Cooperation

This month in Kid Fusion and in our Kindergarten - 5th Grade kids worship experiences we will focus on the virtue of Cooperation: Working together to do more than you can do alone. Last Sunday I challenged the families to find a project to work together on, something they can each use their own individual talents (individuality: discovering what you are meant to be so you can make a difference) and work together to do something to make a difference. I can't wait to hear what Kid Fusion families did. This coming Sunday I'll be grabbing a few of them to share their stories of cooperation.
Kid Crossing Families will get a way to cooperate together to make a difference in other peoples lives beginning this Sunday as we kick off our "Make It Happen" campaign. We're giving all Kid Crossing families the opportunity to participate in a serving project. Each week in November we'll be collecting non-perishable food items, mittens and hats, and new, unwrapped toys. It's a great opportunity for us to cooperate together, and with the Salvation Army to help make a difference in the lives of other families.
See you this Sunday!

The One and Only

This past week at Kid Fusion we talked about Individuality: Discovering who you are meant to be so you can make a difference. Parents, are you helping your kids discover who God made them to be this week? What are their unique gifts and talents? What ways could they be a part of God's big story and make a difference in the world?

Apples and pumpkins

Sunday my family went and picked Apples and Pumkins yesterday at Kapnick's Apple Orchard, South of Tecumseh. What a beautiful day. Blue sky, puffy white clouds, warm sun, and a cool breeze! Micah and Hannah ate almost as many apples as they picked. There's nothing like a fresh from the tree apple. We took pictures, but since I had left our camera at the Family Centre we dug out Brian's old 35mm camera. It's fun to hear a real click, but the kids were disappointed they couldn't "see" the pictures. We also got 3 nice pumkins that are now sitting on our porch waiting to become jack-o-lanterns in a few weeks. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon and a great family activity.

Kid Fusion 10/1/06

On the Kid Fusion front we kicked off individuality without Eric, our Comic Host. He was home sick unfortunately, but Doug Winters, our Pastor of Next Steps, did an awesome job jumping in and filling Eric's spot. (even though I accidentally skipped over the section that had one of the funniest lines.) The rest of the cast and crew did a great job as always. Tyler, Vinny, and Gordo were full of energy and definitely were the stars of the show this week.
If you haven't been at Kid Fusion the last two weeks you won't know that we have fixed a few details. We now have more chairs in a better lay out. We have 3 fully staffed kiosks at the Elementary entrance for check in. And the temperature in the cafeteria has been much more comfortable. This week check out our improvements and share an experience with your family.

Individuality

It's a new month and we kicked off a new virtue in Kid Fusion this week. Individuality: Discovering who you are meant to be so you can make a difference. I think this is going to be a great virtue for both kids and parents. It will help everyone to not only understand that they are special and unique, but also that God's given each one of them a special talent, a way they can be a part of His big Story. I can't wait to hear stories from families about how they are discovering their unique abilities!
We've got lots of opportunities in Kid Fusion and in all of Kid Crossing for people to use the talents God has given them. If you have a talent you'd like to use to help God tell His story to families and kids catch me via email, phone, or at Church. I'd love to help you find your place where you can be the One and Only______________ (you fill in the blank).

Thanks for your patience

For all of you who attended Kid Fusion this past week, THANK YOU! Thanks for coming and for seeing the vision to bring your families together to take your next steps towards Christ. And especially Thank you for your patience as we met with a few unexpected obstacles. We apologize for the long lines at the kiosks and for the crowded environment. (But what AWESOME problems to have - I just can't stop smiling thinking about it!) This week we will have 4 kiosks at the elementary/Kid Fusion entrance prior to 10 AM, so check in should go much quicker. We will also be looking at how we can rearrange the way we set up in the cafeteria to create additional space and better sight lines.
If you have thoughts, comments, suggestions, and stories about how Kid Fusion is impacting your family please take a moment to talk with me. I'd love to chat with you.

Kid Fusion Off and Running!

