Starting a neighborhood children's ministry

2009-04-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

Kidmo is the name of our brand new children’s outreach ministry. For over three years we called this ministry Sidewalk Sunday School (SWSS). We have retained the best parts of SWSS in the KIDMO ministry. Mary and I began to realize that the name Sidewalk Sunday School does not reflect what we do. We don’t do it on a sidewalk, sometimes it is not on Sunday, and it is definitely not school. SWSS has served us well but starting with Maple Lawn and then this fall everywhere we will be calling our children’s outreach KIDMO.

KIDMO IS SHORT FOR “KIDS IN MOTION”. Our goal is to set children on a journey with Jesus. We are not only looking for children to put their faith in Christ we expect them to continuously stay on a Journey with Jesus. That’s where motion comes in we know that when asked which law was the most important, Jesus answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27

To keep moving on their faith journey children are taught to do three things:

Love God—displayed through worship and praise, and being transformed by the Word of God.

Love Others—displayed by praying for others, encouraging others and serving others as well as respecting parents and other adults.

Love Self-displayed by caring for yourself, which includes:

· caring for your body (grooming, nutrition, exercise)

· caring for your mind (school work, positive thoughts)

· caring for your spirit (worship, prayer, Bible memorization)

KIDMO is a fun-filled, fast-paced, fun experience for children, Kindergarten-fifth grade. KIDMO leads children into the presence of God through praise and worship, teaching the Bible creatively, and building relationships along the way. We strive for excellence along the way.

Kidmo contains 5 elements each designed to help children MOVE forward in their faith journey.

1. Worship through Music-fun, exciting music, causes kids to MOVE (jumping, clapping and singing real loud) in worship to the Lord. Showing God they love him with everything. After singing, children who memorized verses are asked to share them as a way to worship God.

2. Bible Story– told in a variety of ways that MOVES kids to want to love God, themselves and to serve others. It is not about information as much as transformation.

3. Small Group Time—Children are divided into small groups of 3-4 kids. Children get a chance to summarize the story and answer questions, MOVING them toward life transformation. Prayer time is key, it is a time to allow children to voice their concerns and be prayed for as well as having an opportunity to pray for others.

4. Game Time- A fun upbeat game is played. Often with a lot of physical activity that helps the children MOVE their bodies, reminding them that they should care for their bodies.

5. Star of the week - two children, a boy and a girl, are chosen because they displayed excellent behavior.

Their name goes on the wall and they receive a prize. All children are sent home with a snack.

Visitation is one of the most important parts of KIDMO. Each week each child that attends KIDMO receives a visit from an Visitation Volunteer (VV). The VV takes a flier to the door asks for the child and tells what sort of exciting things will be happening next week at KIMO. Over time conversations are started with parents and soon VV’s are building relationships with whole families. VV’s should work in pairs and wear the KIDMO- KUO name tag so they are easily identified. Any needs that a family has should be reported to a leader who will be able to direct the family to the proper place.

Sample Flier

You won't

believe the

Story this week

it is a whale of

a tale.

See You Sunday

5:00 PM

Dinner at 6:00

Maple Lawn

Community Room

There are basically three rules for the children:

1. Boys sit on Boys side, Girls sit on Girls side. We generally sit on the floor on a sheet.

2. Sit on your pockets. No standing, or sitting on knees, we want everyone to see.

3. When an adult leader counts to three everyone is quiet.

Rules for adults to know

· Children younger than kindergarten age may come if a parent stays with them.

· Children can be walked home if they cause too much trouble, however, we try not to do that. We remind them that we are looking for Star of the Week.

· Adults should never yell, except in an extreme emergency. There are many ways to quiet children without yelling.

· The first few weeks are often the most difficult as we get used to each other.

· Always remember we are here to serve the children. They are not here to serve us.

· Remember that most of the children we are serving are coming from very, very stressful home situations.

· We are here to build relationships with the children and their families and help them begin or continue in their relationship with Christ.

Reaching Neighborhood Chidren

Starting a neighborhood children's ministry