Throughout the week, they will discover how they were:

• Created perfectly with their character, mind, and all inward attributes…Seeing themselves through God’s eyes.
• Created perfectly with their physical appearance…God knitted them together perfectly in their mother’s womb.
• Created perfectly with their gifts, talents and abilities…God’s talents and gifts are not always outward..some are inward.  God gives everyone gifts, talents and abilities to do great things for His kingdom.

God doesn’t make junk & doesn’t make mistakes.  He created them perfectly and everyone else too!  Just because someone isn’t like them doesn’t mean they are not perfectly made according to God’s great plan.

Visit KIDS CAMP PAGE for details.

May 2nd – May 30th

 5 Wednesdays

ZuCamp is a series for elementary kids based on the theme of  ”God’s Love In Action.”   Your boys and girls will follow along as Johnny Roger and the leaders guide them on an action-packed study about the Church.

Kids discover that the Church isn’t a building, it’s the people inside! They learn that as the church, we show God’s love through our actions. The series prepares kids to look for the needs around them, encourages them to share generously, and teaches them to pray together to support each other.

I Can Love  is a series that will capture the attention of preschoolers.  Lil’K and Kai explore God’s great Love in this interactive adventure.  Kids will discover that we can love our families, our friends, God’s creation, ourselves, and even our enemies!  That’s right, Love is a gift we give, because God showed us his great love first.

Love is the greatest gift, and we can learn to love like Jesus did!

Learn More about KIDMO

Remember that somewhere, someone needs help… the very help that your kids may be able to provide.  Here are some ideas to help you get started:

• Water a yard
•  Pick weeds out of flower beds
•  Cut grass
•  Rake leaves
•  Pick up doggy doo-doo
•  Walk a dog or two
•  Read to the elderly
•  Sort items for recycling
• Garage Sale
•  Lemonade Stand
•  Make & sell cookies
•  Make & sell popcorn
•  Wash windows
•  Babysitting

HarrahChurch is having the ”Exploring Hope Craft Fair” May 12 from 9:00-1:00 in the Worship Center.  This is another great way to raise money.  Contact Melinda Kloster at 651-0579 for info.

If your family chooses to do a fundraiser, here’s how to give your child the best experience:

Safety first. Since fundraisers involve money and the public, always discuss good safety measures with your children. For example, organize groups of at least two children, and make sure a parent or other adult is present. Caution your child against going into homes, opting instead to remain outside when making a sale. Also have your child collect money in a pocket or zippered pouch that’s kept hidden.

Manners count. Kids can practice people skills when fundraising. Encourage them to make eye contact, speak clearly and remain upbeat even when someone turns them away. Learning to smile and say a polite thank you when rejected is a skill that will reap benefits in life.

Achieving goals takes work. When parents do the work, kids miss out on the pride of achievement.  Join them in the effort, but let them take the lead. Encourage your child to explore creative ways to achieve & focus on the goal.

Visit the KIDS CAMP PAGE to learn more about what your kids can experience this summer.

What are some more ideas you can share in the comment section below?

Invite their friends!

BBQ: 6:30pm-8:00pm
Gym – For the entire family
Shift Girls bring a dessert
Shift Boys bring chips or drinks

LOCK IN: 8:00pm-12:00am
“Journey to the Cross” Lesson & Activities based on Easter, Games, & Fun for all Shift Students.
Parents are encouraged to stay for assistance with the activities and to experience the fun with your child.

Get connected with SHIFT’S FACEBOOK PAGE and visit the web pages for more ABOUT or WHAT’S HAPPENING in SHIFT.

Kids camp is quickly approaching, what are your kids doing this summer?  

At kids camp they will experience:

• Relationships
• Confidence Building
• Compassion
• Teamwork
• Spiritual Growth
• Biblical Knowledge
• Worship
• Self Discipline
• A Whole Lot of FUN!!!

VISIT THE KIDS CAMP PAGE FOR ALL THE DETAILS!!

We feel that the tween years are an important developmental stage in the lives of 5th & 6th graders. It is during these years that their values SHIFT from that of their parents to their own. SHIFT is designed to help student’s values conform to the pattern of Christ and not of this world.

Visit our new website page and facebook page.

About SHIFT    

 What’s Happening In SHIFT      

Facebook

Thank You to all who donated and thank you to all the leaders who helped the kids decorate the cookies.  Everyone had so much fun!

CHARLES EUDU

Meet Charles:  He is active, composed, introverted, good-natured, a leader,influenced by others, friendly, curious, competitive, serious and sensitive.  We are excited about getting to know Charles!!

Visit our Facebook Page to see pictures of the cookie decorating fun.

They talked about the differences of their worlds and showed pictures for the kids to connect in a visible way. Afterwards, they wrote out prayers for Wera, Uganda and posted them on our prayer wall.

Come down the hallway to the NexGen room (where the kids gather for worship) to see what your child is praying for and lift these children’s prayers up.

TEACHING YOUR CHILD HOW TO PRAY:

Perhaps you’ve never prayed with your children. But no matter how old they are, it’s never too late to start. It helps to remember that prayer is simply talking with God.

Here are a few ideas on how to get started:

J.O.Y Prayer, this is a simple acronym that is easy to remember.

J – stands for “Jesus.” Begin the prayer by simply adoring Jesus and God for who they are and what they do.

O – Others – stands for “Others.” Ask your child who they would like to pray for.  Maybe it’s the children in Wera, a friend, somebody at school, or an enemy.

