1st Grade Bible Presentation – November 22

On Sunday, November 22, we will be presenting 1^st graders with new Bibles during the 9:00 am service in the main sanctuary. We are able to do this every year through a memorial fund established by the Tom and Margaret Melander family to remember their son, Michael. I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful way to bless children and families. God expresses in Deuteronomy 6:19 how important it is for families to be teaching children how to live life His way and they are to do this using His Word. I value and cherish the time my own children have studied God’s Word with their own Bibles. As a parent, you will be able to use this Bible to help lead your child’s spiritual development; and, partnered with the wonderful volunteer leaders in the children’s ministry programs at Arvada Covenant Church, children will grow up to know they can trust God, no matter what. His Word will show them how to make wise choices – God’s choices.

John Mullis,

Children’s Ministry Director                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

We’ll be sending more information to parents of 1st graders within the next week.

Love and Logic Parent Solutions 10.24 at Arvada Covenant Church

From the brochure:

Who should attend:

• Parents with kids of all ages
• anyone who works with kids or…adults who act like kids

What you will learn:

• How to handle defiance and backtalk
• How to increase your child’s motivation to do well in school
• How to handle misbehavior in public
• And much, much more!

Presenters: Jim Fay and Dr. Charles Fay

Location: Arvada Covenant Church

Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009

Times: Morning: 9:00 am – 12:00pm, Creating Respectful and Responsible Kids

Afternoon Session: 1:00pm-4:00pm, Parenting Toddler and Preschoolers

Cost: $30/person/session 

Parenting Session Details

While this seminar is not officially hosted by Arvada Covenant Church, we do approve of what the Love and Logic guys teach. If you want to learn more about being an effective parent, this seminar could be very helpful to you.

Individuality – 1st-5th Grade Big Idea for October

Body Building

Geeks. Jocks. Brainiacs. Skaters. The Pretty Committee. Were you a member of one of these crowds? Maybe you carried a membership in THE group, the one that everyone wanted to join. Interesting, isn't it, that no matter how old we are when we join a "club," whether we give it a name or not, that group of people eventually helps us discover who we are or aren't? We discover our likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, how we are similar and how we stand out, whether we belong to that group or need to move on.
But being an individual is more than just discovering how we are like someone else or different from others - at least for believers it is. Being an individual is also about how our heavenly Father designed us to make a difference in this world. God, the master Architect, has a master plan in which He is weaving together all our character traits and experiences in order to shape and mold us into the people He wants us to become, and He's doing this with each of us, twining our lives together in ways that are intricate, beautiful, and mind-boggling.
So in October we'll be talking about individuality, discovering who you are meant to be so you can make a difference. We'll introduce kids to some not-so-well-known individuals, each of whom made a difference in the lives of people around them:

Week 1: THE Onesimus because when you belong to God, you can make a difference.
Week 2: THE Epaphroditus because when you take care of others, you can make a difference.
Week 3: THE Dorcas because when you use what you have to help others, you can make a difference.

And we'll wrap up the month with a look at some verses in 1 Corinthians about how we're one body with many parts: when you do your part, you can make a difference.

Check the weekly Refrigerator Door Cards and GodTime Cards for more information on the content of each weekly lesson.

Wisdom - 1st-5th Grade Big Idea for September

What's more precious than jewels but available to all who seek it? Screams to get your attention but eludes you if you ignore it? Has a definite starting point but knows no end? Here's a hint:

YES! It's wisdom, which is finding out what you should do and doing it. God says if you accept His words and store up His commands inside you, tune your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding, call out for insight and search for it as you would for hidden treasure, then you will find out how to know Him. He is the one who gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, the one who stores up success for His followers, the one who shields them from harm, guards their paths, and leads them in the right direction. (See Proverbs 2:1-11. In fact, see all of Proverbs for a whole trove of the treasures of wisdom.) Put that way, who in his right mind wouldn't dig wisdom? Dig for wisdom? Dig and dig for wisdom?
So in September, we'll be on the hunt for gems of wisdom, helping kids understand that God wants to give you wisdom. Wisdom is worth searching for. If you want to be wise, hang out with wise people. And wisdom is knowing AND doing.
So get your shovel out and let's go dig for wisdom. It's worth it.

