3/22/12

What About Children's Ministry?


Every pastor has found the occasion to use the famous quote by Jesus, where He said, “Let the little children come to me and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14) Certainly, Jesus was being very directive to those of us who would lead His church today.

One of the tragedies of the church today is that children’s ministry across the church is so easily neglected. When budgets are cut, we cut out of the children’s ministry. When we are looking for staff, we staff first, the choir, then finance office, then the youth director, then a personal secretary for the pastor and maybe, sometimes later we hire one of the parents to do a little part-time work for the children’s programs.

It is so easy to neglect the children. We would not call it neglect, because we know there are parents who will take care of the needs or there will be some kindly grandmother who will teach the third grade Sunday school class. Maybe we can find someone who will do the children’s sermon. With a lot of persuasion and arm-twisting we recruit the workers for Vacation Bible-School and the Children’s Christmas Program. It seems that in the work we do in the church, it is so easy to put children’s ministry near the bottom of our priority list. This is ironic because most pastors have spent a good part of their lives trying their best to be good parents to their own children and to see that they had a good Christian education.

Most pastors realize that to have young families as a part of your church, you must have an effective children’s program. Yet, we as pastors, along with the partnership of older lay leaders of the local church, often put children’s ministry as our last priority.

I believe that Jesus’ advice about children is to the church today. It’s time for us to change our priorities and make children’s ministry at the top of the list!

*Note* Leadership Nexus Foundation will be presenting “Leadership Conference 2012” at First UMC of Colorado Springs, Colorado, July 30 – August 2, 2012. This is going to be a powerful training event for clergy and lay leaders. The event features topics, such as “Leadership in Children’s Ministry”; “Youth Ministry”; “Social Media and Worship” and more! Speakers for this event are experts in these areas and include:  Author and Professor, Dr. Lovett Weems; Director of New Church Starts and Author, Bob Crossman; Rev. Dr. Leanne Ciampa Hadley; Associate Pastor and Author; Speaker, Professor and Award-Winning Writer, Bob Whitesel; Craig Miller; Director of Evangelism, NCD, UMC GBOD and Author; plus many more.... For more information please email us or visit our event page.

3/16/12

Single Again Workshop



Single Again Workshop
http://www.singleagainworkshop.com/

Weekend workshop for people who have experienced divorce will be held at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Tulsa Campus on March 30th – April 1st, 2012. The seminar will provide opportunities for persons to work through some of the major issues faced in dealing with divorce. The conference is being led by Dr. Robert Pierson, former senior pastor of Christ United Church in Tulsa and is a part of the OWU program of service to the Tulsa community. Subjects to be dealt with as a part of the conference will be: anger, disappointment, grief, self-esteem, finances and re-planning life. We will also discuss single-parent issues, financial issues, and understanding singleness today. All of this will be dealt with in the context of the Christian faith, prayer and understanding of God’s support and help. The opening session begins at 6:30pm and concludes at 9:30pm, on Friday evening, March 30th. The second session is Saturday, beginning at 8:30am, continuing until 5:30pm. The final session is on Sunday afternoon, from 1:30pm until 9:00pm.

People who have experienced this workshop have said, “This seminar truly saved my life!” and “It gave me the tools I needed for rebuilding.” One attendee commented that this event “Provided me with a new direction and confidence about the future.” Most have described this conference as a place where participants sense God’s direction through a troubled time.

The cost is $30 per person. Childcare will be provided for single parents. Seating is limited. Scholarships are available on request. To reserve your seat today click here or for more information, contact Dr. Bob Pierson at 918-809-7489 or email. Visit us on Facebook Events and invite your friends.

We hope you will join us for this encouraging and life-changing experience!

Hospitality for this event is provided by the Tulsa Christyle Community, a fellowship of Christians committed to vigorously placing Christ first in their lives. For more information about the Christyle Community, please visit our facebook page.