Amp yourself!

• Spend some time each week reading some scripture and discussing what it means in your life with someone else.
  • http://www.youversion.com/
  • http://www.esvonline.org
• Plug yourself into some children’s ministry blogs to develop your understanding of current children’s ministry trends.
  • http://www.childrensministry.com/
  • http://www.childrensministryonline.com/
  • http://www.dougfields.com/
• 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

• 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 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.

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.

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.”

Dear Harrah Kids’ Parents,

We are doing a mission project in our Wednesday Night Kids’ Class. We want to participate in Operation Christmas Child sponsored by Samaritans Purse. Shoe boxes will be packed and sent to children in a third world country. These children may have never received a gift before and will be so excited to receive something from America. Here is how we need your help.

1. SHOE BOXES We need empty shoe boxes (standard size, please) or a small plastic container. The kids will wrap the boxes on a Wednesday night. Most importantly, pray for the child who will receive your gift.
2. BOY OR GIRL? Our gifts will be for a boy or a girl (girls can bring girl gifts and boys, boy gifts) The gift child’s age category will be 5-9.
3. BRING A GIFT Each Wednesday night, have your child bring a gift. Try to follow this schedule, but any gift will be accepted at any time. Remember, gifts must fit in a shoe box.
   SEPTEMBER 29 BRING TOYS
   small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky®, etc.
   OCTOBER 6 BRING SCHOOL SUPPLIES
   pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.
   OCTOBER 13 BRING HYGIENE ITEMS
   toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc.
   OCTOBER 20 BRING OTHER
   Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries)
   OCTOBER 27 ALL ITEMS DUE and BRING A PERSONAL NOTE
   In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child may write back.)
   DO NOT INCLUDE:
   Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers; aerosol cans.
4. INCLUDE YOUR DONATION If possible, please donate $7 or more for the shoe box your child prepares to help cover shipping and other project costs. Thanks for your help. Call Janice Manlove at 940-642-8726 if you have any questions.

Have you been looking for tools to help make your spiritual-parenting responsibilities easier? Over the past year we have working hard to provide families the tools they need to help develop their children in Christ. We strongly believe that when parents get to heaven that God isn’t going to ask them if they took their kids to church, He is going to ask them what THEY taught their children about God. Deuteronomy 6 lays out a plan for parents on how to teach their children about God. We speak about this plan and focus our efforts not on making the church the primary place of spiritual instruction for children, but on providing tools for parents and using our time with your kids to reinforce what we pray you are teaching them at home.

There are two new tools that I am really excited about providing parents with. The first is http://studio252.tv/ and is a place for parents and kids to go to develop in Christ. The site will be packed with tools, games, and videos to help you.

The second tool is called CueBOX and it is a subscription that will provide families with lessons to be used at home to reinforce what the kids are learning at church. This little box is an amazing tool and I really believe that if our parents will use it we will see massive changes in our kids and our church. The subscription is $9-10 per month and will be one of the greatest investment you will make in your kids each month.

Cue Box Preview Video from McBIC on Vimeo.

This month our children’s programs are focusing on the virtue of respect. Respect is showing others they are important by what you say and do. The memory verse comes from 1 Peter 2:17, “Show proper respect to everyone.” Ask your kids some questions about respect this month.

• Can you name 3 respectful actions?
• Can you name 3 disrespectful actions?
• Why do you think God cares whether we show others respect?

Ask your students each Sunday afternoon where their Fridge Card and God Time Card is and use them to reinforce the lesson at home.

Peace is proving that you care more about others than winning an argument.

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:19 NIV

Who’s the most peaceful person you know?

Do you know anyone good at living in peace with others?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Our goal at Harrah Church is to help parents live out this commandment. The material we choose for our children and students was chosen with this in mind. There are components to each curriculum designed to help parents reinforce the lesson at home. We believe that the best way to change a child is by changing the home. The average kid spends 40 hours a year with the church and more than 3,000 hours with their parents.

Here are a few of the resources we use to help parents at home:
-Cue Box | http://www.studio252.tv/
-Refrigerator Cards | We pass these out each week to our Grade School kids
-God Time Cards | We pass these out each week to our Grade School kids to use for their devotionals at home
-Family Times | http://familytimes.org/
Small Talk Sheets | Each month we pass out a copy to our preschool parents
Home XP | A weekly resource for parents of JH/HS students that we post on the Renovate Students website http://renovatestudents.org

I hope that you will use these resources to develop your kids in Christ and to create a a better home, a better church, and a better community.