A Look at our vision for having kids in the service
by Koenraad Beugelink

We want to communicate the vision behind having our kids in the services (noted below) during the summer and also how we can best prepare for and welcome them with gladness on Sundays.

The vision behind a summer break from Kids Church is twofold.

1. New Life has a history of strong and vibrant Kids Church ministries that run from Sept-June each year. There are many passionate volunteers that serve during the year that need a break from the regular schedule of ministry. This cycle of serving and resting is our way to build a sustainable rhythm of Sabbath into our Faith Formation ministries. This enables us to see higher numbers of leaders return in the fall to continue leading their grade groups as they journey through Kids Church in a sustainable rhythm. This vision is also consistent with several area CRC churches. Relationally connected, passionate Kids Church leaders that are rested over the summer, blesses our kids and it gives these leaders a fresh wind to guide them through the next ministry year. Please be sure to thank your children’s kids church leaders when you see them.

2. We want New Life kids to recognize and experience that they belong to the expression of a greater community. We call this a demographically diverse community. We don’t want our children feeling like they really just belong to an age segregated small group downstairs.

Kids certainly need age appropriate instruction, and our Kids Church program does that well from Sept-June. Yet we are learning from recent Christian history that much more attention needs to be given by churches to forming strong attachment relationships between children and the intergenerational communities that make up churches. This value on belonging/attachment to the larger congregation is why kids are not dismissed until after the first part of worship, or even after baptism, and why they rejoin us on Lord’s Supper Sundays. It is a big part of why we make plans to have kids in our services throughout the year also.

At New Life we will continue to provide excellent spaces for kids to engage their faith and provide opportunities for kids to join the diverse community of Christ in lifting his name and engaging his word together.

So this summer as our wiggly little ones join us in our worship services, let’s together help them recognize and experience that they belong and that they are attached to God’s intergenerational family; a diverse community at New Life Church. The next article offers suggestions on how we can meet this summer with success.

Parenting in the Pew Planning for Success

I get it. Believe me I get it. You have wiggly kids and I have them too. At times I want a break just like you do. I enjoy my sermon time and my kids distract me and probably too often, distract those worshipping around me. But given the value of the cradle to grave faith forming vision we are moving towards, here is where I (we) might need to begin a mental shift on the Sundays where kids are in the church service.

Let us offer some simple ways that we might be able to serve our kids best as we settle in for a summer with kids in the service with us. Here are some practical suggestions that we can implement and/or adapt to suit our kids during the summer Sundays ahead.

Grace. Kids are kids and God loves them. God loves them even if they distract. “do not hinder them (even if we think they distract us)” So let ALL of us love our kids no matter what. With grace, gentleness and love let us welcome the kids around us. We can be that proverbial “village” it takes to raise our children in the faith.

Prepare. Our kids back packs are no longer in use for school. So we can re purpose them for these summer Sundays. We can pack a back pack with the items seen in the picture below. Having quiet activities, Kids Bibles or Graphic Novel Bibles to read, colouring books, paper and colouring felts, crayons and notebooks etc. and even storing your own parents Bible are great things to add to the bag. There will be an ALL Summer Kids Bulletin available on July 9th that the kids can hand in completed for a prize in Sept.

Engage. A) NL Leaders will do our best to engage your kids by recognizing they are part of the community and the worship service, ie: kid friendly sermon illustrations, kid’s stories and kids bulletin (Summer Sermon Series Booklet) for them to follow along in during the summer.

B) We would also ask for YOU to engage our kids. EG: if you are a kids church GEMS/Cadets or youth leader please use the 3 min fellowship and connecting time to make your way to a child tween or teen that you might already know in your class or small group and welcome them. In that welcome try to convey in the way only you can that you are glad they are here, and that they are welcome and belong in this space.

If you are not a children’s or youth ministry leader we encourage you to do the same for the kids that will inevitably be sitting next to you. Another way to say “you are welcome here” is to be that really friendly lady or man that gives the kids a peppermint or candy just as Pastor Nathan starts his message. Grace, Preparation and Engagement are key ingredients to making this summer a success for our kids.

