Summer Outreach

Today is the fourth and final week of my Summer Event series here at #KidsMin Calling.

Week 1 was all about Splash night.
Week 2 was all about the Summer Olympics.
Week 3 was all about VBS.
Week 4 is going to be all about Outreach.

I am so blessed to serve at a church that understands and emphasizes the importance of evangelism and outreach.  My heartbeat is to reach out to every child that I can and share with them the love of Christ.  (Visit here to learn more about my calling to #KidsMin.)  I am a firm believer in missions.  Throughout my life I have been on several missions trips and even completed a 3 month long internship to Africa and Asia as part of my Senior year at College.  When I came back home from that trip my goal was to look at everything around me as missions.  There are far too many times that we get too caught up in the belief that for something to be considered missions it must happen somewhere far away with people who don't speak our language.  While that is certainly important we cannot as Christians ever forget that we can serve in missions every day.

Right now I spend the majority of my time in a small town in the South and I have realized that my missions field is my own backyard.  While there are lots of definitions for missions I like to make things simple... To me, missions simply means service.  Last year I attended the Catalyst conference in the ATL with the staff from my church.  During the conference we heard a speaker who spoke specifically about #KidsMin.  I remember being pleasantly surprised when he started speaking because #KidsMin is absolutely vital yet so quickly forgotten or downplayed.  I wish I could give you the exact quote but I didn't think to write it down at the time.  The speaker said that it was our responsibility to get out from the 4 walls of our church and go to save the kids in our neighborhood, and that if we didn't go out and save them who would.  I have to tell you, that pierced my heart like it hadn't been pierced in  a while.

That night as I was reflecting over everything I had heard that day I knew that the Lord was still speaking to me about this.  Once I get an idea in my head I tend to want to throw myself into it, plant my feet, and make it happen.  However, the Lord was very clear.  He wanted me to wait and pray.  Catalyst happens at the beginning of October.  I waited and prayed all through December and still the words I kept hearing were wait and pray.  It wasn't until I was planning my summer schedule at the beginning of April that I got the green light to make it happen.

I'm so thankful that this summer my #KidsMin got out from behind the 4 walls of our church and made an impact in our community.  For us this looked like grabbing a water hose, sprinklers, a few games, and popsicles and heading into our local community for a night of water fun.  We went out twice during the summer and had a blast both times.  We played simple games, sang easy songs with lyrics that could be quickly memorized, had short devotions and times of prayer, and ate popsicles.  Each time that we left, despite the simplicity of our events we had kids wanting to know when we would be back.

If I could give you one piece of advice with regards to outreach it's this:  Don't get caught up in creating a complicated event.  So many times with kids simple is best.  Kids don't care about how flashy your equipment is, or that you have the latest media, or best music.  Kids care about your heart.  They care that while you are there that you are playing games with them, telling jokes, sharing Christ's love.

Outreach wraps up how we spent our summer in my #KidsMin.

What did you do in your #KidsMin this summer?

For questions about anything from our Summer Event series feel free to e-mail me at kidsmincalling@gmail.com.  I love hearing from Blog readers and from fellow #KidsMin workers!

Sunday Social: All about Fall

It's time for another week of Sunday Social and today we are talking all about fall! Fall is quite possibly my favorite season.   I'll be saying that again at winter, spring, and summer because let's face it I love every season.   When the seasons change I'm reminded constantly of God's goodness and faithfulness.  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."  -Ecclesiastes 3:1 With that, let's get social. 

1. What is your favorite fall activity?

What isn't my favorite fall activity?  I love them all from the simplest crunch of walking through leaves to steaming mugs of hot chocolate in my hands.  I love the pumpkin picking and painting (I don't carve... I'm not into messy) and Friday night football.  I like walking out of my house in the morning to feel crisp air on my face and yet still being able to walk out of the house at night in tights and a cardigan.  Pretty much every fall activity- they are all my favorite.  

2. Do you follow a football team? If so, which one and why?

My blood runs garnet and black!  I'm a Carolina Gamecock and proud of it. 

Why?  It's a Stewart family thing.  

Why is the sky blue?  It just is.  

Here's Sister and I sporting our Gamecock pride yesterday. 

Yes, we know USC lost.  You can't win them all. 

3. What is something fun about fall in your area?

Festivals!  I absolutely love fall festivals!

As a Children's Director I planned our Fall Fest last year and loved every minute of it. 

Check back in October to see what I am planning for this year!

