Archives For Children’s Ministry Day

Mission projects for kids, teens set for 2016

Lisa Misner —  February 4, 2016

Sign-ups are now open for two popular missions initiatives for Illinois students.

CMD 2016CMD registration open now

Children’s Ministry Day for kids in grades 1-6 is Saturday, March 12. Leaders can register their groups for a project at http://www.IBSA.org/kids. This year, volunteers can choose from 14 sites: Bourbonnais, Bridgeport, Carbondale, Carlinville, Carrier Mills, Chicago, Crystal Lake, Decatur, Hamel (on March 19), Mt. Vernon, Peoria, Quincy, Rockford and Springfield.

Several hands-on projects are planned at each location. Projects will close once the maximum number of registrants is reached. The cost per participant is $15, which includes a T-shirt, lunch, and some ministry supplies.

Children’s Ministry Day begins at 9:30 a.m. with orientation, and concludes at 3:30 p.m. following a celebration service at each site. Register at IBSA.org.

GO Team deadline March 1

GO TeamsFor older students, IBSA’s GO Teams are accepting applicants for four international summer mission trips. In 2016, GO Teams will travel to Italy, Haiti, Jamaica and Guatemala.

“We believe that one of the best ways to help students develop a missionary heart is to give them an opportunity to leave their comfort zone and put their feet on the international mission field,” said IBSA’s Rex Alexander. “GO Teams give students that opportunity.

“We see God begin to create a passion for the lost and a heart for the nations that will stay with them throughout their lives.”

In Guatemala, students will work with deaf children, teens and adults, doing Vacation Bible School-type activities in schools for those with special needs. VBS is also the focus of the Haiti and Jamaica trips, where students will work alongside local churches.

The project in Trieste, Italy, is a new GO Team opportunity for 2016. The team will partner with a local congregation for a school painting project and kids camp, and also will prayer walk the community and work to build relationships on behalf of the church.

The GO Team application and information about each project are available at www.IBSA.org/students. The application deadline is March 1. For details about all upcoming missions opportunities, contact IBSA’s Church Resources Team at (217) 391-3138 or go to www.IBSA.org/missions.

 

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Kid missionaries make a difference in Carbondale

Meredith Flynn —  March 20, 2014
Carbondale_CMD

Children’s Ministry Day volunteers deliver goodies to a hospital in Carbondale, one of nine locations where kids served on March 15. Photo by Joanna Samples

GUEST POST | Sarah Richardson

On the sunny day of March 15, children from all over Illinois participated in Children’s Ministry Day, sponsored by the Illinois Baptist State Association. The object of the event was to involve kids in ministry by doing service projects around the local community.

Nearly 1,110 kids, leaders and volunteers gathered in nine cities around the state for the event.

One of the host churches was Lakeland Baptist in Carbondale. The service projects were arranged beforehand by Lakeland church members. They involved simple services that made a difference for people and businesses around town.

One project involved delivering handmade cards and bags to a pediatric wing at the local hospital. Along with chaperones, the children made crafts in a large room at the church. Preparation made the project not only fun, but meaningful. The cheerful children wrote Bible verses on the cards, as well as drew their own unique art. It was obvious the kids were involved and excited to help others.

Some children made chocolate chip cookies for firefighters and policemen. When they delivered the cookies, the firefighters gave a tour of the station. The children learned how the honorable people work to keep people safe.

Other projects included helping the elderly, preparing food at a soup kitchen and working at a horse stable. After work was done, the children returned to Lakeland and enjoyed popcorn, soda and a mission trivia contest. While sharing testimonies, the children enthusiastically reflected on why they do missions. The closing ceremony reminded everyone that Jesus is the reason for our mission.

Children’s Ministry Day teaches kids that though they are young, they can make a difference by the grace and power of God. Not only does it bless the volunteers and the kids, it helps the people who work at the places where they served. It is a great way to teach children about missions, helping your community, and ultimately glorifying God.

Sarah Richardson, 14, is a member of Lakeland Baptist in Carbondale.

