Welcoming Jesus in their Hearts!

On the last Sunday of November, the children in children’s church learned about John the Baptist. Led by teachers Sister Sharon Beck and Sister Lillie Cousin, they made necklaces out of yarn and paper hearts on Nov. 25. The words “Welcoming Jesus in my Heart” were written on top of one of the hearts, along with the Bible reference Mark 1:3-4.  The paper hearts bore these words from the biblical reference: “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. John came baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism for the forgiveness of sins.”

About 20 children participated in the activity, and before the lesson, they introduced themselves by sharing the name of their favorite desserts!

Follow where God leads!

On Sunday, Nov. 18, about 22 children learned in Children’s Church that God is a leader who knows everything and will never lead them astray.

Sister Kim Willingham, with assistance from four volunteers, taught the children about how God told Abraham and his wife Sarah to move to a new place. And they obeyed. The Bible story was based on Genesis 12:1-8, and the children played a Simon Says-like game called “God says.” After the game the children discussed what makes it easy—or not easy—to follow a leader: One child, Taylor, said following is easy because we just have to follow the leader’s example. Caden, a different child, said following could be difficult if we’re talking too much or not listening for directions.

After the lesson, the children watched a Veggie Tales clip in which David confronted Goliath. The clip was connected to their earlier lesson of creation and how God made each of us special and with a purpose, no matter our age, size, gifts, or talents.

Sis. Kim taught the lesson with assistance from Sister Sandra Walker, Sister Margaret Kiwanuka-Woernle, Sister Kathy Krebs, and Brother Desmond Patterson.

Give glory to God, not to people

The 18 children who attended Children’s Church on Sunday, Nov. 11, learned how God confused the language of humans when they stopped worshipping God and instead tried to bring glory to themselves through the building of a tower.

Teachers Karen King, Susan Racine, Kathy Krebs, and Chris Jones taught the lesson about the Tower of Babel, which was drawn from Genesis 11: 1-9. The memory verse was Colossians 3:17: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of Jesus giving thanks to God.”

For the activity, the children pasted pictures of blocks with portions of the memory verse onto paper to form their own towers. But the words on their towers stated how they should give glory to God and not to people.

At the end of the day, the children sat in a circle and thought of something God gave us and said “Yea God.”
 

The Flood, Praising God, and Offering Reminder

On Nov. 11 during Children’s Church, the children will tell the teacher ten occasions when they praised God during the week.

The Rev. Sabrina Gray, who taught Children’s Church on Nov. 4, encouraged the children to praise God as Noah did during the time of the Flood. Look for ten times when you can praise God this week, she told them last Sunday. In addition to teaching, Rev. Sabrina reminded parents to send children with an offering because offering collection is one of the activities of Children’s Church.

Last week, the children reviewed that Noah, out of obedience to God, built an ark and gathered two of every animal. The children acted out the story by pretending to be specific animals boarding the ark, Rev. Sabrina said. The children also sung Rise and Shine, whose lyrics describe the story of the Flood.

Adults who helped teach Children’s Church included Sister Cammie, Sister Nichelle, and Sister Kemba. Teens Jasmine and C.J. also served as assistants during Children’s Church.

Note to Parents: Please help the teachers instruct the children about the importance of giving financial gifts to God and the church by sending them to Children’s Church with a small offering. 

Children Learn Lessons from Classic Noah’s Ark Story

Sister Sharon Beck taught 18 children Oct. 28 about Noah serving as God’s special helper. She read the story of Noah to the children and led them in the completion of a take-home project. For the activity, students colored two animals and pasted them on a picture of an ark. Sister Lillie Cousin, who served as the teacher’s assistant, also helped students decorate a poster board with pictures of animals.

Teen volunteers Josh Racine and C.J.  Turnbull, as well as adult volunteers Chris Jones and Kathy Krebs, helped the children complete the projects and fed them snacks.

Children Learn to Always Give God their Best

God accepted Abel’s offering because it was his best, and we too should always give the Lord our best!

Fourteen children in children’s church on Sunday, Oct. 20, heard the story of Cain and Abel and practiced its lesson of the importance of giving God their best. The Rev. Sabrina Gray taught the lesson with assistance from adult volunteers Kemba Gray and Desmond Hall.

The children learned that Cain killed his brother Abel because he was jealous that God accepted Abel’s gift but not his gift. God accepted Abel’s gift because it was the best he could give, Rev. Gray said.

Rev. Gray encouraged the children to always give God their best too, from riding in the car to accompanying their parents to the grocery store. During the service the children also acted out the story of Cain and Abel, she said.

In addition to hearing the lesson, the children prayed and sang songs. The kids also were taught about the importance of bringing an offering to support the church building and an upcoming children’s ministry project.

