JumpStart is a 30-minute presentation for both kids and parents where we teach children what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is an important part of our strategy to lead children and parents into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. You can find out more about JumpStart here.

We invite our kids and parents to attend JumpStart in several different ways.

· We have a printed information cards that we give to kids and parents when they ask us about JumpStart.

· We create a special piece to talk to the kids about JumpStart whenever we are sharing the gospel in our curriculum.

· We advertise the dates and times in the bulletin.

· We talk about JumpStart during KidStuf.

· We send out an e-blasts several times a year to all of our UpStreet Parents to keep them aware of upcoming dates.

Here is an example of the email that we sent last week:

UpStreet Parents,

Have your kids been asking questions about faith or how to have a relationship with Christ?  If so, JumpStart is a great place to start.  JumpStart is a unique 30-minute presentation where parents and children (grades K-5th) can learn what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  JumpStart is a prerequisite for a child to participate in Family Birthday Celebration, a special baptism service for children who have made the decision to trust Christ.

Here is a glimpse of what JumpStart and Family Birthday Celebration are all about:

Click here to view the embedded video.

We would love for you and your child to have the opportunity to participate in these special events with us.  Here are our upcoming dates for both events:

JumpStart

March 21

May 16

Family Birthday Celebration

May 16

For more information or if you have any questions, please contact us at jumpstart@northpoint.org.

UpStreet Staff

We believe that it’s important to include parents in the most important decision that their child will ever make.

How do you invite parents into the process of leading their children into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ?

Find out how!

While I was in South Africa I met a couple of real life heroes. They would never call themselves heroes – but they are. They are people that you will probably never meet in person and will never hear about on the evening news.

You won’t see them walking down a red carpet at an awards ceremony and they won’t be given a gold medal. But they are heroes. Not showy, flashy, Grammy-Award-winning, or slam-dunking performers. Real. Life. Heroes.

Meet Allison and Liz.

Allison raises her own support to live in Cape Town and has worked her way into a public school system in District 9. There are about 450 kids in this school. These kids attend school in classrooms that are actually temporary storage units built fifty years ago. The classrooms house 35-40 kids each with one teacher.

Girls in front of their classrooms. Yes, these are classrooms.

Allison started by providing Camp SonShine as an after school and summer vacation program. She quickly learned that there was a much bigger need. Kids were coming to school hungry, so she figured out how to get food and make them breakfast. Kids were heading into 5^th grade and they couldn’t read or write their name. So she figured out how to get them a teacher. That’s where Liz comes in. Then created a program to teach the kids who needed the most help.

Kitchen

Allison and Liz understand that these kids need to be able to read and write if they are going to have any chance to have a better future. But more important, Allison and Liz realize that these kids need to know their Heavenly Father.

Do you know why they are heroes? Because they have decided these 450 kids are worth the effort and energy that it takes to show up early, work all day, stay late, and care for these kids during school vacations. They take small groups of kids and teach them, one by one. They take small groups of kids and love them, one by one. They take small groups of kids and introduce them to their Heavenly Father, one by one. They don’t get paid to do this. They raise money and figure out a way to do this because they believe that God can use them to make a difference.

We need your help!

As you can see from some of the pictures, the buildings that these kids are in everyday are less then acceptable. Allison needs two new classrooms to be able to provide the programming and the teaching that she knows they need.

These two classrooms will only cost a total of $4000.

We have a team going back to South Africa on March 19^th and I think we should send them with the money that Allison needs to build these classrooms. Really. Just $4000 will provide two brand new spaces that these kids will benefit from for a long time to come.

How can we pass up this opportunity to do something that is so easy for us to do?

Give here. (Under country choose “globalX.” Under trip choose “most needed.” Under individual type in “South Africa Intersect Project.”)

Give today. I’m going to give right now.

I’ve met Allison in person. I’ve seen the work they are doing. I’ve seen the space on the property where they will build the classrooms. I’ve seen the programming and teaching. I’ve seen the potential. I’ve seen the kids’ faces.

Let’s do this! Give right here. Give right now!

These kids may never fully realize the gift that Allison and Liz are giving them as they give them an education that will help them get a job in the future and has the potential to lift them out of their existing poverty and neglect. There is a really great chance that many of these kids will grow up and know what it means to have a relationship with their Heavenly Father.