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The Briefing: Children’s Ministry Day gathers nearly 1,100 volunteers

Meredith Flynn —  March 18, 2014
Jaide Soppe, 8, makes a fleece blanket for a Springfield shelter on Children's Ministry Day March 15.

Jaide Soppe, 8, makes a fleece blanket for a Springfield shelter on Children’s Ministry Day March 15.

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

For the fourth consecutive year, kids and their leaders served across Illinois  through Children’s Ministry Day, a one-day missions experience that culminates with a celebration service at each project site.

Created by national Woman’s Missionary Union, the day of service for kids has taken on a life of its own in Illinois. Nearly 1,100 children, leaders and volunteers representing 75 churches served at nine locations around the state on March 15.

This year’s theme, “Make a Splash,” came from Matthew 10:42, where Jesus says, “And whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple – I assure you: He will never lose his reward!”

Children’s Ministry Day is now IBSA’s most successful mission involvement activity, said Mark Emerson, who leads the organization’s missions team. The event has grown in number of locations and participants each year since 2011, when he organized the first set of projects in Springfield. Local associations began hosting the projects last year, and the service day expanded to nine cities in 2014, including first-time locations Bridgeport, Chicago, Decatur, Granite City and Peoria.

“I think more churches identify that this is a high impact project with an easy engagement possibility,” Emerson said. “The logistics of the day are already complete, so all the church has to do is to figure out how to get the kids enlisted, and get the kids to the event.”

Pastor David Brown has led kids from his church, Dow Southern Baptist, to Children’s Ministry Day each of the last four years. Standing outside an urban ministry center in Springfield, he recalled each of their projects: making baby blankets, baking cookies for police officers, visiting with nursing home residents, and this year, raking leaves and sorting donated supplies.

“This is one of the best events that we can do, because we’re starting at a foundational age,” Brown said. His fourth grade daughter, Cameryn, accompanied him to Springfield this year and has participated in every Children’s Ministry Day.

“And if they fall in love with serving when they’re kids,” Brown said, “they’re going to keep serving when they’re teens, and hopefully when they’re adults and grandparents. It’s foundational; it’s what the church is all about.” Read more here.

Other news:

Franklin Graham on Putin’s policies
America has “abdicated our moral leadership,” Franklin Graham wrote in this month’s issue of Decision Magazine. The son of evangelist Billy Graham said that converse to the current U.S. administration, Russian President Vladimir Putin is right to want to protect his country’s children from a homosexual agenda. (Graham’s comments came before Russia’s controversial action in Crimea.)

“To be clear, I am not endorsing President Putin,” Graham wrote. “…His enemies say he is ruthless. To some, he is a modern version of a czar. His personal life has its own controversies.

“Isn’t it sad, though, that America’s own morality has fallen so far that on this issue – protecting children from any homosexual agenda or propaganda – Russia’s standard is higher than our own?” Read the full story at BillyGraham.org.

KJV is king of translations
Americans read the King James Version of the Bible more often than any other version, according to a new national survey on “The Bible in American Life.” The research, from the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, found just over half of Americans (50.2%) read Scripture in the past year, and 17% of those did so daily. The KJV was read most often by 55% of respondents, followed by the NIV at 19%. Read more findings here.

Bible Drill for the digital age
There’s an app for that – Scripture memorization, that is. The Georgia Baptist Convention has developed a Bible Drill app for smartphones and tablets designed to help kids learn verses and review Bible books. “We hope to have a whole new generation of children who will have a passion for studying God’s Word,” said GBC state missionary Maria Brannen. The app is available from iTunes for $0.99. Read the full story at BPNews.net.

Your mood in tweets
Twitter can tell us a lot about how people are feeling, according to data released by the social media giant this month. The network analyzed words used in tweets throughout 2013, noting when “feeling sad” occurs most often (December Sundays and October Mondays), as well as when users are “feeling happy” (Tuesdays in December or January).

