Children's Ministry

Most of today's children grow up with televisions, computers, and social networking at their disposal and understand how to text using a cell phone. This world is immensely different from the one experienced by most children's teachers whose communication primarily took place face to face or by telephone. We grew up understanding the power of communication in our lives -- communicating within the gathered community and communicating with God. Do you remember the first prayer you learned? Was it something like, -Now I lay me down to sleep or -Our Father, who art in Heaven? What prayers are we sharing with our children?

We owe it to our children to model prayer, to pray with them, and to encourage them to spend time in stillness listening to God. The Psalmist says it well: -My soul thirsts for you (Ps 63:1) and a way of quenching that thirst is through communication and relationship with God -- prayer. Emma, a toddler at Haygood Memorial UMC near Atlanta, heard and prayed the Lord's Prayer in worship each Sunday. At the age of nearly three, she wanted to share this prayer with the congregation. As a toddler, Emma does not understand the depth of this prayer, but she knows it is important in the life of the church. It will sustain and comfort her for years to come, and she will understand it more deeply as she grows in faith.

Not all prayer comes to us through the rituals of the church; many are personal and spontaneous. Think of the prayers of Moses, Hannah, Ruth, and Peter. God meets us where we are and hears our prayers whether they are formal prayers of the church or prayers for immediate guidance or mercy.

One of John Wesley's prayers for children begins, -Be present at our table, Lord, expressing the importance of inviting God into our lives every day. Prayer is one of the acts of piety in our lives as United Methodists. We pray for thanksgiving, for forgiveness, for the comfort of others. We have an obligation to share this means of grace with our children in ways that will allow them to experience time with God. Learning to pray sets a foundation for them as they strengthen their relationship with God and with others.

In a technology-intensive world, communicating with God requires no technology at all. Prayer involves listening and even being still. Children are quite capable of doing both, but it takes our willingness to guide them appropriately by turning off our own monitors, mobile phones, and televisions and by engaging with children. Jesus made time to teach the disciples to pray. What is our obligation in caring for our children?

Questions about praying with children:

• Do you teach simple prayers that are familiar to children -- -Be near me Lord Jesus, -Praise God from whom all blessings flow, -Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, and -My peace I give to you?
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  Have you shared with children the prayers of the Psalms?
  
• Have you created sacred spaces in your classrooms and encouraged parents to create sacred spaces in their homes? This can be as simple as a special rug that you lay out or the coffee table with a lit candle.
  
• Do you encourage parents to set aside time for devotion in their homes and equip them with resources for this purpose?
  
• Do you honor small children as concrete learners by keeping symbols of the church and Christ in your space?
  
• Do you remind children that we can pray anywhere and at any time and that they can say anything to God?
  
• Do the children you teach see you pray?

Melanie C. Gordon mgordon@gbod.org is Director of Ministry with Children at GBOD in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Cokesbury Introduces the 2011 VBS Curriculum

Take kitchen fun to your kids! Enjoy a fresh, one-of-a-kind VBS 2011 at Cokesbury’s Shake It Up Café - where kids carry out God’s recipe.  In this kid-friendly café full of chef’s hats and aprons, pots and pans, checkered tablecloths, and chalkboard menus, kids explore the Bible as a cookbook filled with recipes for living out God’s word. Through interactive lessons, that are easy for kids to apply to their lives today, boys and girls will celebrate biblical festivals that reveal ingredients for being a follower of God. 

Be ready for God

Give happily to God

Believe fully in Jesus

Remember Jesus often

Celebrate God forever

”If anyone is in Christ, there is a new Creation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17a

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Native American Children’s Fund

Native American Children's Fund (NACF) School Clothing Scholarship Applications have been sent out to all pastors-lay missioners and to contact persons of supply churches. The applications have been revised slightly. Applications must have all required signatures. Please read directions carefully. Deadline is postmarked or brought to the conference office on or before September 13, 2010.

Back to School: Play Fair and Share

Stewardship Nuggets for Families and Children Linda Holland

"I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance."

(2 Corinthians 8:13-14)

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Children’s Choirs Perform at Annual Conference

We were so blessed this year to have nine choirs to participate in the language retention program Saturday night of Annual Conference. It was so good to have the “first time” churches to participate! All the choirs, including the throw-together youth choir did a wonderful job; we look forward to next year! The churches that participated include: Tohwali UMC, Kullichito UMC, Boiling Springs UMC, Grant Chapel UMC, New Hope UMC, Canterbury Chapel/Cookson Hills, Broken Arrow UMC, SW Region Youth, Bethel Hill UMC