Here’s the really cool thing about Allison and Liz. They are going to keep doing what they are doing whether you ever know them or not. They are going to keep giving of their time personally. They are going to keep scraping together the money they need for these kids. They are going to continue to love them and through that love many of these kids will have a very real picture of what the love of their Heavenly Father must look like.

Like I told you…heroes.

Are you paying attention to your blind spots?

A few weeks ago I got a chance to talk with a staff team about their individual strengths and how those strengths work together to create their overall team dynamics. As we were talking, we got into a great discussion about how your strengths can also lead to your greatest blind spots.

Here are a few things about blind spots:

You can’t see them! Seems obvious, but YOU aren’t in the best position to see your blind spots or to know how they are affecting the team.

Your greatest strengths can also do damage to your team dynamics.

You tend to think that everyone values the same things you value and that everyone is good at the same thing that we are good at. Not true!

A few months ago I shared my results from the Strength Finder 2.0 test. I’ll give you a brief description, but if you want more information, I recommend that you buy the Strength Finder’s book. It’s a great tool to have on your shelf.

What I really want to talk about are a few of my blind spots. This isn’t all of them, but I hope this discussion will encourage you to become more aware of your own blind spots.

Strengths & Blind Spots:

#1 Maximizerr

This basically means that I always see how something could be improved. When I look at something or experience an environment, I’m thinking about how it could be done better.

The Blind Spot: I can come off as critical…maybe even arrogant (ouch!). Thinking that I know how to make things better. When I am leading a team, I can crush their enthusiasm over an event by giving feedback and making a list of how to make it better BEFORE celebrating and letting everyone know how much I appreciate a job well done.

When I asked my teammates where they saw this blind spot show up, one of them told me that it can be discouraging to work so hard on an event and have me move too quickly to evaluation and problem-solving instead of taking a moment to let everyone celebrate and relax from a job well done.

#2 Strategic

#3 Responsibility

For me this means that when I’m given a responsibility for something I take full ownership. I’ll work long and hard to complete it and do it to the best of my ability.

The Blind Spot: BUT! Sometimes I don’t share well. If I own it, even if my workload is too great, I have a hard time giving it up. (Especially if I don’t trust you to follow through to the extent that I would.) This can be very frustrating for those around me who want to help me.

But I think my greatest blind spot is that I hold everyone to a tough hard-working standard. My team has told me that sometimes they feel like they can’t tell me when they need a break. Yikes! That’s not good.

#4 Focus

I can see through a lot of “stuff” and decide where I want to end up. I like to set goals. I like to break projects down into steps that lead to a clear end result.

The Blind Spot: Once I decide where I’m going, it’s hard to get me off of that path. I’m not easily distracted, even when the distractions are important. I can be annoyed when I’m interrupted and impatient with distractions.

The biggest weakness for me is that I can be so focused on the end that I miss out on the people and their needs along the way. This has been pointed out to me before, and I hate when I do this!

#5 Achiever (Yes, I have major blind spots in this area. For another time!)

My Challenge To You!

1. Get into a discussion with your team. You don’t have to take the “official” test. It’s helpful, but you know your basic strengths. Talk about them with your team.

2. Then get into an honest discussion about your possible blind spots. Ask for real input. Ask for specific examples.

3. Do something about it! Once you are aware, you’ve got to put some reminders, some mental cues, some friendly accountability into place so that you don’t allow your blind spots to become a WEAK spot for your overall team.

What are your blind spots?

Cape Point, South Africa

When was the last time you left the comfort of your world and experienced something bigger?

I just got back from a 10-day trip to Cape Town, South Africa. I spent time with the team from one of our international partnerships, South Point Church. Our GlobalX department does an incredible job building partnerships with leaders all over the world and leveraging what we’ve learned and what we’re doing in the United States to support ministries who are reaching the people in their community.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Leadership matters. John and Becky Hastings are leading the charge for South Point Church.  They have a personal calling and a personal passion to create a church that unchurched people would love to attend. They believe that a growing relationship with Jesus Christ has the power to change lives forever and they live it out. It was such a privilege to meet such committed leadership.

