Children's ministry right on the mark

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February 2007

Children's ministry right on the mark

With willingness, enthusiasm and faithful prayer, we can grow kids for Christ, according to Stephen Carnaby.

On 10 December last year the Markies (St Mark's Bellerive Sunday kids' program) end of year prizegiving took place. It was a great morning, with 30 kids (ages 1-14) receiving gifts.

The parish was able to celebrate the growth in Markies from 3-4 kids at the beginning of 2006 to the pleasing 'problem' of how to cope with 20-25 kids of different ages together in a group each week.

So how did this growth take place? There was no magic silver bullet, but a number of different things happened to build steady growth and change.

First and foremost, the parish and its leadership committed to children's being a vital part of our church and Sunday morning worship. This was not just in words, but a welcoming, enthusiastic and tolerant attitude on behalf of the whole congregation, and a willingness to make the necessary sacrifices and changes.

A great kids' program was set up, with some wonderful creative and enthusiastic leaders. Children began bringing their parents to church! The program included occasional special focuses such as a Narnia series for 6 weeks, which brought some new faces.

The parish changed the style of its 10am service (whilst retaining two other traditional services).

10am now includes a once/month 'all-age service', very kid-friendly, and involving kids in everything from music to communion. The other 10am services gradually changed from traditional to a more contemporary family-friendly style. Numbers of families attending grew significantly from this point onwards.

The church used its past and present baptism contacts, community networks and friendships to host special events - such as an Easter Sunday FunDay, a Teddy Bear's Picnic and Parenting Workshops. These all grew our profile in the community as a church open to 21st century families.

Word of mouth (the way the good news generally spreads) brought others. And we prayed - including many faithful parishioners who have prayed for years to see this happen.

At Bellerive, we have only just begun to touch the kids and families in our community. We know that God needs many churches across Tasmania to reach out to kids, and we pray that this will continue to sprout young followers of Christ across our parishes.

Stephen Carnaby is in charge of St Mark's, Bellerive.

	The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search
	a healthy church...transformingLIFE
	Home About Contact us News Issues Parishes Prayer Calendar Youth Resources

				February 2007

		Children's ministry right on the mark With willingness, enthusiasm and faithful prayer, we can grow kids for Christ, according to Stephen Carnaby. On 10 December last year the Markies (St Mark's Bellerive Sunday kids' program) end of year prizegiving took place. It was a great morning, with 30 kids (ages 1-14) receiving gifts. The parish was able to celebrate the growth in Markies from 3-4 kids at the beginning of 2006 to the pleasing 'problem' of how to cope with 20-25 kids of different ages together in a group each week. So how did this growth take place? There was no magic silver bullet, but a number of different things happened to build steady growth and change. First and foremost, the parish and its leadership committed to children's being a vital part of our church and Sunday morning worship. This was not just in words, but a welcoming, enthusiastic and tolerant attitude on behalf of the whole congregation, and a willingness to make the necessary sacrifices and changes. A great kids' program was set up, with some wonderful creative and enthusiastic leaders. Children began bringing their parents to church! The program included occasional special focuses such as a Narnia series for 6 weeks, which brought some new faces. The parish changed the style of its 10am service (whilst retaining two other traditional services). 10am now includes a once/month 'all-age service', very kid-friendly, and involving kids in everything from music to communion. The other 10am services gradually changed from traditional to a more contemporary family-friendly style. Numbers of families attending grew significantly from this point onwards. The church used its past and present baptism contacts, community networks and friendships to host special events - such as an Easter Sunday FunDay, a Teddy Bear's Picnic and Parenting Workshops. These all grew our profile in the community as a church open to 21st century families. Word of mouth (the way the good news generally spreads) brought others. And we prayed - including many faithful parishioners who have prayed for years to see this happen. At Bellerive, we have only just begun to touch the kids and families in our community. We know that God needs many churches across Tasmania to reach out to kids, and we pray that this will continue to sprout young followers of Christ across our parishes. Stephen Carnaby is in charge of St Mark's, Bellerive.