTOBER VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION – THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE
HarrahKids Volunteer Appreciation Team would like to recognize 2 volunteers for their dedication and service to “Developing Kids in Christ”.
JaLene Alato
JaLene Alato volunteers as a Children’s Small Group Leader every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. She always sings with the children “This Little Light of Mine, I’m going to let it Shine”, which was the inspiration for volunteer recognition. By letting her “Light Shine” onto the children she has begun an important foundation in these children’s lives. When she is asked “Why do you do, what you do for HarrahKids?”
JaLene’s answer – “I love God and want to serve him and I love kids. Knee hugs make any day better!”
Janice Manlove
Janice Manlove volunteers on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights to teach the elementary children’s Bible Story and also is a Children’s Small Group Leader. She lets her “Light Shine” by always smiling and in her creativity to “Develop Children in Christ”. When she is asked “Why do you do, what you do for HarrahKids?”
Janice’s answer – “I love the Lord and I feel a calling to work with kids. I want to make a difference.”
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