2. Relationships are the language that everyone speaks. Connecting kids into a consistent small group with a leader who knows them and loves them is a strategy that crosses the ocean. Kids are attracted to someone who loves them and accepts them. It was powerful to watch leaders investing in kids and connecting them to their heavenly Father.

3. Time spent developing resources is time well spent. Watching kids dive into an activity, knowing that the bottom line of that morning is so important to their lives was great to experience. Hearing stories from people who had found South Point Church or had connected in a new way to God through resources, DVDs, music, children’s curriculum, and sermon series reemphasized to me the importance of taking what we’ve learned and passing it along in the form of a helpful tool.

Sometimes I lose sight of how God can use such a simple thing, like a DVD, in the life of someone so far away. I sometimes think in terms of resources for other churches instead of remembering how these resources touch real people. It was a great reminder as I watched leaders unpack their material for the morning and I listened as a lady shared her story of how she gave her life to Christ and began attending South Point Church after listening to a message on a DVD.

4. Focusing on children and families is a powerful strategy for growing your church. Colin, the family ministry director at South Point is leading a team of staff and volunteers to create environments that children can’t wait to come to. I saw them in full swing on Sunday and I was so impressed.

Over the past months, they have seen great growth in the areas of preschool and children which is translating into families. They have done KidStuf in the past and are looking at leveraging the idea of an UpStreet Party and being “Kid for a Day” as opportunities to pull the parents into an environment where kids and parents are learning together.

5. Developing healthy teams is critical to building a healthy church. It was so great to meet with all of the staff and volunteers of South Point. I was completely amazed at the high level of involvement and passion of the volunteer leaders who serve with this team.

We had the entire team take the Strength Finders 2.0 test and jumped into a healthy discussion over several meals and meetings about the strengths of this team and the kind of people they would be looking for in the future. I loved that the leadership recognized the importance of everyone’s unique contribution. This team was so excited to learn together and to contribute to the growth of the overall team. I felt like we were old friends when I left.

6. God is an amazing Creator. I arrived at night and when I woke up the next morning and walked out the front door, this is what I saw. Table Mountain. Beautiful.

Everywhere we went, it was beautiful. Seeing the southern most tip of South Africa - Cape of Good Hope - was amazing. Our God has created a beautiful world. He is beyond creative. I was in awe.

7. The last thing that I learned is that baboons are mean and you need to watch out. But their babies are oh so cute!

It’s so important for all of us to get out of our comfort zones and experience what is happening in other places. For me, I walked away realizing that we have friends who are on the other side of the world who are working just as hard as we are, maybe even harder, for the same purpose. That my work everyday is really a part of something much bigger.

That those of us who have been given more opportunity have got to figure out how to fuel, encourage, and support our fellow laborers around the world. That we need each other. We can learn from each other.

I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I hope you find a way to step away from your day to day world and get a bigger picture of what God is up to all over the world.

Where are you going this year?

]]>

Cape Point, South Africa

When was the last time you left the comfort of your world and experienced something bigger?

I just got back from a 10-day trip to Cape Town, South Africa. I spent time with the team from one of our international partnerships, South Point Church. Our GlobalX department does an incredible job building partnerships with leaders all over the world and leveraging what we’ve learned and what we’re doing in the United States to support ministries who are reaching the people in their community.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Leadership matters. John and Becky Hastings are leading the charge for South Point Church.  They have a personal calling and a personal passion to create a church that unchurched people would love to attend. They believe that a growing relationship with Jesus Christ has the power to change lives forever and they live it out. It was such a privilege to meet such committed leadership.

2. Relationships are the language that everyone speaks. Connecting kids into a consistent small group with a leader who knows them and loves them is a strategy that crosses the ocean. Kids are attracted to someone who loves them and accepts them. It was powerful to watch leaders investing in kids and connecting them to their heavenly Father.

3. Time spent developing resources is time well spent. Watching kids dive into an activity, knowing that the bottom line of that morning is so important to their lives was great to experience. Hearing stories from people who had found South Point Church or had connected in a new way to God through resources, DVDs, music, children’s curriculum, and sermon series reemphasized to me the importance of taking what we’ve learned and passing it along in the form of a helpful tool.

