New Life News
LIFE GROUPS – WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER?
This coming Sunday (September 10’th) is an exciting one here at New Life Church.
First, it is our “Welcome Back, Where Have You Been, Tacky Tourist” party. During the service we will be focusing on the question, “Where have you seen God at work this summer?” Then, after the service, we will be having a big party out in the back parking lot. There will be food, fun, games, and plenty of community time.
Second, this Sunday is “Invite Sunday.” Every year we do a series of Invite Sunday’s where we, as a congregation, focus on inviting our friends and neighbors to church. This is the first one for the new ministry year (September – August end).
Third, this Sunday, September 10’th, we start with our Life Group sign-ups. Life Groups are an integral part of our New Life community and there are two different types. The first are long term groups. These groups meet year round with a committed core of people. The second kind are short term groups. These Life Groups work on a semester basis and run for 5 – 8 weeks. For this ministry year, our first short term Life Group semester starts on October 1’st and it is these groups that we are starting sign-ups for this Sunday.
These things being said, we are always looking for new Life Group leaders. In this week’s blog, I thought we would focus on what it takes to be a Life Group leader. Here are four qualities of a great leader:
- A love for people – Do you love people and have a desire to see them flourish? Then you have the seeds of a Life Group Leader inside of you. Life Group leaders are people who “host” others. They love to have people in their homes, and they love to share and do life with others.
- A desire to see others grow spiritually – Do you find yourself interested in the growth of others spiritually? Are you the kind of person who notices when people take steps forward in their faith? Then you very well could make an excellent Life Group Leader. Life Group leaders invest in others spiritually and care for their growth. They take a personal interest in others, and seeing spiritual advance makes their day!
- A desire to pray for others – Do you find yourself praying for others, either one on one, or as they come to your mind during the day? These desires will give you great mileage as a Life Group leader. You will have ample opportunity to pray for others and lift them up in prayer as you shepherd a Life Group.
- The ability to lead a discussion – There are a couple of different ways to lead a Life Group and you don’t need to have a theological degree to be a good leader. You just need to be able to draw out and direct discussion in a group. Some Life Groups use our New Life Link as a jumping off point for discussion. “New Life Link” is a document posted each week on our website highlighting the sermon subject and also giving group discussion criteria. Other Life Groups leaders come up with their own topics – something that is on their heart. Once again, this doesn’t require “rocket science,” just the ability to organize a topic into questions. Once the questions are in place, it is just a matter of leading a discussion on the subject of the week.
If you can answer “yes” to these simple questions, then you very well might have what it takes to be a Life Group leader. We would love to set up a time to meet with you and explore the possibilities and excitement that leading one of our Life Groups might offer. Why not step out in faith and try something you might not have considered before. The rewards could be glorious.
For more information, contact Pastor Mike at: [email protected]
TACKY TOURIST INSTRUCTIONS
This is it! Sunday, September 10th – our “Welcome Back, Where Have You Been, TACKY TOURIST PARTY!” After the service there will be bouncy castles, games, food, and more! Bring a salad to share. As promised, here is a bit of instruction on exactly how to “rock” a TACKY TOURIST outfit. Also, stay tuned – next week there will be a photo voting contest on New Life Facebook for New Life’s Tackiest Tourist! Could YOU be the one to take home the prize?!
TACKY TOURIST PARTY
Sunday, September 10 – Hosted by our Life Group Elders
Come prepared to rock our “Welcome Back, Where Have You Been, Tacky Tourist Party!” This is our fall kick off “Invite Sunday” event. It all starts at 10:00 AM with our not-so-regular Sunday morning worship service. There will be high energy worship and a timely word from Pastor Nathan all set in a non-threatening environment. During the service, kids will be downstairs for a fun-filled time of stories and games. The theme for the day will be: “Where have you experienced God this summer?” Immediately after the service we will be moving out into the back parking lot for stage two of our party! There will be ample community time, food, bouncy castles, games, and more! Those attending are asked to bring a salad to share – and come dressed as a tacky tourist! Next week we will be updating this post with a more detailed description of exactly what a “tacky tourist” should look like!
Fun for all ages! For more information, contact the office at: [email protected]
SUMMER SUNDAYS & KIDS IN THE PEW
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 [email protected] or
Nathanael Van Deventer [email protected]