the good news
Our newly-reconstituted Children’s Ministry Team met on Sunday, February 2nd, to continue the process of rebuilding our Sunday morning mentoring program (ie. Sunday School). During the pandemic, my wife, Lisa, and I kept in touch with children via in-person and Zoom visits. But our Sunday mentoring was put on hold. After the pandemic, I joined a cohort of pastors and Christian educators who participated in a Lily grant-funded program administered by the Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta. It turns out that Sunday school programs around the country were not (and are not) recovering very well post-pandemic. Our cohort met a few times, shared ideas and resources, then stopped when funding ran out. We did not find a programmatic fix to the drop off in Sunday school attendance.
But the good news is that children are still very much a part of the MBPPC community, and mentoring is coming back. We are blessed to have Joan Stob mentor the children on 3rd Sundays, and Ellen McLain to teach singing on 4th Sundays. Lisa Konick has continued to mentor children occasionally. Even more good news is that our Children’s Mentoring Team has made a goal of restoring mentoring every Sunday of the month during the school year, and continuing to lead Vacation Bible School during the summer.
The team is currently evaluating curricula and seeking both team members and mentors. We hope to implement a curriculum that aligns with the pastor’s children’s message, provides instruction during the set-apart mentoring time during worship, and provides parents and caregivers materials to use with their children at home.
If you would be willing to be a part of this good news, please consider being a children’s mentor one Sunday a month (we are looking for mentors for 1st ad 2nd Sundays), or an occasional, fill-in mentor. We also encourage you to join the Children’s Ministry Team to help plan, coordinate, recruit, and manage our children’s (and youth!) ministries.
Contact me at pastor@mtbakerchurch.org if you are ready to help out!
In Christ,
Lee