KICK by the ROUNDABOUT OF FAITH

This winter, our leaders in the church have been going through a special training called Fruitful Congregations Journey. The training is not about how to get more butts in pews, but about what a disciple is, and how our church can take part  as God makes disciples of Jesus Christ. "Disciple" is the word used for those who followed Jesus’ leadership and lived their lives to share the good news Jesus brought. As part of this journey, we have had some deep conversations about the characteristics of disciples and how as a church we can foster those characteristics. In that process, we came up with 4 activities that when we take part in, God uses them to transform us. Through doing these simple things consistently, we start looking like Jesus in our core being. These Four activities are: 

   1. Worship

   2. Engaging in a Small Group

   3. Serving others

   4. Sharing our faith to Make New Disciples

KICK, our afterschool program this year, has been what  John Wesley, the founder of the United Methodist Church, would call “a church within a church.” In it, we try to provide the kids of our community with opportunities to worship, engage in a small group, serve others, and make new disciples. This year, we have seen the kids really grab onto those activities. 

          1. Our kids have worshiped by learning songs and motions that praise God. 

          2. They have learned stories and how to apply those biblical principals to their lives…the function of a small group. 

          3. They have shared their faith through inviting their friends to KICK, their parents to church, and everyone under the sun to their end of year program. 

There is only one thing missing. While KICK has provided a huge opportunity for our adults to serve these children, and we have started working with our 5^th and 6^th graders to serve the younger kids, we haven’t provided opportunities for our kids to serve others. 

That’s why this summer, we are encouraging our KICK families to take part in a service project as a family. Some of those families are going to be helping us decorate our parade float to share about VBS. Some of them will be helping with our Summer Feed Program. Some will be helping us on May 15^th in 4 projects we will be tacking during the church hour (That’s right…service is so important we are doing FOUR projects in one morning!). 

Our KICK kids have challenged us as a church to grow deeper as disciples. Their excitement and energy  renews our own energy for the good news. Their questions make us think deeper. Their compassion to others reminds us to love all the time. Their presence has fanned the flame of the Holy Spirit in our church. it is easy to see God’s hand prints all over this ministry, and we pray that it will continue to grow and thrive. We pray that God will use it to make both adults and kids better followers of Jesus.