Scott's Thoughts: Jul 9, 2023
Even though, as always, there are 17 important things to cover, I’m trying my best, against my will, to thoroughly crush and disappoint my inner perfectionistic fool such that slowly emerging personal satisfaction with smaller and more frequent ST posts might eventually become yours. So, I offer just one item today.
Total Reading Time: 5 mins (for an avg reader, according to wordcounter.net).
Total Reading Time: 5 mins (for an avg reader, according to wordcounter.net).
Kids Leadership Transition
Charity Damrau, who has been serving as Kids Director for the last 3 years, is no longer on Staff with us. While Charity served both FCC and the Lord faithfully—with personal integrity, excellence, sacrifice, and hard work—it was not a good fit. Sometimes the disconnect simply comes down to a matter of differing visions of ministry. Nonetheless, we are truly grateful for Charity’s hard work. Please be in prayer for her, her family, and for our church’s future in Helping Kids Find and Follow Jesus!
Now… As we’ve made clear in a few messages to Elders, Staff, and Kids Vols, we need to help ensure we are unified in thinking and speaking kindly, graciously, and in a way that glorifies God, builds trust with one another, and leaves no room for loose or unkind talk. We’ve had a couple situations in the past where too much uninformed and ungracious loose talk did some damage to all involved and it hindered our progress (Proverbs 10:19; 1 Timothy 5:13; 6:11). Often, when we stray beyond the lane for which we’re aware and responsible, it’s a sign we are losing focus on our own task at hand—forward missional movement (Psalm 112:6-8). Our Campus Pastors (or another staffer, if the CP is “out”) will be joining Kids Min Huddles for the next couple Sundays, in case anyone wants to chat more, has questions, etc. Also, feel free to find/contact me, an Elder, CP, or Next Gen Team member (Travis, Samantha).
“So, what’s next with Kids Min?” This past week, I gathered Travis Chapman (Youth/Next Gen) and Samantha Hinkle (Preschool Kids), and we began doing some Kids Min interim planning. I think we’ve got a great plan in place to move forward in ways that will significantly strengthen our ministry to kids at FCC, so here a few of the basics. Samantha is going to be putting in some extra hours for a few weeks to fill in gaps and to help as we begin the behind-the-scenes training and prepping of the person we believe God has already been preparing. We are also working on quite a few structural and curricular tweaks that we will be asking parents, grandparents, and Kids Vols to provide feedback about and help us experiment with as we begin assessing effectiveness. This will likely entail things we’ve talked about (and a couple things I’ve added here, Travis and Samantha!), such as more fully integrating the preschool and elementary lessons, (perhaps also Sunday morning and Monday evening), proactively equipping parents/guardians to know and teach the lessons, proactively soliciting feedback from parents/vols, to name just a few things we’ve discussed that need some attention. Also, while details are not yet firm, we’ll be having an All-Kids-Vols Pow-Wow in early August, to push reset and get on the same page. We’ll be letting y’all know more ASAP, (likely next Sunday!)
As I previously noted to Elders, Staff, and Kids Vols, I am reminded and grateful, for the many thousandth time, even as we have to struggle through another difficult transition, that I have the unique pleasure of serving on a great team of leaders and vols who are all-in and sold-out to God’s radical vision of everyday boring faithfulness that teaches kids that Jesus loved them enough to die for them! I am grateful for so many “boring servants” who are committed to our crazy multisite vision of small/personal campuses, worship & serve, living a life formed by habits, etc., but most of all, I am thankful that we have dozens of men and women who serve kids as if God’s love for them matters enough for you to love them! God has given us a great work to do and I am convinced our best days are ahead (Hebrews 6:17-20)!
Now… As we’ve made clear in a few messages to Elders, Staff, and Kids Vols, we need to help ensure we are unified in thinking and speaking kindly, graciously, and in a way that glorifies God, builds trust with one another, and leaves no room for loose or unkind talk. We’ve had a couple situations in the past where too much uninformed and ungracious loose talk did some damage to all involved and it hindered our progress (Proverbs 10:19; 1 Timothy 5:13; 6:11). Often, when we stray beyond the lane for which we’re aware and responsible, it’s a sign we are losing focus on our own task at hand—forward missional movement (Psalm 112:6-8). Our Campus Pastors (or another staffer, if the CP is “out”) will be joining Kids Min Huddles for the next couple Sundays, in case anyone wants to chat more, has questions, etc. Also, feel free to find/contact me, an Elder, CP, or Next Gen Team member (Travis, Samantha).
“So, what’s next with Kids Min?” This past week, I gathered Travis Chapman (Youth/Next Gen) and Samantha Hinkle (Preschool Kids), and we began doing some Kids Min interim planning. I think we’ve got a great plan in place to move forward in ways that will significantly strengthen our ministry to kids at FCC, so here a few of the basics. Samantha is going to be putting in some extra hours for a few weeks to fill in gaps and to help as we begin the behind-the-scenes training and prepping of the person we believe God has already been preparing. We are also working on quite a few structural and curricular tweaks that we will be asking parents, grandparents, and Kids Vols to provide feedback about and help us experiment with as we begin assessing effectiveness. This will likely entail things we’ve talked about (and a couple things I’ve added here, Travis and Samantha!), such as more fully integrating the preschool and elementary lessons, (perhaps also Sunday morning and Monday evening), proactively equipping parents/guardians to know and teach the lessons, proactively soliciting feedback from parents/vols, to name just a few things we’ve discussed that need some attention. Also, while details are not yet firm, we’ll be having an All-Kids-Vols Pow-Wow in early August, to push reset and get on the same page. We’ll be letting y’all know more ASAP, (likely next Sunday!)
As I previously noted to Elders, Staff, and Kids Vols, I am reminded and grateful, for the many thousandth time, even as we have to struggle through another difficult transition, that I have the unique pleasure of serving on a great team of leaders and vols who are all-in and sold-out to God’s radical vision of everyday boring faithfulness that teaches kids that Jesus loved them enough to die for them! I am grateful for so many “boring servants” who are committed to our crazy multisite vision of small/personal campuses, worship & serve, living a life formed by habits, etc., but most of all, I am thankful that we have dozens of men and women who serve kids as if God’s love for them matters enough for you to love them! God has given us a great work to do and I am convinced our best days are ahead (Hebrews 6:17-20)!
Posted in Scotts Thoughts