This weekend was an exciting weekend for our church! We started opening up children’s ministry at Journey. As we continue to strengthen and grow our in-person ministry opportunities, there are 7 things I want you to know.

• This is still a transitional time while some are ready to be out and participate in person but some are not. In all likelihood, we won’t be at full strength as far as planning and implementing ministry opportunities that will take us into the next 5 years as a church for a few months. This creates some challenges, some opportunities and some awkwardness sometimes. Let’s lean into this time with anticipation and expectation.
• Our children are incredibly important to us as a church family. They not only represent the future, they represent the hopes and dreams of our parents.
• Their world is changing quickly but our God is the same. We must constantly be re-assessing how we “do” children’s ministry for the future.
• While parents are still the most influential discipler in their child’s life, we can make an exponentially powerful impact by encouraging, mentoring, resourcing and supporting them.
• Mentorship is still THE most powerful form of discipleship. Jesus used this method and we should too. More on this very soon.
• While we are committed to providing meaningful and effective children’s ministry, we aren’t willing to burn out volunteers. In the past, we have had some incredibly committed volunteers who would serve multiple Sunday mornings in a row when we needed them. This meant that they were often not able to participate in live worship services since they were happening at the same time. This is why we ask for a 1 week per month commitment and we aren’t going to stray from that. This means we have to come together as a church family to care for each other and do discipleship well. Currently, we have enough volunteers to staff 2 classes for 2 Sundays per month. As additional volunteers sign up or return to in-person activities, we will move towards full time ministry each Sunday.
• I firmly believe that you can not fully grow in your faith if you don’t have 3 primary relationships…a growing relationship with Christ, a relationship with a mentor and a relationship with an apprentice. You don’t really know what you believe until you are able to pass it on to someone else. This is our call as Christians and as a church family.

If you are interested in getting involved, you can! You don’t have to be a professional and you don’t have to have any experience. You will learn as you go. You can get in touch with Deidra at deidrabl@hotmail.com and she can answer your questions as we’ll as get you involved in whatever ways and whatever pace you would like.

We are forging ahead in a changing world. Let’s do this together and be more than we ever have before!

Pastor Mark