Operation Christmas Child
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers; aerosol cans. - 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.
Our Best New Tools in Kids Ministry
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.
read moreRespect
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.
read morePeace
This month we have teaching our kids the virtue of Peace. I know that by the end of the summer and in all of this heat that tempers have probably starting flaring up for the kids and parents. (Insert an amen here) Now that the kids are going back to school and will begin interacting with other kids and face all kinds of trials it is important for them to know how to keep the peace with their friends, their family, and with their enemies. I would love to hear stories about how your students are using this month’s virtue and Bible stories and applying them to the situations that they are encountering at church.
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?
read moreWhat in the World are You Doing?
Over the summer our children were asked the question, “What in the world are you doing?” It is now time to turn the tables. Parents. What in the world are you doing? How are you making your home the primary place where your kids learn about God?
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.
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