apples and oranges are not the same. that’s what i kept trying to say when we were working on a way to bring two ministries together on one night. (two ministries that had always been on separate nights at my previous church) maybe you can never make apples and oranges be the same, but it can be quite exciting when you allow them to collide. that is what my friend and co-worker, john woods – music and worship pastor, and i did when we brought dawson kids midweek discipleship and children’s choirs together for a whole new look at wednesday nights.
teamwork, creative dreaming, collaboration, and compromise were all part of our dawson collide process. john’s heart is for children to be life long worshippers of Christ. mine is for children to become authentic disciples through God’s Word. i am also burdened to create a place where those that may never enter through the “white columns” of a sanctuary on sunday morning can have a place to get plugged into our family of faith. oh what joy it brings me when i have to make it a point to learn the names of children because there are new faces at collide each week. it is amazing what happens when you dare to dream and see ministry lived out in a new way.
has then process been perfect? absolutely not, but through the struggles i believe we have become even more intent on making sure this ministry hits the mark. we tweak and work on collide weekly to make sure we are doing all we can to help our collide investors (leaders), kids, and parents experience Jesus and become lifelong worshippers and authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
as we are still seeking to understand all the many ways God would want us to use collide, i thought i would share some of the basics below. i would also love to hear what you have done to bring two ministries together. comment below with you thoughts and ideas.
collide themes
fall 2014 – grace, God’s love collides with forgiveness to create grace.
spring 2015 – worship, Spirit and Truth collide to create worship.
collide elements
here’s a brief description of the collide elements that all grades will participle in collide.
opening rally: think kidlife worship rally colliding with wednesday night church. we will begin the rally right at 5:45 in the lore lobby of the FRC. we will have worship music, high energy activities, creative prayer time, a missions moment, exciting time in God’s Word and more. all kinds of elements will collide
collide choir: after the opening rally, it’s time to head to collide choir. here colliders will sing the very best music, no matter the style. with the goal of nurturing well-rounded worshippers, able to worship through any style or genre, collide choir is the place where a soundtrack for life begins.
collide missions: God’s Word commands us to go and make disciples of all nations. in this track children will collide with what missions is, learn about missionaries, discover how they can be involved in missions at their age, and develop a desire to sure the Good News of Jesus through hands-on activities.
art studio: when things collide, there’s usually a mess. and each week the art studio will be full of students learning through hands-on activities. sculpture? sure! oil paints? of course! pottery? why not! god made us to be creative, so let’s get busy!
music lab: there more to worshipping through music than just singing. in music lab, colliders might find themselves playing drums, writing a song, planning a worship service, or playing instruments used in worship. anything could happen in music lab.
rec lab: kids can learn in a creative way when Bible truths collide with movement. this track will include games with a purpose and will end with a time of debriefing on how to apply what they learned in the game to their everyday life.
collide discipleship: here kids will collide with the powerful word of God. kids will dig in and learn about the Bible, how to use the Bible, how to study God’s Word, how to apply God’s Word to their daily lives and much more.
collide schedule
5:45p.m. – 6:05p.m. – collide opening rally
6:05p.m. – 6:40p.m. – collide choir
6:40p.m. – 7:15p.m. – collide tracks
** all children will participate in each of the elements of collide. each grade will spend three weeks in each of the five tracks offered: music lab, missions, art, recreation, and discipleship.
1 Comment
Great concept and collaboration. It’s a fantastic way to include the kids in so many different learning, growth, and worship environments. I love it! However, I’m sure it didn’t come about through an easy process. Sometimes we have to fight for what we believe in and sometimes we have to bend, in order to make the most of the various growth and worship environments that we as a church offer to kids, especially if our schedule is limited.
I also like the themed nights idea. In my previous church we did a “Team Night” every fall where the kids dressed up in their favorite team garb. It was always a highly attended night as the kids showed up and showed out in support of their favorite team. We also weaved the theme of teamwork and working with others into our midweek learning environments on “Team Night”.
Great job, Danielle!