Sometimes I lose sight of how God can use such a simple thing, like a DVD, in the life of someone so far away. I sometimes think in terms of resources for other churches instead of remembering how these resources touch real people. It was a great reminder as I watched leaders unpack their material for the morning and I listened as a lady shared her story of how she gave her life to Christ and began attending South Point Church after listening to a message on a DVD.

4. Focusing on children and families is a powerful strategy for growing your church. Colin, the family ministry director at South Point is leading a team of staff and volunteers to create environments that children can’t wait to come to. I saw them in full swing on Sunday and I was so impressed.

Over the past months, they have seen great growth in the areas of preschool and children which is translating into families. They have done KidStuf in the past and are looking at leveraging the idea of an UpStreet Party and being “Kid for a Day” as opportunities to pull the parents into an environment where kids and parents are learning together.

5. Developing healthy teams is critical to building a healthy church. It was so great to meet with all of the staff and volunteers of South Point. I was completely amazed at the high level of involvement and passion of the volunteer leaders who serve with this team.

We had the entire team take the Strength Finders 2.0 test and jumped into a healthy discussion over several meals and meetings about the strengths of this team and the kind of people they would be looking for in the future. I loved that the leadership recognized the importance of everyone’s unique contribution. This team was so excited to learn together and to contribute to the growth of the overall team. I felt like we were old friends when I left.

6. God is an amazing Creator. I arrived at night and when I woke up the next morning and walked out the front door, this is what I saw. Table Mountain. Beautiful.

Everywhere we went, it was beautiful. Seeing the southern most tip of South Africa - Cape of Good Hope - was amazing. Our God has created a beautiful world. He is beyond creative. I was in awe.

7. The last thing that I learned is that baboons are mean and you need to watch out. But their babies are oh so cute!

It’s so important for all of us to get out of our comfort zones and experience what is happening in other places. For me, I walked away realizing that we have friends who are on the other side of the world who are working just as hard as we are, maybe even harder, for the same purpose. That my work everyday is really a part of something much bigger.

That those of us who have been given more opportunity have got to figure out how to fuel, encourage, and support our fellow laborers around the world. That we need each other. We can learn from each other.

I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I hope you find a way to step away from your day to day world and get a bigger picture of what God is up to all over the world.

Where are you going this year?

]]> http://insidenorthpoint.org/kids/2010/02/26/a-trip-to-south-africa/feed/ http://insidenorthpoint.org/kids/2010/02/24/family-focused-environments/ http://insidenorthpoint.org/kids/2010/02/24/family-focused-environments/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:00:01 +0000 kendra http://insidenorthpoint.org/kids/?p=2480

Do you have a consistent opportunity to talk to kids AND parents together?

Focusing only on children and neglecting parents is not only bad strategy, it is an irresponsible use of a church’s time, energy, and resources. We are not JUST responsible for children. We are ALSO responsible to the parents. Instead of designing programs that exclusively focus on children, we need to build programs for families.

For us, that’s KidStuf!

KidStuf’s Vision Statement: Shaping a child’s relationship with God, by strengthening the relationship with their parents.

At KidStuf, we believe that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church. This means we’ve created a consistent environment specifically set aside for parents and kids. Being intentional about our programming opens the door for meaningful dialogue in families.

No Drop-Offs!

This means that parents can’t just “drop-off” their kids at KidStuf and go grab a latte. KidStuf is an environment for kids AND parents.

Here’s what happens when you put kids and parents in the same environment:

· You communicate the importance that the church places on the influence of a parent.

· You put parents in the driver’s seat when it comes to their spiritual development.

· You make it easy for kids and parents to talk about faith.

· You give parents a plan and support them by giving them what they need to lead their family TODAY.

· You set parents up for a life-long, meaningful relationships.

As I talk with other churches I am reminded of how difficult it can be to  gain the support of leadership and the buy-in of parents. Don’t give up! Find a way to create a shared family experience. It doesn’t have to be KidStuf. Create an experience that fits your community and makes sense in your context.

KidStuf without parents, is just another program. What makes KidStuf great is not what happens on the stage. What makes KidStuf great is what happens all week long at home when those families walk out the door.

When you really start believing that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church, you will have the courage you need to make the changes you need to make.

What step can you take this week towards creating a shared family experience?