4. What are your favorite fall staple outfits?

Fall fashion is my favorite!  I love getting up on crisp and cool mornings and layering on my tights, boots, cardigans, and scarves.  Throwing on a tunic/dress with skinny jeans and some dark boots puts me in a happy place.  I love a classic fall look that is actually really comfortable too.  

5. What things are you looking forward to most about this coming fall season?

Experiencing sweet holidays with my boy.  

6. What is your favorite fall holiday? Tradition?

Thanksgiving.  It is such a special time in my family and I have so many memories of my precious family during a holiday where we all have had so many things to be thankful for.  The family all gathers around the table to eat a wonderful meal cooked by Mom & Sister.  After the meal we all stay put because we know what's coming.  Everyone from the youngest to the oldest gets to say everything that they are thankful for this year.  With close to 20 people around the table you have moments of laughter, and moments of true thankfulness.  Every year at least 3 people cry as we thank the Lord for his faithfulness to our family again and again.  It's a beautiful picture of life.  

High Five 4 Friday

Happy Friday, Ya'll!

Today, I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for High Five 4 Friday.
I'm also linking up for the first time with Jennie for Friday Favorites.

This has been one of the greatest weeks ever!
I spent all day Monday being completely lazy with my sweet boy.
Because let's face it, we all need a day where we don't have anything to do.
Here's a look at the rest of the things that made my week High Five worthy!

From left to right & top to bottom:

1) Hey, Jack!  It was Crazy Hair night at AWANA this week!  I showed my Duck Commander pride with a Duck Dynasty theme!  I was happy, happy, happy when the night was over.  (For a complete look at Crazy Hair night visit here.)  P.S. For anyone who wants to know when the Duck Dynasty obsession is going to end...  I have no idea!

2) I walked into Hobby Lobby this week and discovered not only the aisles completely devoted to fall, but the Christmas aisles as well.  December is so close I can reach out and grab it.  Oh, Christmas tree.  Oh, Christmas tree.  How lovely are your branches.

3) Sister and I are about to keep our boys in a week and we have been getting ready.  This is the beginning of our games section just for them.  P.S.  Isn't that shopping basket to die for?  Sister found me that basket at a local thrift shop and turned it into my Easter basket this year.

4) I got to spend my Labor Day weekend with some super special family members!  It was one of the best weekends ever!

5) When I was browsing the fall aisles at Hobby Lobby I found these delightful gems for mine and Sister's walkway.  Their going to be a beautiful placeholder until it's time to put out the official fall decor.

That's what made my week so lovely!
What would you give a High Five to this week?

Wednesday Rewind-On Thursday: Crazy Hair Night

One of my favorite theme nights of the year has come and gone faster than I can blink.

Crazy Hair night is by far one of the most popular theme nights that we do in my #KidsMin.  The ideas that my kids and their parents come up with are absolutely hysterical and amazing!  Beyond that, I have a fabulous time coming up with creative themes for my own Crazy Hair and the little one's just love to see Miss Mary looking wacky, wild & crazy

Crazy Hair night is a great night to have a little fun, but there are also some great teaching moments.  I like to use this night as a night to remind everyone how much God loves all of us no matter what we look like.  We never know what our little one's hear throughout the week, and it is so important to take advantage of every opportunity to remind them that they are treasured and loved.  It doesn't matter what they look like, it doesn't matter how athletic or sporty they are, it doesn't matter how well they do in school because God treasures all of them.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."  -Psalm 139:14

This year, I decided to take my own theme from a popular television show.
Here's a hint... Quack!  Quack!

That's right, Jack!  I chose Duck Dynasty as the theme for my crazy hair.
I have to admit that I was more than a little skeptical about this show but after seeing this interview from the patriarch of the Robertson family, Phil I was completely hooked.  Seeing a family who lives out their faith during prime-time is absolutely amazing.  Yes, they have their quirky and hilarious moments but they end every episode sitting around a table, eating dinner, and talking to Jesus and for me that's a win for the Kingdom.

Prepping for Crazy Hair night can be really simple.  I gather up all my old barettes, bows, and bobby pins and just start hot gluing.  This is what I started with this year.  My sister found all of the butterflies, leaves, roosters, and the duck at our local craft store.

This is how I ended up...

If making crazy hair styles could be a career I think that sister could be a professional because she rocks at this!  

Yes, I realize it looks rough, but check out that rooster!

It had its own nest and everything.  

I think that giant butterflies should be a new fashion statement. 

Duck Commander Pride! 

Hey, Jack!  I was happy, happy, happy with my Duck Dynasty look! 

And that's a fact, Jack! 

Take a look at the final product! 

 And this is what I looked like after I took everything out at the end of the night. 

Let's not even talk about the 20 minutes  1 hour that it took to brush that out. 

