Hello!
Krista here, coming to you from the church basement, in my
small corner office, with my thoughts from the month! 😊
(Promise subsequent months will be much shorter- just bear with me)
I am about a month into this- and I just wanted to share a
little of what’s happening in my life (so if you don’t care, move past that,
but DO read what’s happening in our church!! GOOD STUFF!)! God has
definitely been on the move as I have watched so many wonderful things fall
into place. A passion I have is to keep the lines of communication open
between me and all of you, I want you to see my heart and passion behind the
kiddos at this church- wow, ya’ll created some GOOD kids!! (cute little ones
too!) I plan to send out a monthly email of what’s happening, ways you can plug
in, and just share a little of my heart in the process. Hopefully you get my
humor- I like to laugh, life’s way too serious the way it is, and with kids,
life is NEVER dull, and if I didn’t laugh about it, I might be crying. 😊
I start my mornings off here at church with a half hourish
of devotions, and prayer time (except for the day that I forget my computer at
home and need to go home before I even made it to a seated position in my
office, whoops!). I have been reminded numerous times of God’s love,
grace, and faithfulness for us/me during this time. This transition for
me and my family has not all been roses, but I am happy to say, it’s getting
better! Good for me to be more intentional placing my time, and a bonus, my kids
have successfully started chore sticks, and I no longer have to unload the
dishwasher or put their laundry away!! Mom win!! (yes, I should have started
this much sooner- I am open to any parenting advice you might have to send my
way too… kids, they didn’t really prepare you for this when you leave the
hospital!) Thankful for God’s grace for me each day as I parent and the
reminder that my sins are far worse than their innocence, so forgiveness is
huge in our house, and goes both ways- typically me asking it from them!
On my first day, March 7, I sat in this very chair and I
asked God why in the world he wanted me to say yes to this. I am probably
one of the most unqualified people here in this church to do this role, and as
the list of people more qualified ran through my head, I read this…..
Most importantly- you are ministering to God when you are
ministering to kids.
Children are precious to the Lord; that is why he called you
into this ministry.
Well- if that’s not convicting, that writer was placed there
by God, talking right to me! … we all know- if your kids need some
medical attention, I am your person! I actually thought maybe I should set up a
first aid station in my office. (for those of you who don’t know, I am a nurse
by trade, and more recently a mom, by day, and night) These two things stuck
out to me so much… I want to serve God, that’s my sole purpose here on this
earth! And hey, I got kids, kinda like kids a lot, so why not allow him to use
me here at church to serve our kiddos here.
Will I be perfect at this job? NO
Will I mess up lots? YUP
But, I pray that you all have a lotta grace and forgiveness…
I am in awe of my kids willingness to forgive me, when some days I don’t think
I deserve it, they are so quick to forgive the harsh word I said to them, or
the way I yelled at them for the 20th time to pick up their toys
(and I didn’t use a nice voice... one day I even threw said toys away)
but as I dug those toys out of the trash and asked for forgiveness for my harsh
actions, that little Tater was quick to wrap his loving arms around my neck and
tell me “it’s okay mama, I love you so much, I will definitely pick up all my
toys tomorrow, I’m sorry.” (and you know what, he did!!) Thankful for
forgiveness and grace this month….
NOW… What’s
going on here at church!!
I got new carpet! Kinda exciting… but not near as exciting as
what God is doing!
I’m going to list out my ministry scope and give quick
recaps of what I have been working on! (this will also be the format for
subsequent months)
Nursery
This has been my main focus right now! We gave our nursery a
name! First Steps in Faith. I am hoping this name can kinda blanket all
that we have going on here at church for our children! I am really excited to
help lead them in their First Steps of Faith- it’s not just a name, it’s our
passion!! The vision for nursery is to get people working on our nursery who
WANT to be there! People who love kids, have a big smile on their face, and
can’t wait to show the love of Jesus to our children!! I am so excited by some
of the survey responses I have gotten! Thank you, for allowing God to use your
gifts to bless others!! (if you haven’t gotten the survey, let me know – I do
have 86 more to send today, I couldn’t send them all at once bc they thought I
was spamming all of you! What in the world?!? 😉 If you don’t get it by
tomorrow, let me know! I’d love to add you to the list! (or if you want to
call/text me and chat about it, or email, my info is below!)
The focus and priorities I have for nursery right now-
- Getting
people passionate about kiddos working in there
- Setting
up a very flexible schedule for the nursery, so there is a routine to
follow- this will make the time go by faster for the kids and workers, and
I hope allow for less tears too!
- Getting
hosts put in place for the nursery. These individuals greet kids and
parents at the door. It’s a familiar face, so families and kids are more
welcome. They can also assist new families to where things are in
our church! We all know it’s a bit confusing.
- Revamping
the schedule a bit to customize the preferences of the people working
there. I want you to be plugging in as you feel comfortable, and I
want you to be happy to be there. 😊
- Getting
some new, fun toys and a system to organize them, and possibly toy swap,
so there are new things in there!