How’s your first impression?

Have you ever wondered what guests actually think when they walk through your doors? You know, did they have to search through several layers of your website trying to find out what will happen with their kids? Were they frustrated by where they had to park? Did someone invite them and bring them or did they just show up on their own?

If you’re like us, your whole reason for doing church in the first place is to reach those around you. You’ve invested a significant amount of leadership, time, and money to create the best empty seats possible in your auditoriums, theaters, and classrooms to bring your unsaved friends and neighbors.

What if you found out there were a few things, a few frustrations, a few obstacles that your guests bumped into every time they walked in your doors? What if you found out that some of them were significant enough to keep them from coming back?

How to evaluate and improve your “Guest Experience:”

1. If you really want to know how you’re doing with guests, ASK THEM!

We were unsure how big some of the obstacles, like parking and traffic flow, were in the eyes of our guests. So, we decided to survey every guest from each campus, who had attended less them five times and ask them some very specific questions.When we surveyed them, we were surprised to find out that some of the things we thought were deal breakers, weren’t as frustrating to our guests as we thought.

It’s important to take the time to find out how your guests feel about their experience. You will learn some very valuable information.

2. Take a look at the current systems you have in place to connect with guests.

Are they helpful? Are they clear? Are they simple? One great way to get a view of your current systems is to escort a guest family from the front door, through all of your family ministry environment check-in processes all the way until they are seated in the auditorium.

Another great way to find out what may need improvement is to ask the volunteers who work at critical places in your guest process. They are usually quick to point out small things that when improved add up to a big difference.

3. Create new and refine existing experiences to enhance your guests experience.

Get away with your team and take the information that you’ve learned from doing step 1 and step 2 and brainstorm some new solutions to some of your problems. We found there were definitely some things that added little value so we could STOP doing them. We also found that there were some gaps. Some creative new solutions needed to be added.

4. Remove EVERY obstacle that would hinder a guest from having a great experience.

This is a great way to think about guests as they come to your church. What are the potential obstacles that would be in their way? How can I remove them? This will really give your volunteers and staff clear direction as they create that first impression for your guests. Their primary charge is to remove obstacles!

Several of our teams have read the book by Disney entitled, “Be Our Guest.” This is an easy-read full of great ideas. It will definitely get you thinking as you create the best environments possible for your guests.

When was the last time you looked at your environments through the eyes of a guest?

First, we created a valentine card for both Waumba Land and UpStreet. We asked parents and staff to write a special message to their volunteers and let them know how much they appreciate them.

Then our staff got busy creating the atmosphere!

UpStreet looked lovely!

Waumba Land was sweet!

We made sure that we told our volunteers how much they meant to us at every turn!

We “sweetened up” their normal breakfast a little bit!

Our staff wore special  t-shirts so that our volunteers couldn’t miss the message!

Our staff from both Waumba Land and UpStreet took a simple idea and created a great celebration of our volunteers.

It doesn’t cost a lot to let your volunteers know how much you love them.

* Paint for the windows

* Streamers

* Chalk to write messages on the chalk boards

* Balloons

* Valentine cards

* T-Shirts for staff - only if you want to!

* A little planning

* And…a little hard work!

When you celebrate your volunteers in such a public way, you communicate to both kids and parents the value that you place on those who serve. You also create an easy way for parents and kids to say “Thank you!” “We love you!” “You are important to me!” These words are invaluable.

Not to mention that you create a super-fun atmosphere!

Valentine’s Day does not have to fall on a Sunday for you to take advantage of this fun idea!

Have you celebrated your volunteers lately?

A few weeks ago we talked about some of the policies and procedures that are in place to help keep our kids safe from harm. You can read more about that here.

We’ve found that it’s important to train our volunteers and staff on the exact steps to take when faced with an emergency. One of those emergencies that we’ve faced is a lost child.

Thankfully we have never truly “lost” a child. But there have been a few times where a child has gotten away from their parents in a crowded hallway, or has traveled to KidStuf and gotten in with the wrong group.

Before I share the steps that we follow, I wanted to say that I don’t recommend that you copy our policy and implement it exactly. There are several details and steps in our procedure that are unique to us, to our building, to our staff, and to our volunteer positions.