Can’t Touch His Ways!

The Gospel Message was front and center on Sunday, Oct. 14.

Sister Karen King and Sister Susan Racine taught about 14 children about how Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God and listening to the sly serpent. They learned that we are sinners when we disobey God and that we are all sinners no matter how hard we try to be good.

In an activity, the teachers had the kids try as hard as they could to jump and reach God (a card with God's name that was posted high on the wall). The activity taught that God's ways are so far above our ways that the kids couldn't reach it. When one of the Sunday School teachers helped to lift each child up physically, like Jesus lifts us up spiritually, we could get close enough to touch God. The students learned that all our sins are forgiven because of Jesus. The children wrote down something they did that needed forgiveness, and they drew a picture illustrating their sins or an illustration thanking God for His forgiveness.  

Sister Carol McMillan, Sister Sandra Walker, and youth helper Kalala Woernle assisted the teachers. Sister Kathy Krebs led the creation song.

Children Ruminate upon What Makes Them Special

On Oct. 7, Sister Kim Willingham, taught a lesson about the sixth day of creation and the creation of man.

Being Serious about Offering
Before getting to the bible story, the children recited the Bethel chant as they marched to our offering basket.  During our march, we had a few giggles and little legs climbing on chairs rather than marching.  We took this as an opportunity to talk about why we don't take our offering time lightly.  Six-year-olds Joanell and Ella reminded us of how we should enter into giving.  Joanell shared that "we give our offering to show God how much we love Him," and Ella admonished that "we have to be serious for God!"

And God Created Adam!
After shaking our tambourines to a fun song we learned about creation, we reviewed what God created during each of the six days.  We discussed how God created everything, except for man, with His words.  God used His hands to create Adam and Eve and, in the words of one child, “His imagination.” We talked about what it means to be God's handiwork and how much time, patience, and thought goes into making a handiwork, or a unique masterpiece.

The children pretended to carefully shape dust into the shape of a man, giving him eyes, a nose, ears, and even belly buttons.  They finished their creations by blowing breath into the nostrils of the men they created, just as God created Adam.  We talked about how God took a part of Adam to make Eve and how God thought about just how he wanted to create her.  This all helped us to think about the care God puts into making each of us.  We looked around the room at each other to notice our similarities - we all have hair, eyes, legs, noses, skin, and attendee Alexander reminded us that we have the same things underneath our skin, too - blood and bones.  We're also very different.  Attendee Kamau noticed he has short hair like his mommy.  Attendee Caden said that he has puffy hair, while attendee Katyra had a ponytail.

“I am God’s masterpiece, and I am…”
For our activity, each child wrote down what makes them special.  They completed the sentence, "I am God's masterpiece, and I am _______________________."  Answers ranged from "I am a helper with my little brother" by attendee Sienna to "I am a great artist" by attendee Kayleena.

The children left with their sentences and the memory verse Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  We ask that parents read with their child daily the sentence their child wrote about what makes them special along with the memory verse.

Special thanks to Sister Kathy Krebs and youth volunteer Mikayla Willingham who helped with the class last week, and also to parent Kendra Thompson for donating snacks!

Children to Learn About Adam and Eve Today!

Today, Bethel’s Children’s Ministry volunteers will teach the children about the significance of Adam and Eve.

Last week volunteers taught the children about creation! Here’s a report from volunteer Kim Willingham, who was one of last week’s teachers:

“We had 23 children in attendance yesterday, many of them new. We introduced ourselves to one another - students and teachers. 

For our lesson, we discussed creation (Genesis 1-2). The children listened to a rhyming story on creation from a phonics bible. To help them remember what God created on each day, I reached into a special ‘creation’ bag and pulled out things that represented what God created on each day. They squealed when I had them close their eyes to get a sense of the darkness that existed before God said, ‘Let there be light,’ only to open their eyes and see the flashlight I shined on them. They especially giggled when I sprayed them with a mist of water from a spray bottle to help trigger their memories of God creating living creatures in the waters of the world. 

After looking at the other items in the bag (a bag of dirt, an action figure to represent people, etc.), the children made creation prayer booklets, drawing something they're grateful for and its connection to creation.  (e.g. They can read because of light. They can swim in the water. Some of them have pets.) We are grateful to parent Dee Hall for donating snacks, volunteer Kathy Krebs, and teen volunteer Demiah Crawford.  A team of teachers taught last week’ creation lesson. They included: Lillie Cousin, Karen King, Susan Racine, Desmond Patterson, Sharon Watson-Beck, and myself Kim Willingham.”

Youth Pastor Candidate Wants to Lead By Example

During a recent youth event at his church in Brooklyn, the Rev. Daryl Lobban didn’t lose his cool when the caterer at the event became angry and “got loud.” A youth who watched the 6’4” Lobban respond calmly told Lobban that his calm response made the youth want to grow closer to God, so he could exhibit such self-control too. 