That face... It's the face of someone who loves her job and her little one's.  

We love crazy hair night so much that it is our only theme night that happens twice in one year!
And believe it or not, I'm already brainstorming my ideas for the spring.

Do you have a Crazy Hair night/day in your Children's Ministry?  What do you do to make your hair wacky!

For a list of all of my theme nights please visit here.

VBS Recap

V-B-S!

3 little letters that are sure to send any Children's Director into a tail-spin.  This year, I was no exception.

I absolutely loved the VBS that I prepared for our kids this year, but it was a lot of work.
I'm talking a lot of work.

When thinking in how to recap this event for everyone I've decided to share with you my Top 10 tips/tricks for planning your own VBS.  This was the first year that I ever planned a VBS from start to finish and I learned so much.  We had a fabulous VBS averaging 108 kids every night!  Jesus literally blew my socks off.  As I was preparing and praying for VBS my personal goal was to have at least 1 night of 100 kids.  If I could reach 100 kids just one night I knew that I was going to call our VBS a success.  When we had 110 kids on the first night I knew that Jesus was up to something big! 

*Throughout the rest of the post you will see pictures and tips as to how we decorated on a budget to make our VBS pop.  I threw these in just for fun! :) 

In no particular order, here are the 10 things that helped make my VBS:

1) I stayed flexible-  

I used a wonderful curriculum to plan my VBS and it helped me out so much.  However, I was still flexible to things that might or might not work in my particular church, with my particular volunteers, and my particular kids.  The curriculum was not my Bible for the event.  It was merely a map to help guide me in the right direction.  As I was poring over curriculum, making schedules, dividing rotations, etc I allowed myself room to make changes as I saw the need for.
     *Here's a great example:  On the 1st night of our VBS we had 110 kids and I had only prepped for 100 kids for crafts, snacks, etc...  My thoughts- No problem.  Let's grab some of our supplies for Day 2 and use them for Day 1 we can make it up tomorrow.  Did the crafts exactly match up with the lesson for the day? No.  Did the kids notice or care?  No.  They were having a great time regardless.
Being flexible was the key not only in planning VBS but in operating it the week of as well.  

Our snacks area was easily decorated with crepe paper from the ceiling.  

2) I threw a craft prep party-

Crafts can be a simple, easy, and inexpensive rotation to add onto your VBS schedule.  I purchased all of my craft supplies 3 weeks before my VBS was set to begin and hosted a craft prep party.  Two weeks before VBS I invited volunteers to come in during the day and help prep all of the crafts.  Everything that kids needed to complete their crafts was put into a small sandwich bag and was waiting for them every night during VBS.  This made our craft rotation easy and simple.

One of our crafts room decorated with plastic table cloths that only cost $1.00. 

An inexpensive but cute and colorful way to decorate. 

3) I hosted a volunteer training day- 

This was absolutely 100% necessary to have a successful VBS.  This provided an opportunity for myself, as the Director, to cast vision, go over policies, hand out materials, etc.  This also provided a great time for my volunteers to ask questions about their responsibilities.  What was the result?  On the first night of VBS instead of having to answer 75 questions I only had to answer about 10.  Everyone was clear as to what our purpose was and how we were planning on making it happen.

Volunteer training was a great time to make sure that everyone knew our theme, verse, and motto.
I made these posters myself using publisher and my local office supply store to get them printed.  

4) I held all of my VBS inside- 

While I realize that this may not work for everyone due to space and size issues, it worked for us and it was miraculous.  If you've ever been in the south in the middle of July you know that it gets HOT and HUMID.  I'm talking can't breathe, covered in sweat after 5 minutes hot.  This year, I made the decision to host all of my VBS (games included) inside.  Which meant that on the nights that it rained or was simply too hot to go outside we didn't break a sweat.  We stayed cool, comfortable, and stress-free knowing that we could still carry-on as planned.

VBS Set!  I was blessed with an amazing props team! 

5) I had a security system-

Absolutely nothing is more important to me in #KidsMin than making sure that the kids who come into my ministry are safe at all times.  With an average of 108 kids every night we knew that we needed a system in place to make sure that everyone made it home with the right person.  Having a system and a plan for this helped cut down on chaos at registration and dismissal as well as helped us feel confident at the end of the night that we had done everything we could to keep our kids safe.

We put together our lobby with decorations that we found in our attic. 

A great tip for decorating on a budget is to go treasure hunting in your church. 

Look in those dark closets that no one uses anymore and recycle what you can.  

