Gems Website launch

Gems has launched a new website. You can find it at www.gems.crca.org.au
Here's a reminder of what Gems is about.
G.E.M.S. is a Christian organisation, run by volunteers, with a programme that is created especially for girls from ages 9-15, with some groups also including a programme called Busy Bees for girls ages 6-8.
The name G.E.M.S. stands for Girls Everywhere Meeting the Saviour. This name represents both the mission and vision of G.E.M.S. Girls’ Clubs. The mission of G.E.M.S. is to help bring girls into a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. The vision of G.E.M.S. is to see girls actively and enthusiastically expressing love for God and others by equipping and encouraging them to live out their faith.
At G.E.M.S. the girls learn about God, complete badge work, create crafts, play games, sing songs, make new friends and go on camps and outings. If you would like to join a G.E.M.S. group contact us and we would be happy to answer your questions.

Help! We have a small Sunday School.

The other day I was talking to a Sunday School leader who shared the challenge of finding suitable material for a smaller group of kids. Many find themselves in this situation. Kid Connection is material specifically designed for smaller groups. It is available from the Resource Centre. Here are some of the features. (If you are using other material you could recommend please share what you have found.)

Kid Connection features a large group/small group format that is perfect for multi-age settings. Each session begins with worship time and a Bible story presentation for the whole group. Then kids gather in small groups (K-3 and 4-6) to connect with their leaders and dive deeper into the lesson.

What else is special about Kid Connection?

Connects church and home through a family magazine that kids love and parents can really use!

Connects kids to God with lessons that are thoroughly biblical and Reformed in their integration of head, heart, and hands.

Connects church to community through lessons that work in outreach ministries.

Connects with leaders through session plans that are fun to teach and easy to prepare.

Connects with kids through age-appropriate lessons that fit multiple intelligences.

Makes preparation a snap with the program CD.

Includes tips to involve pre-teens and a session plan for one-to-one mentoring.

Thematic four-lesson units benefit kids who can’t come every week, or leaders who want to team-teach.

And…it’s affordable!

Children in Worship.

When it comes to integrating children in worship, what is your approach? Read the following and see where you fit.

"Many congregations will claim to have a concern for the inclusion of children in worship. What this precisely means however, will vary greatly. For some congregations, this merely represent a wish for children to be bodily present in corporate worship, with no particular desire to modify practices of worship in any way to reflect the presence of children. Children are there to learn what it means to worship like adults, and to grow into "appropriate" forms of behaviour. We might call this a locative view of children in worship.

For other congregations, including children in worship means additions to the forms and environment of worship to make it more palatable to children. This is commonly done through the use of children's sermons, children's choirs, activity sheets and "busy bags" for children. However there is no essential change to the basic practices of worship. We might call this a supplemental view of children in worship.

There are far fewer congregations who have gone beyond this point to embrace children as equal participants in the whole of worship, experimenting with the entirety of worship and its settings to fully involve children as members of an intergenerational worshipping community. We might call this an integrative view of children in worship.

Beyond these congregations there is of course another grouping: those congregations which have effectively taken the view that corporate worship is not for children, excluding children from involvement through parallel programming. In these congregations, Sunday school takes place at the same time as worship, and there are frequent nurseries for caretaking of the youngest of children during worship services. Children may be present for sections of the service, but then are enjoined to depart so that the adults can get on with the "real" business of worship... the basic message given is that "real" worship is the province of adults." (By Greg Priebbenow, Toward an Integrative View of Children in Worship.)

Where are the children?
What approach does your church take? We too believe that children are integral as members of the church yet, what does this really mean for the practice of our Sunday services? What might an integrative approach look like? How would it be different to other approaches? Is it worth considering?

Godly play

Godly play is fast growing approach to teaching children that has a lot going for it, even though it has some controversial elements. In a nut shell, "Godly play is a Montessori method of telling Bible stories, developed by Jerome Berryman that uses parables, sacred stories and liturgical lessons about religious traditions using simple material." (from the Godly play website http://godlyplay.org.au)

At the very heart of godly play is the idea of engaging children to encounter God in play. Children are naturally playful and they interact with their world through play and imagination. A playful environment is a wonderful, relaxed setting in which to engage children. Therefore I warm to the typical Godly play session described in the following scenario;

... a teacher shares a Bible story using three dimensional objects and multiple senses. Afterwards children are invited to express things they wonder about the story. Then they're allowed to play with and manipulate the objects. It's a calm setting meant to be more like worship than school. For John 10:1 - 18, about Jesus being the good shepherd, Godly play might include cotton balls and craft sticks. Children can build a fence and gate. The teacher can read the passage while acting it out with the cotton balls. The children can express their thoughts and questions about Jesus being the good shepherd. finally children can quietly play with the props as they talk to God about what they've learned."