Thanks for all you do as grandparents, parents and partners in ministry. If you are able to help serve on July 16, 30 or Aug 20 to make our Kids Zone safe and successful please contact:
Koenraad Beugelink kbeugelink@newlifecrc.ca or
Nathanael Van Deventer nvdeventer@newlifecrc.ca

Hi It’s Koen:

New Life Youth Ministry (AKA: Switchlife) Is undergoing some restructuring and re-visioning over the summer of 2017. To assist us we are asking any youth who attended and graduated youth ministries at New Life over the last twenty years 1997-2017 to complete this short 15-20 minute anonymous survey. Rather than going into this visioning process relying on general US or Canada Wide statistics of the waning church trends of young adults we wanted to see for ourselves what the local New Life data tells us. We have never done a research survey with so many past youth ministry participants, so the magnitude of this endeavor is both epic and daunting. We REALLY value your input and honesty into this survey as it will greatly inform how New Life youth ministry can best function moving into the epic exciting future of God’s unfolding kingdom.

Our hope and prayer is that the Jesus you encountered at New Life Youth is the Jesus that you still call your Lord and Saviour. Even if the rough waters of life have eroded your ability to hold fast to faith in Christ, it is our hope that you would also know that NO MATTER WHAT Jesus Christ is still holding on to you. If you sense that God is calling you back into a closer relationship with him, we are willing to walk that journey with you.

Peace, Blessings and some hopefully great memories as you complete this survey!!!
THANKS THANKS THANKS

Please complete this survey before May 31^st 2017

Please click HERE to take the Survey

Koenraad Beugelink (Koen)

Have you been heard?

As a Christian Reformed Church denomination, we are on a journey of God’s work together. As with any journey, it is essential that as we travel we listen to each other and map our progress.  With this in mind, our congregation is participating in the 2017 CRC denominational survey. It is valuable that as many people as possible from our congregation participate. Please visit www.crcna.org/survey/1063 and answer the survey questions to the best of your ability by March 31. If you have any questions, or if you need assistance accessing the online survey, please let our church office know.

In 2013 New Life Church received a generous donation of $100,000.  The donor requested that the funds would be used to improve the ministry of New Life Church through physical improvements to our building, grounds or equipment.  The donation was not to be used for regular church ministry expenses that are usually covered by our yearly budget.

We are very grateful for the generosity and for the opportunities which come with those designated funds. Our first project was to update our aging computer system in the church.  We purchased a server and updated many of our computers in 2014.  Then in 2015 we purchased much needed new chairs for the auditorium.

We have been hoping for some time to upgrade New Life’s roadside sign so we began to work towards using some of the donated funds to purchase a new sign.

The original sign dates back to when the building was first built in 1994.  It matched the ministry well then and has served the church and community for over 20 years.  This original sign has slowly needed more repairs over the years and has needed more maintenance and is now difficult to change the lettering. The internal lighting currently needs to be replaced.  The look of the sign was perfect for the time it was created but now it is outdated.

We began working with sign companies two years ago contacting five companies to submit proposals for the design and build of a new sign.  We narrowed it down to 2 companies and then chose to continue with one – Pattison Signs.  Pattison Signs is an established and reputable sign company in this area that has made many great looking signs in Abbotsford.  Their products are high quality, they provide great service and fair pricing.  We have worked with them on a proposal and have made numerous design changes to try and produce a quality, contemporary, and affordable sign that would last for another 20 years.

The design we have now meets the above criteria.  Our finance team, as well as the Board of Elders have reviewed the sign proposal and approved it. This new sign will cost roughly $44,000 which will be paid for by the donated funds (not from the budget) and we hope to have it in place before September.  Some of the work towards the new sign will be done by our members and so we will save some funds there.  We are very grateful for God’s provision through the donation for this project.  We are excited to share with the congregation what the new sign will look like.

The sign will be a little shorter than our current sign but the same width.  Since it will be mounted on the same concrete mounting pad as the old sign we will save the costs of removing the old concrete pad and building a new one.  The sign was designed to be uncluttered and clear so that the primary message of the sign will be clearly seen by all who pass by.

It will have a digital message centre that will allow us to change the sign message more frequently.  That way, we can communicate to the community what we are about and they will know they are always welcome.  Our website address is also on the sign and we have recently updated our website – all the information a visitor or community member would want to know about the church is there.

The body of the sign is made of aluminum and it will have internal LED lighting to illuminate the sign at night.  The same logo and colours we use on all communications, including our website, will be on the sign, as will the Christian Reformed Denominational logo, to identify us with our denomination.  New Life Korean will also be well represented on the sign with their own illuminated church name.

We are currently finalizing some of the design details and will let the congregation know when the new sign will be installed.