This is what works for us. But, as with every policy and procedure, you should take the idea and look at it through your own unique lens and decide for yourself what is best for your ministry.

Lost Child Procedure:

Here are some possible reasons for a lost child:

• Snatched child . . . take immediate action. Yell and try to get everyone around you to stop the person.
• Traveled child to another environment and they are now missing.
• Child left your room or parent without supervision or permission.

In all instances – FIRST notify the Coach in charge. If  the Coach is not available, notify a staff person.

If the child is missing from the environment follow these procedures before assuming the worst:

1. Go to all logical locations

* Double-check classrooms

* Check large group environment

* Check KidStuf Theatre

* Check surrounding classrooms and other age group classrooms

* Check bathrooms

* Check Leadership Room

2. Put Host Team members at every exit door.

3. Locate parent and stay with them until the problem is resolved. Be reassuring and calm.

4. If you have looked at all above locations and still cannot locate the child (2-5 minutes) then Director will decide to lock down the wing.

Instructions to lock down wing (Staff is the only one to go to this step!):

1. Assign Host Team members to every door.

Prepare them to explain (calmly) why doors are shut. If this occurs between service times, staff may have to stand on chair, use the mega phone, and ask for attention of those people still on hall. Explain what we are doing and ask for cooperation

2. Do not let any child leave the hall.

3. Notify ALL staff on hall of missing child.

4. Notify all coaches of missing child.

5. Notify facilities and main church host team of missing child.

6. Make sure department director is in connection with someone on leadership team who is helping to guide and implement the next steps.

7. Look in all logical places – again! See list from above.

8. Send note to control room in main service to put a message up on the screen.

9. If child is not found, notify Host Team.

10. Decision to be made by staff that no child leaves the church building.

11. Decision to be made with help of department director, facilities director, or leadership team member whether or not to call the police.

These steps may seem too methodical and time consuming. But in fact, these steps are happening immediately and many times simultaneously. If there is a true emergency, core staff would gather and quickly be making these decisions together either face to face or through the use of radios.

What is the procedure that you have in place in case a child was lost in your building?

From a parent:
Thank you guys for pulling together such a fun and fabulous Family Birthday Celebration yesterday. It was a wonderful time with family and friends to celebrate Andrew’s decision to be baptized.

The process from beginning to end was so smooth. Sarah and Anna, thank you for shepherding our family through the steps. From JumpStart to filming the video…you made it easy. I appreciate you communicating the process simply and clearly.

And the day of, Andrew felt so celebrated. He was beaming when he told us, ‘Mommy, they called my name in big group at UpStreet!’  And then that afternoon, everyone was extremely helpful. From the decor and cupcakes to the production and music, you made it such a fun celebration! I love that Andrew will always be able to remember the day he got to tell everyone that Jesus lives in his heart. thanks for creating such a special memory for our family and especially for Andrew!

kv

P.S.
You guys have awesome volunteers. Andrew’s high school small group leaders invested their Saturday at KidVenture, Sunday morning, and then Sunday afternoon at Family Birthday Celebration all with Andrew. He thinks Erika and Jill are the coolest girls in the world. (And he’s right; they’re awesome!) Creating a volunteer culture where teenagers are that committed to the kids in their group is pretty amazing. — way to go!

Are students given significant roles in your ministry?

We don’t normally pack so much into one weekend, but that’s how it fell on the calendar this time. I can not tell you how many students I watched having fun with and loving on their kids throughout the weekend. What they are doing is significant!

Read more about how our students are INVOLVED in ministry!

How do you celebrate what God is doing in the life of your kids?

One of the best environments that I get to participate in is Family Birthday Celebration. You can see a highlight of what this event looks like right here.

One thing that I love about this event is how we capture on video the kids sharing their own personal story of faith. This video is shown right before they are baptized.

Whether you live in Atlanta, New York, or Mississippi, if you work in children’s ministry it is a privilege to be used by your heavenly father to play a part in the story that God is writing in the lives of our kids. I thought I would share a few stories that we heard this past weekend.

This service paints a picture of a very clear win for me and for everyone on our team. It gives value and significance to the work that God has us doing. I hope that you can find the same connection in stories just like these.

What did you see this week that gave significance and value to the work that you do?