Check the weekly Refrigerator Door Cards and GodTime Cards for more information on the content of each weekly  lesson.

Love - 1st-5th Grade Big Idea for August

Do You Feel the Luuuv?
How does that Beatles' song go? "All you need is love ..." When you think about it, just about everything we do with or for others boils down to love. Which, of course, doesn't come as a surprise to God-followers, the Creator of love. He IS love, after all (1 John 4:16), and the reason we can love at all: because He loved us first (1 John 4:19). Jesus said THE most important commandment is to love God and to love Him with all we've got. When we do that, we'll love others--the second most important commandment. The second most important, yes, but so closely aligned with the first that it's impossible to split the two. John put it this way: "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen ... Whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4:20-21, NIV). And so on that one "peg" (love God/love others) hang ALL the commandments--the 10 Commandments, the Mosaic Law, and the 600 or so laws the Pharisees added to it.
So in August, Launch!1st-5th grade will focus on love, which is choosing to give someone your time and friendship no matter what. We'll begin with the time the Pharisees got their heads together in an attempt to trick Jesus and His reply (which also happens to be our memory verse for the month, Matthew 22:37-39). When you love God, you'll love others.
The second week of August will be all about what takes "first place" and the fact that when you love others, you give them your time, as Jesus pointed out when He visited Mary and Martha (Luke 10).
In week 3, everything will revolve around Jesus' parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15): When you love others, you're quick to forgive.
Week 4 we'll focus on what Jesus told Peter after His resurrection (John 21). When you love Jesus, you'll treat others the way He does.
In week 5, we'll depart from the norm and examine a "faith skill," the faith skill of prayer (dialoguing with God, both public and private). Jesus modeled all kinds of principles about prayer for us. But ultimately, He showed us that talking to God changes things.

Serving Spots - opportunities to connect at ACC

Forgiveness - 1st-5th Grade Virtue for July

Letting Go
Buckets are a fantastic invention. Simple genius, really. There's almost no end to what you can put in a bucket: big or little things, a lot or a few things, good or bad things. There's no doubt buckets are useful. But what goes IN the bucket is key. We put things in buckets that we need to carry around with us. Soapy water and tools are two things I think of right away.

Emotionally speaking, sometimes we put things that we don't want to let go of, burdensome things, as often as not, like pain, hurt, disappointment, and disillusionment. And we tend to accumulate those things, adding them to the bucket until we need a bigger bucket or multiple buckets. We may even dedicate our buckets, labeling them with people's names, especially if they keep on doing us wrong. Eventually we are trapped, weighed down emotionally by buckets we can't seem to let go of. We can't move on, enjoying relationships to their fullest and participating with both hands in enjoyable and worthwhile activities, till we let go of the bucket, till we forgive. Forgiveness is all about letting go of the bucket. It may have to be done on a gradual basis, even intentionally done every day. But when you let go of your bucket, you are then free to jump in with both hands and feet and live as God intended!

So this month, we are focusing on forgiveness, which is deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn't have to pay.

We started off with Jesus' parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18): since God forgives you, you should forgive others.
Week 2 was all about Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19) and the fact that when people are forgiven, it can change them.
In week 3 we'll be talking about getting even God's way and what Joseph did when faced with the opportunity for revenge (Genesis 45). When you want to get even, do the opposite.
And we'll end the month with "go first," what Jesus said about forgiveness in Matthew 5: don't wait to start making things right with others.

Forgiveness is important! Teach your children to love back, not pay back.  That's Jesus' way.

Summertime Update - age-level promotion and more

On Sunday, June 7 we start our Launch! summer ministry season. All children, birth-5th grade, will continue to have relevant and creative Bible teaching throughout the summer.