In this setting the application of the lesson is not presumed, rather it is arrived at through engaging the child in the story (often through imagination) and reflective questions such as, "I wonder how the shepherd felt when he lost his sheep?" The child can reflect on the story and how it relates to them.
There are some good reasons why applying the story in this way is good thing. It focuses on application that is relevant for the child, and not merely that which the teacher finds relevant. Also it broadens the application away from the typical 'moral' to the story. Finally in the relaxed setting it opens a natural conversation for exploring what the story means.

Controversial is the presumption among the advocates of Godly play that, "... children have an innate sense of God's presence... Godly play lets children discover and experience God for themselves... meeting God long with children rather than teaching them what we as adults think they ought to know." In Godly play, "...the teacher in the role of spiritual supporter or guide who fully accepts that each child has his or her own relationship with God already."
We believe that, by nature, children do not have an innate sense of God's presence; rather, we are born without it. Also we may prefer an approach to children that is more directional and takes into account the very real presence of sin and ignorance in a child .
Nevertheless, for children, the context of reflective play is a fitting environment in which to explore ideas, questions and practices of faith where true direction and information can also be given. It is also the best environment for those who already do have a real sense of God given by the Holy Spirit. In a playful, reflective setting, the teacher expands on the lesson through play, he or she looks for faith and responds to a child's sincere relationship to God when they find it.

Basic Safety

The following basics are taken from an article in Ministry To Children.com
How well do you fare in these 7 basic areas? What might you need to improve? Do you have any good resources or ideas to share about how to do these well?

Safety is non-negotiable in children’s ministry. You can have the very best curriculum, most creative activities, and dynamic decor, but if you have not made safety a priority, you could be headed for potential disaster. We can never fully protect our ministries or our kids from all impending harm, but it is our responsibility to be proactive when it comes to safety. The following list is good place to start.

1. Background checks - You need to know who the people are in your classrooms. Background checks require paperwork and can involve expense. However, they are your first line of defense in protecting your kids. Not only do background checks reveal what might be hidden in someone’s past, they also deter potential predators. Requiring all volunteers to fill out paperwork communicates that your ministry has high standards. There are numerous resources that provide criminal checks for ministries. You can also check with your state’s Department of Human Resources or similar agency for free or inexpensive options..

2. Two adults in every room – Background checks make up your first line of defense, but they can’t be the end. Background checks only keep out people who have been caught before. You must have precautions that continue to protect children. A key to this is having a very firm rule that no adult should ever be alone with children. Ever. No exceptions. Not only does this protect kids from being in unsafe situations, it also protects volunteers. If a child did make a false accusation against a volunteer and that volunteer was alone in the room, there would be no one to defend him/her.

3. Windows/open doors – A third method of protecting kids in the classroom environment is to make sure that others can see into the classroom at all times. Your doors should have windows in them. If they don’t, consider leaving the doors open and utilize baby gates for the little ones. Your volunteers need the accountability of knowing anyone can see in at any time.

4. Allergy Awareness – Allergies are serious business, in fact they can be a matter of life or death. First, eliminate items from your environment that are the highest risk of allergens. Completely outlaw nuts and peanut butter. We had a situation where a child had an extreme allergic reaction after touching a tiny bit of peanut butter residue on a soap dispenser! Communicate with parents your need for allergy information and clearly communicate these concerns to teachers.

5. Emergency Preparedness Plans – Train volunteers well on what to do in case of an emergency. Post fire evacuation and severe weather evacuation plans in each room. Some churches place emergency bags in each room that teachers can access that contain emergency supplies. Also, in this day and time you should have a plan of what to do if a dangerous person or “intruder” entered your church. None of these things are fun to think about, and hopefully none of these plans will ever be used.

6. Baby-proof - Baby-proofing is important at every age group. Consistently walk through your classrooms checking for electrical outlet covers, sharp corners, unsecured cabinets, and choking hazards. Some churches create a checklist and have volunteers check for unsafe conditions every week.

7. Check-in/Check-out – No matter the size of your ministry, you need a secure way of making sure that the right kids go home with the right parents. It is easy when you are in a small church or when you have been around for awhile to be lax in this part of security because you feel like you know all of the parents. However, new families don’t know you. New volunteers might not know all of the parents. A secure system that provides security for children and parents is never overkill.