Twitter measured tardiness too: Users were most likely to tweet “late for work” on Wednesdays and Fridays in January, and Monday through Wednesday in July. Read more at Twitter’s blog.

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Kid missionaries ‘make a splash’ in nine Illinois cities

Meredith Flynn —  March 17, 2014
Young volunteers from Calvary Baptist Church in Pittsfield do yard work outside a crisis nursery facility in Springfield. Nearly 1,100 volunteers participated in Children's Ministry Day on March 15.

Young volunteers from Calvary Baptist Church in Pittsfield do yard work outside a crisis nursery facility in Springfield. Nearly 1,100 volunteers participated in Children’s Ministry Day on March 15.

Springfield | One by one, kids told their Children’s Ministry Day stories in brief, honest sentences.

“We raked up gum balls, and not the kind you chew,” said Gavin.

“It made me feel really happy, because I love cooking and I love helping people,” said Elana, who helped cook a meal for families at Springfield’s Ronald McDonald House.

Ella, a volunteer from Pittsfield, answered a question about whether her yard work crew had stayed positive during the day: “We mostly did it with a good attitude.”

For the fourth consecutive year, kids and their leaders served across the state through Children’s Ministry Day, a one-day missions experience that culminates with a celebration service at each project site. In Springfield, Gavin, Elana, Ella and others shared about the projects they did this year, which marked the fourth annual Children’s Ministry Day in Illinois.

Created by national Woman’s Missionary Union, the day of service for kids has taken on a life of its own in Illinois. Nearly 1,100 children, leaders and volunteers representing 75 churches served at nine locations around the state on March 15.

This year’s theme, “Make a Splash,” came from Matthew 10:42, where Jesus says, “And whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple – I assure you: He will never lose his reward!”

Children’s Ministry Day is now IBSA’s most successful mission involvement activity, said Mark Emerson, who leads the organization’s missions team. The event has grown in number of locations and participants each year since 2011, when he organized the first set of projects in Springfield. Local associations began hosting the projects last year, and the service day expanded to nine cities in 2014, including first-time locations Bridgeport, Chicago, Decatur, Granite City and Peoria.

“I think more churches identify that this is a high impact project with an easy engagement possibility,” Emerson said. “The logistics of the day are already complete, so all the church has to do is to figure out how to get the kids enlisted, and get the kids to the event.”

Pastor David Brown has led kids from his church, Dow Southern Baptist, to Children’s Ministry Day each of the last four years. Standing outside an urban ministry center in Springfield, he recalled each of their projects: making baby blankets, baking cookies for police officers, visiting with nursing home residents, and this year, raking leaves and sorting donated supplies.

“This is one of the best events that we can do, because we’re starting at a foundational age,” Brown said. His fourth grade daughter, Cameryn, accompanied him to Springfield this year and has participated in every Children’s Ministry Day.

“And if they fall in love with serving when they’re kids,” Brown said, “they’re going to keep serving when they’re teens, and hopefully when they’re adults and grandparents. It’s foundational; it’s what the church is all about.”

Helping people is a bonus, Brown said, but days like this are really about growing the church. The teenagers at Dow Southern are planning to go on their first World Changers mission trip this summer to Cincinnati.

“We’ve done a couple of just individual mission trips, but they’ve never been the big organized ones,” Brown said. “It’s coming out of the group that said, ‘Well, we did Children’s Ministry Day, what are we going to do now?’”

The day is certainly about expanding the kingdom through service, but it’s also an opportunity to teach kids spiritual truth. Rob Gallion kicked off the Springfield location with a devotional about Jesus washing the disciples feet. In simple terms, he explained that that’s what the kids would be doing during the day.

The day can also serve as a jumping off point for churches that want to implement more missions involvement and awareness, Emerson said. “We will follow up with the churches that attend, and seek to connect them to mission education possibilities in their church.”

Any church interested in starting a new missions organization can receive six months of curriculum free from WMU through IBSA. Contact MarkEmerson@IBSA.org for more information.

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