6) I took time to experience the magic-

VBS can be a very stressful event to put on and being in charge can be a lot to handle.  I spent my week running around like a chicken with its head cut off and could have easily been tired, run-down and frustrated by day 3 and still have two more days to go.  How did I avoid this?  I took 15 minutes every night to just look around at what I created with Jesus' help.  Some nights these 15 minutes were spent standing on the stage and just looking around at the glow in kids eyes.  Some nights I spent these 15 minutes with a small hand tucked in mine.  Some nights I spent those 15 minutes dancing for Jesus at Worship Rally.  The point is to give yourself time, as the Director or volunteer, to truly be in the moment.  Take time to experience the excitement and wonder of what you created.

One night I experienced the magic by eating popcorn with one of our younger visitors. 

They loved having Miss Mary eat popcorn with their crew.  

7) I divided kids into crews by their school grade-

This helped tremendously.  We had 8 different crews divided by Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade.  If we saw someone who had slipped away from their crew we were easily able to figure out what crew they were in and where they were supposed to be.  Well-defined ages for our crews also helped with getting everyone registered quickly.  This was a simple and easy way to cut down on the chaos.

8) I had a clean up day after VBS- 

We ended our VBS on a Friday night and at the end of the night all of my volunteers were left completely tired.  We decided that instead of staying until 12:00 PM on Friday to clean up that we would come in on Saturday morning at 10:00 AM to help clean up from VBS.  This enabled us to leave the church completely clean and put back together.  It's important to remember in all ministry that we share spaces with one another so I always abide by the rule to leave a space better than you found it.  Hosting a clean up day also gave an opportunity for people to serve who couldn't serve during the week because of conflicts.  Its a win-win for everyone!

9) I had a plan for promotion-

They key to my kids ministry was promotion, promotion, promotion!  I promoted my VBS in lots of different ways.  I sent postcards to people who attended last year as well as everyone who attends my Wednesday night program.  I placed an ad in the newspaper that ran the two weeks before VBS.  I promoted our VBS almost daily on my ministry's social media and website.  (My volunteers were probably tired of seeing status' about VBS.)  I had flyers for our church family and volunteers to fill out.  I had a banner outside of our church property, and I had posters made for our volunteers to put up at their work and businesses.  I really believe that this is the one reason that our VBS was so big this year.  Our goal was to make sure that everyone in our community knew what was happening.

One of my many social media posts reminding everyone of how long until VBS.  

10) I had a plan for follow up- 

VBS is a great opportunity to reach out into your community.  We had a huge portion of visitors to our VBS.  If I had to guess at a percentage I would say that about 40% of our kids this year were visitors and this was huge.  This is an extra 40 people who we had the opportunity to reach out to Jesus.  We had 50+ kids accept Jesus into their hearts on Wednesday.  On Thursday we had the opportunity to meet with all of them and to talk to them about what it means to have Jesus in your life.  On Sunday, we hosted our VBS celebration in our morning service.  After VBS, I sent postcards to everyone who attended thanking them for coming and giving them the dates of our upcoming events and Wednesday night kick-off.  As a result, we are experiencing record numbers in our Wednesday night ministry.  Having a plan for follow-up is absolutely crucial.  You want everyone who attends your church to know that they are loved, welcome, and cared about at all times, and not just during VBS.

This is what I did to make my VBS successful.  Most importantly, I stayed calm and stayed open to the Lord's leading and guidance my the very beginning to the very end.

Labor Day Weekend

Hey Ya'll!

I know you are expecting week 3 of my Summer Event series today.
My VBS recap will be posted tomorrow.

I spent my weekend soaking up life with all of my family and friends.
People will always be the most important things in my life.

Here's some shots of the people I loved on this weekend.

Sunday Social

I'm linking up again with Ashley and Neely for this week's Sunday Social.  

1. What was your favorite trip/vacation/activity this summer?

This would definitely be the trip that I took with my wonderful family. 

This was the first trip that we had all taken together since I was in high school (Over 6 years ago)

We spent the week enjoying being with each other as a family of five. 

Is this not the best family picture you've ever seen? 

2. What was your favorite outfit look/clothing item of the summer?

I loved anything that involved a dress. 

I lived this summer in sun dresses and flowing skirts. 

3. What is one thing you wish you'd gotten to do this summer?

No regrets.  I loved my summer. 

I did everything that I wanted to. 

4. What was your favorite song of the summer?

Hunter Hayes- I Want Crazy

5. What was your favorite movie/tv show of the summer?

Favorite TV Show:  Duck Dynasty

It makes me Happy, Happy, Happy!  

And that's a fact, Jack!

What was your favorite summer memory?

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