Should we separate our boys and girls?

This is a new experiment we are trying in our elementary grade Sunday school group. After growing weary of getting after our rowdy boys to sit quietly so everyone can listen to our lesson, we decided to try separating the two groups. We still sit together for worship in our adult service and we still have a large group talk for about 15 minutes. After that we go to separate classrooms where our young ladies will be engaged with crafts and activities that most interest them, and our boys do the same for them.

Here is what it looked like last Sunday (our very first try at this). We were fortunate to have our lesson topic be about how God created man and woman. One of our very best teachers Eric Moore brought this lesson and did a great job making the point that man and woman were created differently. Adam from dust and woman from Adam's rib. He went on to talk about how God spoke the earth, stars, pants and animals into existence. He "created" man and said His creation was "very good".

Following our lesson, our two male teachers (Eric and Lance) took the boys into their own classroom where we had old electronics and tools laid out. The boys go to take apart these items and look inside to see what made them work. It was fascinating to watch them engage with each other comparing the "guts" of their project. They came up with a secret hand shake and are working on a name for our boys group.

Our ladies went to their class where we let them work with beads, flowers, glitter, pompoms and hot glue to create a beautiful framed mirror for their bedrooms. The girls worked quietly and diligently with their craft. Bonding with one another as they shared about their week at school and the stuff going on in their lives. We encourage them to come up with a group name as well.

This trial morning left our teachers encouraged, the kids felt special and understood and as for me, it has inspired me to seek out other men and women in our church to be a guest visitor for our boys and girls. Next week we plan to have a police office from our congregation join us. We are discussing how God gives us free will to make decisions. Bad decisions and disobedience can lead to difficulties in our lives. Our office can bring that point home.

Until then, God Bless you and you go on your way.

Labor Day Weekend in the City Park

I thought it might be a good idea to post about what NSC church is doing this Labor Day. We identify ourselves as "missional". This means we intend to serve our community in a way that glorifies God and transforms lives. Since we don't like to miss opportunities to worship outside the walls of the church, we will be combining our services in to one BIG service and moving' it out to the Edmonds City Park. We will have great music, a relevant message from our Pastor Barry Crane (who is also a Naval Chaplain). He has been speaking on the Ten Commandments. This week he speaking on Coveting. I am bringing my air cannon and will be shooting out goodies for kids of all ages to catch. Following the service, we will be preparing a meal in the park for all in attendance. We are relying on the Lord to help us know how many to cook for.

It is a great privilege to be able to freely worship in our Nation. We look forward to an exciting morning with our church family and neighbors in Edmonds. We pray that all in attendance will experience the presence of God and feel the joy we have in Him. Also, we pray that seeds will be planted in the hearts of those who do not know Jesus as their savior. That the Spirit of God will draw them to Him.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said,“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

We tend to tell folks they need to come to our church. This week, we will do as Jesus commanded and GO out to them. What a privilege.

Why this blog?

I have established this blog to track my thoughts and experiences on Children's Ministries as it pertains to smaller, simpler churches. What works and doesn't work, in addition to how a smaller more intimate children's program might actually be more effective in growing and producing mature disciples of Christ as our kids get older.
Here is some background on who I am, and what we have been called to at North Sound Church.
My name is Kerry Kearney. I am in my late 30's (can't say that for much longer) I am the children's director at a new-ish (7 yr old) church plant in Edmonds, WA. I came into this position about 2 years ago with nothing to offer God except my obedience. I had no teaching or administration experience. All I had was enthusiasm and a natural bent toward taking on new challenges.
Now a little about the church. North Sound church would be described as "simple" and "missional".
To be "simple" just means that we don't implement a bunch of weekly programming for our men, women, kids, youth, singles, etc. Rather, we keep things simple. We have 3 Sunday morning services. With our 9:15 and 11:00 offering kids Sunday school and youth programming. The 11:00 offers a women's bible study. During the week, we have a 7am prayer meeting and two women's bible studies. In addition we have Adult choir and worship team practice on Thursday evenings. We also host an Alpha program several times each year in businesses, homes and at the church. To be "Missional" essentially means that we feel called to be missionaries in our immediate communities and neighborhoods, and call others in our congregation to do the same. Or another way to put it is "We have been sent and are sending".
NSC has several (maybe 20) small groups that meet in homes throughout the week around our community. The people who commit to a small group become very bonded through group study and by taking on serving opportunities as a team in our neighborhoods and businesses.
Our church runs around 350 on any given Sunday and our children's department runs on average 35-45 kids on Sundays.
We are committed to making a difference in our community through how we love and serve them. We attempt to take every opportunity to get outside the walls of our church to worship God and bless the residents in Edmonds and surrounding cities. Our tag line is "Navigating Life Together". Our prayer is that broken and imperfect people can find a place of healing and acceptance here. Meet and receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Then journey with us as we all seek to discover what God has created us for, which includes becoming disciples of Christ. That is taking on the qualities of His perfect character.
There is more I can say, but I'll keep it at that for now. I pray you will learn with me as I learn about how we can make the best impact on our children as they grow in the Lord. To serve him without ceasing their whole lives.