Children's Ministry - warning: this is a LONG post. sorry.

I have had the privilege of being the children's ministry coordinator at Parkway for about a year now. I have done this off and on over the past few years, but started on a part-time, year around basis last May. It has been wonderful. I love planning children's events for the church, especially meaningful events. Here are a few things we have done in my first year at the church.

SUMMER 2009

Last summer, instead of doing Bible School, we went to different communities around town and did block parties on Sunday evenings. They were wonderful! At the block parties, we have a bible study, craft, moon bounces, and food! We had a lot of people come to these events and we all had a good time! Below are some pictures of the kids (and adults) enjoying the block parties!

We also took the kids to the Louisiana Arts and Sciences Museum in Baton Rouge, LA. It was SOOOOOO much fun! I actually got to bring my 5th graders there this year and they had equally as much fun! I recommend everyone go, if they haven't already! 

To wrap the summer up, our older kids went to Centri- Kid at Mississippi College in Clinton, MS. They LOVED it! We are going back again this summer. Due to the fact that I am a teacher and we have to go to work the end of July, I wasn't able to attend last summer. Therefore, I have no pictures to share. While the older kids go to Centri- Kid, the younger kids stay at the church for day camp. Each day of day camp, the kids have a worship time, a bible study, make a craft, eat a snack, and go on a field trip. Our favorite field trip spots are the bowling ally, a carriage ride around downtown natchez, a visit to a swimming pool, and The Natchez Indian Village!! 

In September, we started a new ministry at the church called Parent's Night Out. We have PNO the first Saturday of each month from 5:30 - 7:30. This is a way for our Sunday School departments to have outreach events and socials without having to worry about getting a baby sitter. The event is free but we do take donations. Our youth work the event and the donations are used as a fundraiser for their summer trip. PNO also provides each child with a bible study, craft, and dinner. The kids seem to have a lot of fun, as do the youth. Here are a few pictures - I apologize for the side ways pictures. 

In October, we normally have a fall fest in place of halloween. However, we have hosted a fall fest for so long, it was becoming a bit monotonous so this year we decided to try out Trunk or Treat. In case you are not aware of what Trunk or Treat is, I will briefly explain. You have member of your church decorate their car and themselves in a certain theme. We arranged the cars in one of our parking lots and made a little pathway around them. The kids travel the pathway playing games or hearing stories at each car, and of course receiving candy. We had 30 cars that participated. Along with trunk or treat, we also had a section designated to Slime Time Games. We have 10 slimy, gross games for the kids to play. We also served hot dogs, popcorn, and cotton candy. Below are a few pictures from the event. 

For Christmas, we saw the opportunity for us to provide the families in our community with an event to share the Christmas story. We called this The Tour of Bethlehem. As the families entered, they were taken to the census room to register. After a group of 20 or so gathered, a tour guide led the group through a tour of our different rooms. Here is what a tour looked like. Stop 1 : A tour of bethlehem. We had this room set up with different things you would have found in Bethlehem; i.e. a farmer's market, a bakery, and a perfume maker. The kids were able to sample different foods and help make perfume, mosaics, and bread. Stop 2: Game Time. In this room, the kids heard the story of the Candy Cane and played a Christmas version of spin the tale on the donkey- where the kids had to decorate a christmas tree after being spun around 3 times. Stop 3: Crafts. We also order crafts from oriental trading. Stop 4: Bible Study. For this, we had our youth act out the nativity scene. They did a good job. Stop 5: Christmas cookies. In this room, the kids decorated Christmas cookies. Stop 6: Dinner. We usually do hot dogs, chips, popcorn, and cookies for dinners like this. After their tour was complete, the families were able to go home. Sorry I do not have any pictures for this one. 

For the spring semester, my focus was on AWANA, our Wednesday evening activity for kids. Awana is a program that allows our kids to learn scripture. You can read their website for more information. We planned several Saturday events throughout this semester. We brought the kids to several nursing homes in February to visit some of our church members and to pass out fruit baskets. We quickly found out how funny some of the kids could be, when they started telling the residents the jokes from the laffy taffy candy wrapper. In March, we took the boys to a fundraiser for St. Catherine's Wildlife Refuge, called Wildthangs. They had an archery exhibit, fun jumps, and other wildlife exhibits. They had a blast. Here are a few pictures. 

For more information on children's events at Parkway Baptist Church children's ministry, click on the link below. 

www.parkwaybaptistchurch.com/children