During both services, the 1st & 2nd graders will meet in room 110/111 and 3rd-5th graders will meet together in the Launch Pad.

Promotion to the next grade level will begin June 28, the Sunday after Kids’ Camp.

· 5th graders moving up to 6th grade will move over to Student Ministries June 28.

· Kindergarteners will move to 1st grade June 28.

· Until the 28th, children will be with the same grade level they were for the ‘08-’09 school year.

· Preschool age children will promote to the next age-level rooms in September.

All of our 30 or so every-week, fully committed, school-year volunteers will be taking the summer off to refresh and recharge. Please tell them “thank you” for their dedicated and extraordinary service.

Arvada Covenant Church Health Reminder

We often teach children to treat others the way they want to be treated, or, to love your neighbor as yourself. With that in mind, spread the love but do your part to stop the spread of cold and flu. If your child is sick, please keep them at home.

As always, if your child has a fever, diarrhea, vomiting, discharge around the eyes, green or yellow runny nose, excessive coughing or any communicable disease, please keep them at home.

These are important guidelines to which we will adhere for the health and safety of everyone.

Thanks for your help. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact John Mullis, Children’s Ministry Director, at 303-422-1235.

Kid's Camp 2009 - Wildwood Forest

Kids' Camp runs from June 22-26; 9 am - Noon for children 5 years old through 5th grade. The cost is $25 per child.

For complete information on Kids' Camp 2009, registration dates and forms, visit the Arvada Covenant Church website.

Obedience - 1st-5th Grade Virtue for May

Street Smart
Stop! Have you given much thought to the fact that obedience, which is trusting those who lead you by doing what you're asked to do, is one of those "different" virtues? God is God; He is the ultimate Authority. No one outranks Him. So He doesn't obey anyone, right? However, Jesus obeyed His Father (John 9:4), and it's certainly a proper response from us toward God. In fact, "this is love for God: to obey his commands" (1 John 5:3, NIV). What a premium God places on obedience! He would rather have our obedience than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).
But, oh my, what a difficult time we have obeying. And that difficulty is not limited to childhood. (How many traffic laws have YOU broken, for instance, in your driving career?) So of course the Bible is full of examples of people obeying (and disobeying) God and the consequences thereof. Remember Jonah? Could there be many more vivid examples of what happens when we obey God? Or the fact that there are consequences when we don't? It's a good thing God is patient and forgiving and the God of second chances.
So this month we're focusing on the who and the why and the how of obedience. Not because God is waiting to zap us when we cross the line (like a traffic cop lying in wait with his radar gun), but because He cares for us. He wants a relationship with us and for us to have a part in His big plan, so He wants to help us avoid breakdowns, dead ends, and even the minor potholes along the way. So here's the lineup for the month:

Week 1: It's always better to do what God says the first time.  (The story of Jonah; Jonah 1-3) 
Week 2: How I obey my parents shows what I think about God.  (Children, obey your parents; Ephesians 6:1-3) 
Week 3: Obeying your leaders can help you know God. (The Lord calls Samuel; 1 Samuel 3:1-19) 
Week 4: It's right to listen to God because He is GOD. (Adam and Eve disobey; Genesis 3:1-24)
Week 5: 5th Week Special Edition: How can you know what to do if you don't know what God says? (the wise and foolish builders; Matthew 7:24-29)

Covenant Heights Summer Camps

Located at 9000 feet in the heart of the Rocky Mountains and at the foot of majestic Longs Peak, Covenant Heights Camp and Retreat Center is just minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, Colorado and is a ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Many kids from Arvada Covenant Church spend a week up at Covenant Heights during the summer enjoying all that the camp experience has to offer and many of them come back changed forever in the best ways possible. Click here for the Summer Brochure and complete information on all of the summer opportunities available. Contact ACC's Children's Ministry Director, John Mullis, for more information.

John Mullis will be the camp speaker July 12-17.