THE ANATOMY OF KILLING A WASP One day a friend ca…

THE ANATOMY OF KILLING A WASP

One day a friend called and asked if I would come over and kill a wasp that was flying all crazy in her house. Her husband was at work and she was afraid to be in her house, so my wife and I got in our car and drove to her house.

When we got there, I noticed that her nephew was there, I not sure how old he is, but what I noticed was that he was eager to come in the house with me and hunt down the wasp and kill it. Of course his aunt would not let him, but he wanted to any ways.

You know – many times preteens want to be and have the potential to be mature Christians that have the ability to slay the wasps in their life, but adults stop them and don’t let them in the house to learn the killing skills they need to slay the things that are trying to take them down and away from God!

At the church I minister at, I know that we are dedicated to give our preteens the “killing skills” to follow God and become all that God created them to be.

Joe

SOCCER ANYONE! It was anyone’s game, both teams e…

SOCCER ANYONE!

It was anyone’s game, both teams exchanging goals, one right after the other. Elbows were flying, hard kicks were connecting too both, shins and the ball. Oxygen was in short supply and sweat ran off the combatants like a roaring river. The battle was intense as contestants from both teams jockeyed for postion and the victory!What’s more, this fiercely fought match went down to the wire.

No! I am not talking about a match-up from the World Cup of Soccer, nor am I talking about some Major League Soccer game! Instead, I am talking about “The Edge”, the youth soccer team that Christ’s Church of Oronogo sponsors and the hard fought soccer game that they played yesterday at King Jack Park in Webb City, MO. Our preteen ministry came about sponsoring a team, when “The Bridge” (A unique skateboard ministry that reaches out to youth and others) contacted out Children’s Ministry about sponsoring a team in their newly started youth soccer league. Our ministry is going to sponsor pre-K team, a K-4th grade team and our preteen (5th-6th grade) ministry is doing so as well (Thus, the team name “The Edge”). When the opportunity came for us to help support our community, we were more than willing. This opportunity not only gives us a chance to love and encourage some of our kids and their families outside of church, but it also helps us reach out and connect with families that we do not know. We also tell the kids in our ministry to go out and support out team.

What does your preteen ministry do to get involved in your community? Post your ideas and I will post them in a blog.

Joe

ALONG FOR THE RIDE… One of the things that is a…

ALONG FOR THE RIDE…

One of the things that is a part of my responsibilities at the church that I minister at, is to help out in the Jr. High ministry in some capacity, or basically make sure that our out going 6th graders are making a good transition from our preteen ministry into our student ministry. For me, it means that I have a really good relationship with our Jr. High minister, or that basically “He is my best friend on staff”. Fortunately, him and I get along really well. Matt is a top notch guy, who is doing great things for our Jr. High kids. The other thing that I do is get involved in some way with our Jr. High ministry.

This past month, my event that I go on with our Jr. High group as a sponsor is a week long service project event called KNOW SWEAT. I attend this event for three reasons:

1. I go to help be a positive presence for our out going 6th graders/new 7th graders, by helping be a familiar figure, as well as help them transition well.

2. I go to help build my relationship with our Jr. High minister and check-up on our new 8th graders (Which are former preteen ministry kids).

3. I go to help, because it helps me measure and gage all the things we did for the past two years with these former preteens, by observing our former 6th graders in situations that call on them to be leadrs and to act more mature.

I do this with all intentionality, what do you do to help you measure the growth of your preteens?

Joe