ALL THINGS CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Christmas Eve. Don't Miss It!

The calendar shows that the corporate church will have 52 weeks to connect with families and share Jesus during the year. Attendance shows us that Christmas Eve, Easter and Mother's Day are the three most attended services of the year. On Christmas Eve, every seat in the sanctuary becomes occupied with members of the congregation, folks from the community and first time visitors. 

Christmas Eve; a unique worship opportunity for families. A unique opportunity for those who are trying to find their way back to church. A unique opportunity for the non believer looking for something to believe in! 

Christmas Eve! We need it! Here is why!

Light and Dark!

There is something calming and magical about being in the church at night. Most often we worship during the day. On Christmas Eve the trumpets sound, the Processional Cross makes its way to the chancel , we sing . The candles of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love are lighted. The Christ candle, the tallest candle is lighted .

Joy to the World , The Lord Has Come ! Happy Birthday Jesus! 

 People. Lots of people!

Here is the  church, here is the steeple open the doors and see all of the people. Yes, this fun kids finger poem holds true on Christmas Eve for sure. The phrase " big church" on Christmas Eve means that every pew is filled with " all of the people!" What a joy it is to  be part of something really big! Bigger than all of the gifts under the tree. Bigger than the crowd at the mall, Walmart, and Target and bigger than Santa. 

The Story

Luke 2 ...is the story. Even if you are in the pew for only Christmas Eve, you know the story. The good news that brings great joy to all people!  " Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you!" Luke 2 " 11. As the scripture is read you probably can recite it silently. 

Singing

There is nothing better, than singing hymns accompanied with organ, bells and trumpet. Folks sing and are not self conscious of being heard. And of course the singing of Silent Night in the candle light is the icing on the Christmas Eve worship birthday cake! 

Singing, the multi vitamins for the soul.

Family Traditions

Worshiping on Christmas Eve as a family creates over the years a treasure chest of memories. Come , Now Is the Time to Worship! Come as you are. Be in community. Be in fellowship. The best gift you can give yourself and your children is the gift of Jesus. It is free!  Santa and Rudolf can be part of the night  for sure, but when we hold on to the truths of John 3:16 For God so loved us..that he gave to us.... Jesus a real baby boy, a boy that became a man, a man who died for us, a  man who rose for us and ascended into heaven and makes a place for us in heaven.  We find hope for tomorrow!

We need Christmas Eve. Don't miss it!

Merry Christmas

Belinda Bost, Children's Minister

Concordia Lutheran Church, LCMS

Conover , NC

Lent In A Bag

Lent In A Bag- Family Lenten Devotional

There are many versions of Lent in a Bag. After viewing many of them on Pinterest and blogs this is what I came up with , what I thought would work for our very busy families.

In each bag families found directions on how to use the items..I have them posted below. A Lenten pathway printed on the back of the instructions , a sandwich baggie filled with sand, a tea light candle, hearts for marking the journey and a wind up Jesus ( the link for him below)


Instructions and the Lenten Pathway On the
same page. Front and Back view.

Instructions on how to use the hearts to mark each day in Lent.
Copied on purple copy paper.
Here is the link to my Google doc. instructions.
Google doc. instructions.

Click on the link for the printable instructions.
Instructions on how to use the hearts to mark the Lenten journey.



Doodle hearts were copied on red card stock.

I used this heart clip art and printed in black and used the printer tab to print 4 to a page.



Cut into strips . Each bag contained 42 hearts. 40 for the Lenten pathway and 2 extra.

Each week I posted on Social Media my own Lenten journey.

Click on the link for the wind up walking Jesus.
Wind up Walking Jesus

Here is a free printable for you.
Happy Easter! He Is Risen!

Click on the link for my Lent/Easter Pinterest Board.
Lent/Easter Ideas Pinterest Board

Be The Light!

Be The Light

Teaching and Training. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. 

As Christian parents we teach and train on purpose and for a purpose. God has given you and I the significant vocational passing on of our faith as a heritage to our children; the most important job we will ever have.

 We want our children to have a relationship with Jesus, a friendship. One way we include Jesus in our lives is through prayer. We tell Jesus all of our hopes, dreams and fears just like we would tell a BFF.

Martin Luther tells us that "It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last of the evening".

In our homes we can model prayer by praying together. Praying for one another and with one another.

This hand prayer prompt works well with children. Each finger represents prayers of praise, confession, thankfulness, friends and family and self. The closing can simply be, Lord in your mercy hear my prayer.

The Lord's Prayer can be spoken out loud each morning before everyone goes their separate ways. Prayers of thanksgiving can be given each evening.

Create a "Ransom" note  Lord's Prayer family poster and hang it in the kitchen or family room.

Jesus said," I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. " John 8:12

We call the world dark because it is filled with sin. We call Jesus the light because He breaks through the darkness of sin by His death and resurrection. He shows us that through faith in Him as our Savior.

We light the candles in church to remind us that Jesus is present as the Light of the world.

These little tea light houses can serve as a reminder to bring Jesus into our homes .

To get this paper tea light house template use the link at the bottom of the post.

For the sake of time I chose to cover the windows up with paper before printing. Card stock works  well. I knew that I could not spend the required time that it would take to cut out all of those sweet windows. I used a heart  paper punch to make some small windows  and a scalloped circle to make the large front window. I added a window pane with card stock and used yellow tissue paper to the back of the large front window to give it a finished look.

Insert a tea light. Welcome Jesus! He is the Light!

As you can see with the reference of the pen , the little paper tea light house is...little.

Under 4 inches in height.

A perfect fit for my desktop shelving. A visual reminder to invite Jesus into my space and into my heart each day with bold prayers of praise, confession and thanksgiving ; prayers for others and prayers for myself.

 

 Growing our faith. Putting our faith in action. How can we as a family respond to God's Grace? 

Do an act of love to someone who is in a hurting, sad, or sick..in a dark place. Share Christ's light .

Tea Light House Template

Send me a Buzz here.