This is part of a blog post from Perry Noble:

Here are three convictions I have about children’s ministry…

#1 – If you want to reach kids…then you’ve got to spend money on them.  It BLOWS me away that church world always seems to be scratching our heads and wondering why kids FLOCK to Disney (even the Baptist ones) but they don’t flock to church.  MAYBE it’s because Disney spends “squillions” of dollars on them…and many churches have more money in their graveyard fund than they do their children’s budget.  We will spend money on what is important…and I think children’s (and student) ministry is THE most important mission field in the church.

#2 – If you want to reach kids…they’ve got to have fun.  When I was growing up “fun” and “church” were never used in the same sentence; therefore, as soon as my mother died and I didn’t have to go to church anymore…I didn’t.  Kids are not growing closer to Jesus by being forced to sit and listen…or by coloring (with crayons provided by their parents).  They should want to come to church, should look forward to coming to church…and so we unapologetically go all out every week to make sure these kids have a GREAT time.

#3 – If you want to reach kids…they’ve got to learn something. I’ve told our children’s ministry that when parents come pick up their kids that they will ask two questions – the first will be “did you have fun,” and the second will be, “what did you learn?”  I think told our children’s team…make sure kids can answer both in a positive way…and THAT’S a win.  (BTW…a “WIN” is when the parents and the kids actually talk about what the child learned!  When parents and the church work together…its an awesome team!

One valuable lesson I learned by growing up in a pastor’s home one is how to serve others.  Some of my first church memories were helping my dad set up chairs or move tables around. I also remember riding with him in our family car to pick up someone and take them to a doctor appointment or drive them to the hospital.  My dad and mom really had a genuine grasp on the idea of service.

I am really excited that the big idea for the month of July is Service.  Last month the big idea was Responsibility which is doing what is expected of you.  Service goes one step farther to do more than what is expected of you.  Great stuff for all ages! This month is going to be crazy fun and your child will not want to miss a weekend!  We are going to be doing stuff we have never done before in Route 252.  So invite a bunch of people to come to NewSpring this weekend!

Congratulations to Brian, Angie, Kaylie and Cameron Nelson who found Cosmo #2 tonight! They brought the medallion to church and we got to interview them at the 6:30 service. They said it was a family effort in decoding the clues. Just for those of you who can’t stand the suspense, Cosmo was hidden in the knothole of a tree on Linden Street. Linden Street is between Rock and Webb and Douglas Parkway and Central Parkway. The 10 to 12 clue was the house numbers between which the tree was located. Thanks so much to all who participated in the Cosmo search. We hope you had a great time working together as a family!

This Wednesday, June 23, KidzWorld will host auditions for actors and puppeteers. If you are interested in finding out more about the auditions please email deedee.baron@newspring.org.