Lobban, who is a candidate for the youth pastor position at Bethel, told about 50 Bethel children, teens, and adults that he wants to lead by example.  The 24-year-old Lobban was a guest preacher at a youth service on Sept. 23 at Bethel. He also delivered the sermon on Youth Sunday on Sept. 30.

Bethel Children’s Ministry volunteers, who will work closely with the new youth pastor, listened to Lobban deliver a message at the Sept. 23 youth service. They also heard Lobban’s answers to questions from youths and adults, which prompted Lobban to relay the story about the caterer. Questions ranged from why he focuses his ministry on the youth, to what kinds of programs he would organize for the children of Bethel.

Lobban’s message on Sept. 23 was based on 1 Peter 2:9 and encouraged the youths to see themselves as God sees them: as “chosen,” as “holy,” as “special,” and as part of “a royal priesthood.” In delivering the message he asked the youths how they see themselves, how their friends see them, and how they thought God sees them.  Youths and adults answered his questions, and he used the scripture and an example from his youth to describe how God sees them.

Lobban is from New York and majored in theology at Nyack College in New York. He is a master of divinity student at Alliance Theological Seminary in New York City, which . He is the youth pastor at the Crown Heights Church of God of Prophecy in Brooklyn, where his father was the pastor.

Lobban’s sermon during Youth Sunday was titled “There’s a Praise in Our Problem,” and was based on Mark 6:45-53. He told the audience that the passage in Mark illustrates how God orchestrates our problems for our growth.

In addition to being Youth Sunday, Sept. 30 marked the school year’s first session of the Children’s Ministry Sunday worship service. 

Happy Back to School!!!!

And with Back to School Time comes the start of Bethel A.M.E.’s Children’s Church ministry!

Children’s Church will start on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, and run until June 30, 2013. Teachers are gearing up and praying to serve the children in the spirit of the Lord. Please pray for our volunteers and the children’s spiritual growth this year. Children’s Church serves children from age 3 to the end of second grade.

If you have a child—or children—in this age range, be sure to register him or her before or after the
Sunday worship service; just look for the Children’s Church table just inside the church doors, outside the sanctuary.

Bethel’s Children Church Ministry needs more teachers and parent involvement during the ministry’s Sunday worship service. To volunteer, leave your name and contact info with someone at the Children’s Church registration table.

A Father's Day Message 2012

It was such a pleasure creating this video and hearing all the sweet things our children said about their dads, uncles, and grandpas. It is evident that there is a lot of love in the families in our church. 

-Sister Jessica

King's Kidz: Arts Explosion

Hi Parents!

We wanted to inform and remind you that the King's Kidz will be singing in this event coming up in a couple Sundays. That day we will have Children's Church as usual in the Fellowship Hall, and you will pick them up as usual. You will have time to grab lunch, then make your way back to the church. I will be attending the dress rehearsal to get more specific information. You DO NOT have to attend the dress rehearsal with your child.

We will be singing:

Jesus Loves Me Clapping Song

He Reigns (by Byron Cage)

Victory Chant will be sung with the entire Mass Choir!

We look forward to having as many of the kids as possible participate. 

Please let us know if you will be unable to participate.

Jessica Rae Huber

Recap From April 15 & 22nd

Hello Parents and Friends!

We have had a wonderful two weeks here at Children's Church. We are coming off of the terrific Easter song that our kids sang. They continue to amaze us in getting better every time.

On the 15th we had Sister Karen lead us with a special guest activity leader, Sister Waetie Sanaa.

We started learning the song Be still and Know for Graduation Sunday: See Below

Sister Waetie Sanaa taught us with Baby Lamb how to talk with new friends

Practicing

On the 22nd (today) we learned about Jonah and the Whale with Lead Teacher, Sister Lillie. The children then created beautiful rainbow fish with colored rice and glue. 

We had some of the children help read the story today.

So many good readers!

 

There has been a last minute decision to have the King's Kidz sing NEXT Sunday, April 29th as well as on Graduation Sunday. Next week they will come to Children's Church as usual and we will bring them on stage at the appropriate time. For Graduation Sunday, they will sit with you through service and we will pull them out during the Altar Call. 

Next week the kids will sing one they know, Your Love is Deep:

Your Love is Deep 

Your Love is High

Your Love is Long 

Your Love is Wide

Who Can Separate us?

Who Can Separate us from Your Love?

Nothing Can Separate us.

Nothing Can Separate us from Your Love.