All I can say is WOW...again. This past Sunday was our first official Kid Fusion. And, as always, it was a God thing! Our regular space for Kid Fusion is the Lenawee Christian School cafeteria and we packed it out! Official count was 259 - kids and parents, grandparents, friends, etc. It was awesome! I knew Kid Fusion had the potential to attract a lot of families, but I didn't really know who would come this first week. Initially it didn't look like the room was going to fill up, but then I went out to the lobby and the check in line was out the door! What a problem to have. The energy was great, the feeling was much more intimate, than being on main stage, and once again God used those of us on stage and brought all the pieces together to help our families take their next steps towards Him.
Thanks God! and thanks Crossroads for having a vision and passion for families.

We Did It!!!!

Wow!!! What a day yesterday was. Kid Fusion premeired on Crossroads' main stage and it was AWESOME! Everyone from the Worship Team to the people on stage, to the people who created the stage, to the people who did all the tech stuff ROCKED!!!
Families connected, people laughed and danced, and loved it! We got so many great comments. People were blown away. One couple told me it was the best thing they've ever experienced (and they're grandparents who's grandkids weren't even with them). One of my volunteers who's been doing stuff with kids at Crossroads since before I was around said "we've done some great stuff in the past, but this was the best yet." Pete, Crossroads' Tech Pastor, talked to some friends of his who were visiting from another church and they were very impressed. Several parents told me they couldn't wait for next week.
All I can say is Yeah God! It was only through His guidance and leading and power that Kid Fusion happened yesterday on such a high level and it will ONLY be through Him that it continues that way every week from here on out.

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!

65,000 Eggs!!!!

We did it! We have officially stuffed over 65,000 eggs with candy, prizes, and stickers. Sunday afternoon we had a giant stuffing party. Around 250 people stuffed approximtately 53,000 eggs in about 2 1/2 hours. It was quite a sight to see. Some wonderful ladies and gentlemen from a local nursing home, Lenawee Medical Care Facility, stuffed 8,000 eggs for us. That put us at approx. 61,000 eggs (yes, we used the estimation method - we counted one barrell of eggs and used that as the standard number for all the barrells). So Monday I went to the Adrian Big Lots and bought approximately 330 dozen more eggs. It took 4 1/2 shopping carts and about 45 minutes to check out :) A great volunteer started on this batch on Tues. and then today the Jr. High student group desended on them. Those 4000 eggs were stuffed in about an hour! How amazing is that! (Thanks Kyle and John for letting the kids help!)
So, what are we going to do with 65,000 eggs? Did I mention there were also about 1800 flashlights? This will be Crossroads' 5th annual Flashlight Egg Hunt! An event free to the community! Registration begins at 7:30 pm this Sat. night (April 15) and the hunt begins at 8:30 pm. It will all be over by 8:35 pm!
The hunt will give families a fun activity. It will also plant a seed in the minds of people who might not think about going to a church otherwise. Then one Sunday they'll decide to check out Crossroads or another church and they'll get to learn about the great gift Jesus has for them. What could be more exciting than that?!

Christmas Eve Links

On Christmas Eve Kid Crossing kids see clips from The Polar Express as they learn that "sometimes seeing is believing and sometimes the most real things in the world we can't see." The greatest gift of Christmas is all about choosing to believe, it's all about faith.
Check out this link for great family activities incorporating lessons from the Polar Express:
http://homeword.com/PolarExpress/
Do you have family Christmas Traditions? Check out this article to find traditions your family may enjoy. It's not too late.
20 Memorable Family Christmas Traditions
Check back regularly for more updates at the Crossroads website.
Have a Great Christmas! The best gift ever is the Gift of Jesus. BELIEVE