- Snacks
in place for the kids and workers. Food makes people happy.
- A
cleaning schedule set up for less germs spread. The goal is for the
toys to be cleaned weekly… anyone up for this? So far, God hasn’t directed
anyone my way, but I have faith he will. The cookie ladies make
cookies Thursday mornings… by the way, I maybe should take a walk past the
kitchen… so you and a friend come have some coffee, a warm cookie and
fellowship while keeping our nursery safe for our kids! (it can be any
day, evening, etc. ) I will just plug you in as you want. Say you
want to clean toys once every 2 months… got it. OR every other
week.. etc. This will be such a huge blessing for our church and
kids. And you can pray for the kids while doing it.
- A
check in system. Safety for our kids is way behind in our previous
setup. We need to make this a priority. Not exactly sure what this is
going to look like yet- but looking at some options.
- A
pager system. Also looking into options here.
- A
committee! Let me know if you would like to serve here. These
individuals will help to share the passion/ vision with people, help to
brainstorm ideas and improvements, and be someone you can turn to for
questions!
- We
need prayers- pray for the new transition, pray for people to be willing
to serve God in this capacity, and pray for God’s timing to allow
everything to fall into place.
Nursery has weighed heavily on my heart. Our kids
didn’t really use nursery, so I didn’t realize what a ministry opportunity it
was… But let me tell you, the research has pointed that we need to step up our
game and welcome children and their parents with lots of love in our nursery
space!! As I sent out the first round of surveys, I got a little discouraged as
I took names off of the existing list- I was not trusting God to provide, and I
was taking things a little to personally. But, I have prayed about it, God’s
made it very clear, those no’s are not directed at me, they are people allowing
God to use them in other ways in our church- and he will provide people to love
on children in our nursery space! The verse under my computer is very
encouraging… Cast all your cares on him, he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
Children
& Worship
Hoping to get this up and running this fall! This is an
amazing way for kids to be filled with God and learn about worship in a way
that relates to them. When they color or play toys during the sermon they
are not learning more about God- I love the ministry ideas behind children and
worship and I am excited to get that started back up in the fall!
We will have a booth at the Ministry Bash, we need people to
volunteer to lead a lesson each week, so if that’s you, sign up then, or let me
know!
Sunday
School
We are mid-stream in this fun way our kids get to grow in
their relationship with God each week! Don’t forget to thank the teachers that
volunteer each week to bless our kids. These children are the priority of
our church. When you are ministering to children, you are ministering to God.
Catechism
We wrapped this up last week, with cupcakes and pop! I loved
getting to know the 6th graders better… It was such an amazing group
of kids!! Their parents should be proud! Looking forward to next fall- be sure
to thank the teachers for all their time and dedication, and pray for the
people feeling Gods calling for next year! 2016-17 teachers were: Deidre
Dowdey, Becky Van Ginkel, Karma VanderVelde, Adam Van Schepen, Kelsy Van Egdom,
Nicole Roder, Heather Willemmsen, Nolan Den Boer, Jen Rus, Mary Jo Van
Otterloo, Al Van Beek, & Pastor Mike. Thank you to each one of you
for your time, energy, prayers & love that you poured into these kids!
VBS
Exciting as another year of VBS is getting planned!! The
volunteers are already putting in lots of hours to make this year a huge
success!! I am so excited for this- it opens our doors to people who might not
attend church, its fun, and it get our kids excited about God! This year we
will be serving a light supper- so this is another ministry opportunity for our
church as well! It will be served during the normal snack time- if you want to
make monetary donations towards the cost of the meal, let me know!! We will
also have sign up sheets as VBS gets closer for food items to make or buy!!
Thank you all so much for your prayers for VBS as we plan another year.
Don’t forget to thank Coby Haak and Dakota Vlotho for their time and energy
they put into VBS! Its a lot of work- and they are amazing for volunteering all
those hours!
Thank you for bearing with me.. it’s long I know- but I
think it’s really important for everyone to know what’s going on, and ways they
can be the lifeblood of our Children’s Ministry by volunteering!
We are not raising kids, we are raising adults. The
work done in our nursery, classrooms, and this church will shape the life of
these children. 85% of people who accept Christ will do so before the age
of 18. THAT IS HUGE. We need to get children into this church- we
need to shape their lives, we need to teach them of Jesus love for them, and
more importantly we need to SHOW them Jesus!!!
Dear God- I thank you for everyone who has read this letter,
and I pray that you have stirred their hearts and called them out of their
comfort zone. I thank you for the people who you have equipped to be the
lifeblood of this ministry- we know I am just your tool, so please humbly use
me to bless this church and the lives of others. Please allow us to bring
Christ to the world. Help us to be a blessing and show this community
your love. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Please continue to pray for me as well. Pray that
God’s will is done in this small basement office and that our church will be
abundantly blessed through the work God does in my life.
God’s humble servant,
Krista Smith
712-470-3151
