Absolutely Nothin'

A few weeks ago, my 4 year old daughter, Hannah, and I were on our way home from church. Out of the blue she says, "Mommy, I learned absolutely nothing in church today." OK...so when your the director of Children's Ministry and your child says she learned nothing, that's cause for a moment of panic. So trying to save the moment I asked, "Did you learn about Jesus or God?" Typical 4 year old answers. "Nope, I learned absolutely nothing." I drive on in silence for about 20 seconds, my mind racing, trying to figure out what to do next, when all of a sudden I hear a little voice from the back seat singing "Nothin', nothin', absolutely nothin'" Then I remembered, that was a new song by Jana Alayra that our preschoolers had just learned that morning. (The song goes on to talk about nothing can separate us from God's love.) Phew, moment was saved.

Now it's a good laugh. But it also made me realize once again how great it will be to be able to have a shared worship experience with my kids. To be able to have learned the same thing along with them so that we can talk about it on the way home from church and for the rest of the week. Kid Fusion will definitely equip and enable our families to do that. So maybe the next time Hannah tells me (with a little smirk that I didn't quite catch until later) that she learned Absolutely Nothin', I can say, Yeah, isn't it great that God will love us no matter what!

2 weeks and counting

We are now 2 weeks and counting until the Kid Fusion Debut (well, actually less than 2 weeks away). Who would have ever guessed that September 10 would arrive so quickly?! But it is and with it comes a variety of emotions...excitement, nervousness, anticipation, nervousness, eagerness, and did I mention nervousness? I truly believe a family worship experience is something that God wants to happen at Crossroads. And it is Him that will pull it all together, not me. It's so awesome to look at what He's done so far and the pieces He's put in place. A week ago I wasn't sure I had all the cast characters I needed and now I do. God even provided a way for one of the best storytellers I know, Carrie Evans, to participate on Sept. 10! There are many other ways He's given me the pieces to make this puzzle work: a great creative team, an awesome comic co-host, a dance choreographer and worship leader, a technical director..,the list could go on and on.

So, if you're in the area on Sunday Sept. 10, come check out Kid Fusion at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. at the Christian Family Centre in Adrian. Bring your neighbors, bring your friends, but especially bring your family! Because Kid Fusion wants to fuel your family to take their next steps toward Christ.

Does it work?

Does a family worship experience really work? Do kids and parents really use what they learned on Sunday all week long?

My personal answer is a resounding YES! A little over a year ago my family and I were visiting my brother in SC. The church that developed this family experience idea, North Point Community Church, is located in Atlanta, GA. Since we were so close we decided to head to Atlanta on Sunday and see for ourselves how this family experience worked. It was awesome!

The virtue for that month was Patience. We learned that patience is waiting until later for what you want now. We learned that over a year ago. I still remember it. My son who was just finishing Kindergarten at that time still remembers it. We are still talking about patience when the situation arises (and does it ever arise). But the coolest thing for me is that I shared that experience with my kids. I knew what they had learned (and really, learned along with them). Then Brian and I were able to use the same language to talk about patience with our kids. And from that one experience we are still learning and growing and using what we learned.

All that from one hour one Sunday. Imagine the impact when we get to have that experience every week! And I've got to add here, because Micah knows what Kid Fusion is, because he's experienced it, he can't wait for it to start. Every week he's asking me when he gets to go to that "Kid thing".

Why Family?

So, why would Crossroaders want to come to a family worship experience in addition to attending kids and adult worship experiences?

According to research done by George Barna most parents want to be the spiritual leaders for their kids. Parents generally feel they are responsible for the kids moral and spiritual development. The problem is that most parents don't know what to do. They don't have the tools they need to be the spiritual leaders for their kids. A lot of parents believe if they bring their children to church once a week, the church will take care of the rest.
If you take out sick days and vacations, at church we only have about 40 hours a year to impact the life of a child. Parents, however have 3000 hours a year to impact the lives of their children. 40 hours or 3000 hours??? It's pretty obvious who has the greater potential for influence.

So it's our job at Crossroads to use our 40 hours to equip parents, to give them the tools they need to be the spiritual leaders for their families with their 3000 hours. That's why we are beginning Kid Fusion, a family worship experience. After attending Kid Fusion, parents and kids will be able to talk about what they learned TOGETHER all week long. Families will be able to work together to apply the virtue they are learning about to their every day life. Because of Kid Fusion families will be fueled to take their next steps toward Christ.

Kid Fusion comes to Crossroads

Lights...camera....action! Combine high energy music, zany characters, and families and what do you get? Kid Fusion at Crossroads.

Kid Fusion is a family experience, where kids AND their parents come together each week to learn about character and faith. Kid Fusion is a next step in equipping parents to become the spiritual leaders for their kids. It gives parents and kids something they can talk about together all week long.

Kid Fusion will use music, drama, video, and storytelling to entertain and inspire families. Each month will be centered around a different virtue. Each week families will learn things they can apply at home, at school, at work, and in every day life.

Kid Fusion comes to Crossroads, as we kick off 3 worship experience times, beginning September17 during the 10 AM worship experience. It will be located in the LCS cafeteria (the same location the Kindergarten - 5th grade kids worship experiences occur).

Blogging again

So here I am again...Blogging certainly hasn't become a habit of mine yet, but I shall once again attempt to form that habit. You'll know if I'm successful or not!

Hi Wendy, my one faithful reader (or rather faithful checker - nope, nothing new from Shari this month).

Maybe I'll even get Brian, the guy with a thumb full of stitches, to reference me, then maybe a few people will know I'm attempting this again :)

I do have some cool stuff to tell Crossroaders about so stay tuned!