On Graduation Sunday, June 24th we will sing Be Still and Know which is on your practice CD:

Be still be silent and know that I am God

Be still be silent and know that I am God

I am God

I will be honored by every nation

I will be honored throughout the world

I will be honored by every nation

I will be honored throughout the world

Throughout the world

Be still be silent and know that I am God

Be still be silent and know that I am God

I am God

I will be honored by every nation

I will be honored throughout the world

I will be honored by every nation

I will be honored throughout the world

Throughout the world

Throughout the world

Be still be silent and know that I am God

Be still be silent and know that I am God

I am God

 

He Reigns! (Easter Sunday)

Dressed in their Easter Sunday best, the King's Kidz choir at Bethel AME Church, Boston, directed by Jessica Huber, sings HE REIGNS by Byron Cage.

Sunday, March 18th

Hello Parents and friends!

This past Sunday the children got to learn about Noah's Ark and all the animals that came on board with him. Sister Lillie was our lead teacher this week. 

We colored pictures of Noah's Ark with all the animals in it. 

As we look toward Easter it is very important that the kid's continue to learn the song He Reigns by Byron Cage. Each child was sent home with a sheet of lyrics. We will also have more next week. The song is on your practice CD, but if you do not have this we have provided it right here on the blog. We want our kids to know it so well that Easter Sunday is a blessed time of having them lead the congregation in a praise song. 

From Moses to "Moses" our God Leads the Way!

This week, in celebration of Black History Month and in preparation for next Sunday's Youth Service, our children learned about two very courageous people who led God's children from slavery to freedom - Moses and Harriet "Moses" Tubman. We opened in praise and worship as we sang about the joy, love and peace of God that dwells "deep in our hearts". We were delighted to have a number of boys in our midst, and we captured three of them (below) using instruments as part of their offering of praise.

While the team had discussed teaching about Harriet Tubman on this day months ago, it was truly a blessing to witness how God had orchestrated a full and complementary lesson. Before arriving to church, Teacher Kim Willingham felt led to draw a parallel between Moses, who God had instructed to lead the Israelites to freedom, and Harriet Tubman, who led enslaved African Americans North to freedom.
We read from the Children's Bible the story of the Israelite journey and the parting of the Red Sea. It wasn't until the next day while listening to the CD of Pastor Ray's message that we learned that he, too, used the Israelite exodus to teach about our "round about" journeys.

Then further aligning our efforts, God sent Sister Sharon Beck who surprised us as a guest reader bringing with her a wonderful picture book, and winner of The Caldecott Medal, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom written by Carole Boston Weatherford. Throughout the story, Harriet calls on God for strength and guidance much like Moses as he led the Israelites out of Egypt.

In addition to coloring pictures of Harriet, Sister Beck began to teach the children a poem by Eloise Greenfield about how "Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff" and how she helped free 300 slaves during her 19 journeys back to the South. Sister Jessica rounded out the lesson as she led our little ones through rehearsing the song Harriet Tubman, which they will sing before the congregation next week, February 26, for Youth Sunday.

Please help us by reinforcing this lesson of the important contributions of God's children - Moses and Harriet "Moses" Tubman! Remind our children that we are free because of God's grace and the sacrifice of those He's called to lead and who were obedient to his call.

Also, please have your child wear red next week - a dress, a sash, a shirt or sweater. You'll hear in the song they'll be singing the question, "Who are those children dressed in red? They must be the ones that Moses led..."

Finally, please don't forget to email your child(ren)'s prayer requests to Sister Kim at mkwillingham1@aol.com or Sister Lillie at neworleansgal17@comcast.net. Thank you.

God bless you!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Prodigal God from redeemer.tv on Vimeo.

This Sunday Children's Ministry was led by Jessica Huber and her husband, Ryan Huber. We learned about the story of The Prodigal Son. Above is a video that we did not view in church, but is a fun video for you to reinforce the story and lesson at home.

The children colored 2 pictures of the story they learned about. On both pages was their memory verse: 

Luke 15:32

But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found

 

We continue to encourage parents and families to be practicing the song Harriet Tubman at home in preparation for the King's Kidz performance in February.

Sunday, January 22nd and Harriet Tubman Song

Hello Parents and Familes!

I'm glad to be posting here again and showing what we have been doing.

This past Sunday the children learned about the story of Jonah and the Big Fish. Sister Karen was our teacher for the day. 

 

The kids then made crafts where they colored big fish and glued their Jonahs where they thought he should go inside the fish.

 

The children are learning the song Harriet Tubman for the Black History Month performance on February 26. There will be a soloist and the kids will back them up. There is a version on your practice CD and you should have been receiving lyrics when you pick your child up. Here is a live version of the song to practice with. 

Please practice this song with your child. We need help reinforcing the lyrics. The bold black text on the lyric sheet is what the kids are responsible for. The other lyrics are just for reference.