Partnering with Families

We have recently changed our vision statement from Winning Kids to Christ and Growing them Spiritually to Partnering with Families to Win Kids to Jesus and Grow them Spiritually. Over the course of this last year the Kid Crossing leadership has begun to understand the necessity of partnering with families. We focused on that at our Main Stage production in June, I wrote about it in my blog, and we've talked about it at leadership meetings.
This partnership will not happen overnight. As much as I want it to happen NOW (those of you know know me well know this) it will be a process. Several events recently have shown me that while we are saying we want to partner with families we are still not looking at every activity we do through "Family" lenses. My goal for the next year will be to train Kid Crossing leaders and volunteers, myself included, to always ask "How will this affect the family," in all we do.
The KC leadership team is currently reading the book Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions by George Barna. This is an amazing book. Chapter 6 has really hit me in regards to Family Ministry. Barna is describing effective churches and says on page 99 " ...the resources used by the church in its ministry to young people are designed to prepare parents for greater effectiveness, to advance existing efforts by the parents, to serve as a catalyst for new developmental ventures attempted by the family and to enhance the quality of approaches and exercises used to mature children's faith."
Let that sink in for a little bit...

Christmas Eve at Kid Crossing

I absolutely can not believe it! Christmas Eve is only 1 1/2 weeks away. This is a very exciting time for Kid Crossing. Not only is Christmas the biggest event of the year for kids, but as a church it's an even BIGGER event. It's a chance to share the real meaning of Christmas with kids and their families. This year Crossroads is having a Christmas Eve Service. Statistics tell us the Christmas Eve is now the most attended service of the year. That means we have the potential to connect a HUGE amount of kids with Christ. And that's what we're all about. Partnering with families to win kids to Jesus and grow them spiritually.
I am really excited about how our Kid Crossing Christmas Eve services are coming together. We've got some awesome cards that will go home with kids as invites to our service (see above) thanks to Pete Bishop, our all things tech guru. Also, thanks to Pete's creativity we are theming our evening for K-5 kids and probably 3 yr. - pre-k kids off of the movie The Polar Express. It's a movie that most kids will connect with instantly, either because they've already seen it or just because it has great kid appeal. It's going to be an incredible night in Kid Crossing!

Blogging again

Yes, I know I've said this before and I'll probably say it again :) I'm going to try my hand at blogging once again. A few weeks ago Brian, my husband, told me it was time for my monthly blog... oh dear... Well, now I've made a place for it in my schedule on Mondays and Wednesdays. Only time will tell :)

Lowe's Guy

I've met some very incredible people in the last few weeks. One was Heath, the plumbing manager at Lowe's in Adrian. Now, Lowe's has always been one of my favorite stores, first when we built our house, and now for all the cool things I can find for Kid Crossing props. Last Friday I walked into Lowe's attempting to invent free-standing sign stands that look similar to road signs. I was looking for umbrella stands (the kind you get for the big outside table umbrellas) to use as the base. The middle of October is apparently NOT the best time to find patio furniture type stuff, at least in Michigan. The guy I asked thought they might have one. When I told him I needed 14 he just gave me a funny look and shook his head. Back to the drawing board.... Earlier I had toyed with the idea of using pvc pipe somehow, so off to the plumbing department I went. I stood there looking at the various connectors for several minutes hoping to be divinely inspired or something when Heath (I looked at his name tag) came over and asked if he could help me. With a laugh, I said that I would be extremely happy if he could, but I honestly didn't have much faith in that possibility. I explained to him what I was trying to do and even drew a little picture in his notebook. He thought and looked for a few minutes and to make a long story a little shorter, came up with a completely new design that was pretty brilliant in my eyes! But that is not the end of the story. He counted out and loaded into my cart all the connectors and caps I would need and then we had to get the actual pipe. He had mentioned something about cutting down the pipe so it would fit in my car, so when he started pulling out the pieces I asked him if he could cut it for me. He kind of hesitated, then slowly said He could... (For each stand I needed six 6 inch pieces and one 4 ft piece.) And he did it! Not with some fancy power tool, either. He used hand clippers to cut each of those 1 inch thick pvc pipes into what seemed like a million pieces. And THEN...he took me around the store and helped me get the other hardware I needed to attach my signs to the poles. I left Lowe's that day very impressed and very excited! Again, I'll add pictures as soon as Brian and I are both home at night and he can help me figure it out (now that he's got our computer put back together.) and when Annette who's actually putting them together gets one completed.