Preschool Parenting Class
We had our first Preschool Parenting Class about 4 weeks ago and it was a great time. The class was called Preschool Parenting: Creating a Rhythm. We had an intimate group of 8 parents attend. Some have one preschooler and some had 3 preschoolers at the house right now. The material for the class came from the ReThink group DVD resource of the same name that was given to the church by Gina McClain.
During the class we went through how to use the Small Talk resource that we provide to parents each week and explored what it would look like to use the stories during the month. We use props from bath time to tell the story of Jonah and the Whale, David and Goliath, and a few others. The parents really got a kick out of playing with the toys and learning how to take their parenting skills to the next level. It was great to get feedback from those in attendance about how the class helped them break through their fears of spiritual leadership as they realized how fun and easy it was to educate their children about the Bible and how much God loves them.
We are hoping to offer this class twice a year to our Preschool Parents. The resource provides two ways to offer the class. One is for a large group and the other is for an intimate setting. The intimate setting really worked out well for us, but we hope to one day approach the large group presentation because it seems like a lot of for to put on.
If you are reading this and hope to participate in our next event please feel free to contact Jeremy Davidson at HARRAHkids at Jeremy@HarrahChurch.com.
read moreOrange Week: Reactivate the Family
A huge part of the HARRAHkids and Orange Strategy is to reactivate the role of the parents in the spiritual development of children. Pastor Jimmy Holbrook’s book Shelter is a part of that effort. In the book Jimmy discusses how to build a shelter where you can raise little warriors and princesses who will one day leave the home and enter the world on their own. We believe that it is the parents primary job to educate children in following Christ and that we as the church are here first to support parents with resources, guidance and programming.
We provide parents with take home materials that they can use at home to reinforce the lessons that their children are learning in our children’s programming. FamilyTimes.org is a resource that we direct parents to which provides grade school parents with some incredible tools to use in the home. Small Talk is a resource we provide for parents of Preschoolers each month with activities that they can do during the month to reinforce our lessons and to keep them up with the Bible stories we are studying.
The church has about 50 hours each year to work with a child. A parent has more than 3,000 hours to work with their children. When the church and the family begin to work together we multiply our impact in the life of the child.
Another way we are working to reactivate the family is by providing Family oriented ministry events and activities so that parents can serve beside their children. I think that one of the best things we can do for children is allow them see their parents experience and worship God. We are working on breaking down the programming walls that prohibit children from seeing other generations worship and serve God. By doing this we are seeing the family develop together in Christ.
read moreOrange Week: Integrate Strategy
This week we will be unpacking some of the Orange Strategy that we use in our family ministry. It is our belief that by integrating the same core values and operating principles throughout HarrahChurch our ministries will be stronger and much easier to develop and administrate.
Here are the 5 principles that we use to guide our ministries:
1. Monday – Integrate Strategy
2. Tuesday – Refine the message
3. Wednesday – Reactivate the family
4. Thursday – Elevate Community
5. Friday – Leverage Influence
Tonight we will take at look at how we are integrating our strategy.
Our strategy integration began with HarrahChurch’s decision to hire a Associate Pastor of Family Ministry to oversee the ministry to those from birth-high school graduation. This is our way of doing intentional ministry instead of conventional ministry. Many churches have separate Children’s and Student departments that operate separately of each other. Many times these ministries wind up becoming silos that compete against each other for resources and volunteers. Jeremy is seeking to tightly integrate our Family ministries by using curriculum that looks at a child as an 18 year learning process and not as a quarter publication.
Our current FamilyTimes Sermon Series is a way we are integrating our Sunday morning teachings into our strategy to create a holistic teaching and learning environment. Pastor Jimmy and Jeremy consider how the Sunday sermon can support the teachings that are happening with our preschool, children, and student ministries.
We have challenged our Renovate Student Leadership Team to serve with our Children’s ministry. By serving in our Children’s programs our MS and HS students will learn our strategy and be better equipped to help lead their younger brothers and sisters at home.
Our First Sunday Serve is a way we are integrating our mission to the poor into a Family experience. Families of all sizes are encouraged to serve together and forge new bonds through the act of serving together. We believe that these experiences help provide teaching moments for parents and the opportunity for parents to model what the church should be to their children.
We are constantly thinking about how we can better integrate our strategy through the church. We hope to begin allowing our adult small groups the opportunity to join the strategy soon.
read moreChildren’s Curriculum: 252 Basics
252Basics is a unique approach to curriculum for churches and Christian schools. It is built around three Basic Truths every child should embrace according to what Jesus modeled in Luke 2:52. 1) I need to make the wise choice. 2) I can trust God no matter what. 3) I should treat others the way I want to be treated.
252 Promo Video from TCC on Vimeo.
read morePreschool Curriculum: My First Look
First Look is a unique approach to curriculum for churches, designed to give preschool children a first impression of their loving heavenly Father. In the coming months HARRAHCHURCH will begin implementing this material in our preschool teaching environments to leverage the combination of church and family teaching teams.
First Look Promo from TCC on Vimeo.
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