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WAY2GO 2022 ATTENDEES

WE ASKED FOUR

HERE'S WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY...

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Jo Huggins

Massey Presbyterian, Auckland

I loved the simplicity of the 4 Stones at Way2Go 2022. Sometimes it feels the pressure is on to plan something awesome every week for the kids at church, but really it is about creating an environment where the Holy Spirit is the teacher, and connection is key. Now I don’t try to rush so much when at the start of Kidztime we give time for the children to share their news over morning tea and pray. It is more about listening rather than me talking. And after the story, we allow space for the children to respond and discuss their own insights by using the sentence starter “I wonder...” Success for me is when I have consciously made a personal interaction with each child and leader (and sometimes parent), provided a conversation or an encouraging word (mainly listening), and made a space to make a connection with God.

ATTENDEES HOW THE FOUR FOUNDATIONAL ROCKS ARE HELPING SHAPE THEIR CHILDREN’S MINISTRY INTO 2023.

Lisa Chester

Auckland Bible Church

It really resonated with me that we had been teaching the kids individual accounts from the Bible, but they had no real understanding of how it all fits together—the context of the Big Picture. “Connect to God's Story” was one of the ‘Big Rocks’ talked about at WAY2GO First Things First, which prompted us to start to change things. We started a school holiday series looking at how the Bible is made up of the different types of books (using a Bible Bookcase), and then broke it down further into the themes of each of the books. Slowly, the kids are more able to find their way around the Bible and have a greater understanding of God’s Word. Getting back to basics—not just memorising the names of each of the books of the Bible, but what’s in them, and how they relate to God’s Story.

Sarah Singleton

Gateway Church, Hamilton

I’ve been acutely aware of the great need to reconnect in person with families, especially after these crazy few years. Each session at the WAY2GO training in June 2022 prompted my thinking on helping our families and whānau CONNECT to God, each other and God’s Story. We can encourage families to belong to the church community by serving as volunteers, building friendships, and growing in their Christian faith journey. I talked with kids’ church volunteers about how to engage with kids who might be feeling unsure and need help reconnecting with other kids at church after COVID. We have been using the language of ‘chatting and catching up with God’ when talking about prayer. This linked to the ‘Parenting for Faith’ course we ran on zoom, which aims to help parents share their Christian faith in a simple way. It provides encouragement for parents and offered new tools for their kete.

John Iliffe

Whanganui Central Baptist Church

On Saturday the 18th of June this year I took some time out along with others from our children’s ministry to attend the WAY2GO event in Palmerston North. Early in the day we were introduced to the concept of four rocks. You may have seen the demonstration pouring sand into a glass container and then add in the rocks. You are left with rocks that don’t fit. In this example the four big rocks represent things in our lives that are most important, and the sand is everything else that is happening in and around us. If we don’t consider the important stuff it won’t fit into our lives. It was a very good reminder how critical it is to be grounded in our faith in God, his big picture, our family, and others around us. When we have these big rocks as a foundation in our lives the ordinary with God’s input can become extraordinary in our journey with the children and wider Whānau that we connect with daily. It’s a perfect way to start each day, no matter what age and stage we are in life.

IT WAS A VERY GOOD REMINDER HOW CRITICAL IT IS TO BE GROUNDED IN OUR FAITH IN GOD, HIS BIG PICTURE, OUR FAMILY, AND OTHERS AROUND US.

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