Y – Yourself – stands for “Yourself.”  Ask your child what they need prayer for, struggles, school, an area of their life in which they need God’s help.  Pray for forgiveness for the wrong choices they may have made that day and the desire to make the wise choice.

Sentence Prayer, You can help your children pray aloud by giving them a sentence to complete, such as:

• “Lord, I thank you for …”
• “Lord, forgive me for …”
• “Lord, help my friend …”
• “Lord, help me be more …”
• “Lord, help me to let go of …”
• “Lord, give me the courage to …”
• Lord, one of the fears I need help with is …”

His Great Commission, Jesus commands us as believers to go and tell others of His love and forgiveness. It is exciting to be a part of reaching the world, but how do you get started? Giving your family the ability to see beyond them self & point others to Christ is one of the greatest gifts they will ever receive.

Your family can make a difference.

1.  HarrahKIDS Ministry is adopting a child.  December 11th, your child will decorate cookies in their classrooms.  These cookies will be available after each service for a donation. All donations will go towards supporting a child in Wera.

2.  Encourage your child to bring pennies to bills for offering in their classrooms.  Normally, 1/2 of the offerings are put into the kids mission funds.  During the Month of December, 100% of the offerings received will also go towards supporting a child in Wera & the missions.

3.  Pray together as a family.  The kids in Wera are living in a war daily.  They are                faced with family loses, malnutrition, war crimes, & many other things that we cannot imagine our own children would ever have to experience, just to survive each day.  Pray for the safety of the missionaries going there & that are there now. Pray that the gospel will change lives in Wera.

Jesus came to the world in order to bring the gift of salvation to humanity.  He displayed grace in a big way!  What are we to do with this grace?

Connecting to their world…

Teach your child about missions and cultures.

a. Sponsor a child to support monthly.  Write letters to them & send pictures.

b. Get out a map of the world and ask your children, “If we could go anywhere in the world (including our own town) and tell other children about Jesus, where would you like for us to go?” It really helps them visualize how big the world is and how many  people don’t know Jesus.

c. Show pictures of people in other countries & how they live in other countries

d. Read biographies of missionaries to your children. Watch videos on different countries. Read about martyrs and others who have suffered for believing in Jesus.   A good website that offers these is kidsofcourage.com   Post pictures of  the kids & mission teams on the refrigerator, lay them on the kitchen table or put them on the children’s bathroom mirror so they can be praying for them often.

e. Encourage your child to set aside a portion of their own money.  Put any change you receive from purchases throughout the year in a clear container, like in a clear glass jar.  Give it to a mission event or family mission project.  This is a visible way to teach children the priority of giving.

Model for your children the importance of missions. Being missional needs to start with you. Children will often model what they see.   If your child see you treasuring money, possessions and the American dream, then they will too. However, if children see their parents treasuring Christ & telling others of His love and forgiveness, then hopefully they will too.  Be their visible example.

“And he will answer,

‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

Mathew 25:45 NLT

Meaningful discussion with your child

If you want to have interesting conversations with your kids, ask open-ended questions.

Closed questions require a one or two-word response or even as little as a nod of the head. They can also be the type that are right or wrong answers, making kids feel as if they’re being quizzed.

Closed questions:

• What’s your favorite color?
• Is that your toy?
• Are you hungry?

Open-Ended Questions invite kids to imagine, elaborate, and tell stories. You’ll get more information and get to know your child better when you ask open-ended questions. They let children think and solve problems.

Open-ended questions:

• What do you think will happen now?
• If you were the cook, what would you fix us for dinner?
• If you were the mayor of our city, what would you do first?

Open-Ended questions allow children to express whatever they’re thinking. They don’t demand a response, but leave space for the child to answer thoughtfully. It encourages creative thinking, problem solving and imagination. Plus, when you take the time to listen to a longer answer, you are sending a strong non-verbal message that you value your child and his thoughts and ideas.

Asking open-ended questions is a habit you can form with a few tricks. You can either print up a list of questions to use as a cheat sheet, or just experiment.

Here are some common ways to start an open-ended question:

• What would happen if…
• wonder…
• What do you think about…
• In what way…
• Tell me about…
• What would you do…
• How can we…
• How did you…

Not only will this technique help you develope a great relationship with your kids, but it’s also teaching them how to communicate effectively with others.

By mastering open-ended questions you bond and teach at the same time.

Bonus: Open-ended questions encourage children to recall what they’ve done and practice talking about it. This encourages their language development and may even get them ready for those SAT essays.

Getting Accurate Information:

Sometimes as parents we assume something’s going on that may not be. We need to be careful not to project our assumptions onto the situation with closed questions.  Early childhood development expert Maren Schmidt states:

“We need to choose our words carefully and frame our questions even more so. Inadvertently we can plant ideas with our questions, and redirect or distort our children’s attention and perception.

Sometimes the situation seems cut and dried. I know I feel like sometimes I just need that yes or no answer. But when I really look at it, sometimes I’m looking to pin something on my kids.

Look what happens when we use Maren’s method of transforming closed questions to open-ended ones:

Closed: Did you hit your brother?

Open: Why is your brother crying? Tell me what happened.

Closed: Did you make this mess?

Open: What can you tell me about this spilled paint?

Closed: Did you take a bath?

Open: When were you planning on taking a bath?

This skill is crucial to all of us. Do your kids a favor and model it for them while they’re young.

If your kids are no longer young, it is never to late to start engaging in meaningful discussions with your child.

Sunday Evenings at 6:30pm in the NexGen room, ends approximately November 20th.