Connect

Please note: due the transition to the new Faith Alive website/online store, some of the images and links in these e-newsletters may not work after January 2009.

May 2007 Welcome to Connect, the monthly e-newsletter for those who minister to children in small Sunday schools, midweek programs, and new church plants. Say Goodbye, Say Hello! Looking forward to lawn chairs and lemonade? Eagerly awaiting the scent of suntan lotion? Itching for an ice cream cone? Before you head off into the summer sunset, there are some end-of-year ends to tie up! Read on for some tips to help you say goodbye to this year and say hello to the next! Gracias, Merci beaucoup, Thank you! Before you pack away your Sunday school supplies (or what’s left of them!) for the fall, you’ll want to thank the teachers who have been blessing the lives of your kids each week. Check out the following ideas to help you thank your team for a job well done! Include the kids. Schoolteachers say that last-day-of-school gifts are lovely but the gifts they cherish most are personal notes from kids they’ve taught. Give your teachers a surprise coffee break one Sunday morning while you slip into their class. While the teachers are enjoying a drink and a cookie you can have the kids write thank-you messages. *Tip: Ask kids to write a sentence or draw a picture about something they learned from their teacher. More than one teacher per class? Ask each child to write a note to a specific teacher. Gather the messages and include them in a thank-you card presented to each teacher on the last day of class. Tip: Ask some parents to help you go from class to class to get to all the kids at the same time. Be personal.* Choose a small but personal gift or gift certificate for each team member. For example, give a coffee lover a $5.00 coffee shop gift card, a scrapbooker can use a $5.00 credit at a stationery store, and a book lover would enjoy a $5.00 bookstore gift card. Although the dollar amount may be small, the fact that you chose a gift card to match the individual shows that you appreciate each person’s unique qualities. (We know of one leader who gave each team member a Christian music CD chosen to fit their personality—the team appreciated that the leader had taken the time to get to know each one of them well enough over the past year to choose just the right music!) Fill ’em up. Fill your team with food as you share your gratitude! Serve a spaghetti or taco supper cooked by the education committee, set up a sundae bar at your year-end celebration meeting, serve slices of cake after the last Sunday school lesson. Or serve a celebration cake to the entire church family after church on the last day of classes. Invite everyone to give a round of applause for the kid’s ministry leaders and to join you in celebrating God’s goodness with a piece of cake! Hola, Bonjour, Hello “And the survey says . . .” Don’t let the year end without talking to leaders about next year! Get feedback on the past year and get a jump start on plans for the fall by e-mailing team members a simple survey in which they can give feedback on what worked well, which areas need improvement, and whether or not they’d like to be part of next year’s children’s ministry team. Introducing Kid Connection! Now’s the time to get your team pumped up about the Kid Connection curriculum you’ll be using this fall. If you’ve already ordered materials or samples, pass them around for your team to take a peek and see where they can use their gifts. Or, while you’re waiting for curriculum to arrive, give leaders (and potential leaders) the web address (www.KidConnectionOnline.org) and encourage them to surf it this summer! Check this out! Help your team say hello to Kid Connection by getting them excited about large group/small group learning. A recent Children’s Ministry magazine article describes why this ministry model is so successful. Click here to print off a copy to share with your team or forward them the following link: http://www.childrensministry.com/article.asp?ID=980. Finally, don’t forget the upcoming Faith Alive conferences—our chance to energize and thank YOU! Click here for more information or to register. Have any questions or comments? Contact Lynn Setsma at 616-224-0784 or 800-333-8300 ext. 0784 or e-mail SetsmaL@FaithAliveResources.org.
You are subscribed as %%emailaddr%%. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to %%email.unsub%%. If you have questions or comments about this list, e-mail us or call 1-800-333-8300.

Please note: due the transition to the new Faith Alive website/online store, some of the images and links in these e-newsletters may not work after January 2009.

May 2007

Welcome to Connect, the monthly e-newsletter for those who minister to children in small Sunday schools, midweek programs, and new church plants.

Say Goodbye, Say Hello!

Looking forward to lawn chairs and lemonade? Eagerly awaiting the scent of suntan lotion? Itching for an ice cream cone? Before you head off into the summer sunset, there are some end-of-year ends to tie up! Read on for some tips to help you say goodbye to this year and say hello to the next!

Gracias, Merci beaucoup, Thank you!

Before you pack away your Sunday school supplies (or what’s left of them!) for the fall, you’ll want to thank the teachers who have been blessing the lives of your kids each week. Check out the following ideas to help you thank your team for a job well done!

Include the kids. Schoolteachers say that last-day-of-school gifts are lovely but the gifts they cherish most are personal notes from kids they’ve taught. Give your teachers a surprise coffee break one Sunday morning while you slip into their class. While the teachers are enjoying a drink and a cookie you can have the kids write thank-you messages.

Tip: Ask kids to write a sentence or draw a picture about something they learned from their teacher.

More than one teacher per class? Ask each child to write a note to a specific teacher. Gather the messages and include them in a thank-you card presented to each teacher on the last day of class.

Tip: Ask some parents to help you go from class to class to get to all the kids at the same time.

Be personal. Choose a small but personal gift or gift certificate for each team member. For example, give a coffee lover a $5.00 coffee shop gift card, a scrapbooker can use a $5.00 credit at a stationery store, and a book lover would enjoy a $5.00 bookstore gift card. Although the dollar amount may be small, the fact that you chose a gift card to match the individual shows that you appreciate each person’s unique qualities. (We know of one leader who gave each team member a Christian music CD chosen to fit their personality—the team appreciated that the leader had taken the time to get to know each one of them well enough over the past year to choose just the right music!)

Fill ’em up. Fill your team with food as you share your gratitude! Serve a spaghetti or taco supper cooked by the education committee, set up a sundae bar at your year-end celebration meeting, serve slices of cake after the last Sunday school lesson.
Or serve a celebration cake to the entire church family after church on the last day of classes. Invite everyone to give a round of applause for the kid’s ministry leaders and to join you in celebrating God’s goodness with a piece of cake!

Hola, Bonjour, Hello

“And the survey says . . .” Don’t let the year end without talking to leaders about next year! Get feedback on the past year and get a jump start on plans for the fall by e-mailing team members a simple survey in which they can give feedback on what worked well, which areas need improvement, and whether or not they’d like to be part of next year’s children’s ministry team.

Introducing Kid Connection! Now’s the time to get your team pumped up about the Kid Connection curriculum you’ll be using this fall. If you’ve already ordered materials or samples, pass them around for your team to take a peek and see where they can use their gifts. Or, while you’re waiting for curriculum to arrive, give leaders (and potential leaders) the web address (www.KidConnectionOnline.org) and encourage them to surf it this summer!

Check this out! Help your team say hello to Kid Connection by getting them excited about large group/small group learning. A recent Children’s Ministry magazine article describes why this ministry model is so successful. Click here to print off a copy to share with your team or forward them the following link: http://www.childrensministry.com/article.asp?ID=980.

Finally, don’t forget the upcoming Faith Alive conferences—our chance to energize and thank YOU! Click here for more information or to register.

Have any questions or comments? Contact Lynn Setsma at 616-224-0784 or 800-333-8300 ext. 0784 or e-mail SetsmaL@FaithAliveResources.org.

You are subscribed as %%emailaddr%%. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to %%email.unsub%%. If you have questions or comments about this list, e-mail us or call 1-800-333-8300.