KidVenture

I wanted to give everyone some info on what to expect if you have children and you are thinking about visiting Threshold.

First of all, be prepared to be surprised at how much fun your kids have.

Seriously.

They just might BEG you to take them back to church.

And, no, it's not because we bribe them with candy or hypnotize them! It's because we believe our teaching time should be FUN and ENGAGING and SAFE.

We sing and dance and shout out Bible verses. We watch silly skits that show us what NOT to do. We have been known to dress up in silly costumes to capture a child's curiosity.

We know children learn better when they are ACTIVE - so we use hand motions to memorize things. We connect the Bible to real life situations through roll play and even games.

We sing songs and pray and thank God for all He has given us. We learn to be good friends and good sisters and brothers. We laugh a lot :)


Right now our church is small. It won't always be. So from the beginning we have initiated a secure child check in system. It works like this. On the way in to the auditorium, you will see a KidVenture kiosk.


(Okay kiosk sounds fancy-shmancy. It is really a little nook in a hallway, but it works for now!) You check in your children with the KidVenture volunteer, and you and your children receive matching labels with a number code and name on it. If your child needs you during the service, your number code will appear on the screen. When you pick your child up after church, you must have your label. Or we are gonna card you. Seriously. :)

In addition, ALL of our children's volunteers have been given a back ground check to ensure the safety of our chilren. (Yes, this is Lisa, the "Preachers Wife" and yes, he did a background check on me too!! So if you want to work with children, don't be offended when we ask for a background check. It's nothing personal! And we are flat-out going to do this for the safety of the children in our care)


Okay. FUN. ENGAGING. SAFE. See?

We have been having quite a few visitors lately, and we love it. We can't wait to see more new faces on Sunday! Wonder what to expect for adults? Read this.

FOOD PANTRY IN GREAT NEED

These are the most pressing needs.

We have been very low lately!!!!

If you can help, bring these to the

Upstate Family Resource Center

Canned meats/pasta

Canned veggies

Breakfast items

Dry Noodles/rice/beans

Mac and Cheese

Spaghetti sauce

Another Good Day

Sunday was a good day to be a church planter. New faces again. We also had some return visitors. We are on the edge of a breakthrough in reaching our community. We are seeing people inviting their neighbors and expressing concern about their coworkers and family. When people are accepting the fact that God loves them and sharing that love with others the world is a better place. Yard signs are bringing folks to us... why not join us too?

Fall in the Park

Fall in the Park Boiling Springs gave us an opportunity to meet many new great people. As a first timer to this event I did not know what to expect. From my past festival experiences I anticipated a larger event but saw a steady flow of people that I had never met. So it was a good day. We gave away 250 frisbees and information to 100 parents. It may have been only 97 but 100 is a good round number. The event included a dog show, and a talent show. Also several local demonstration teams participated in the festivities. Looking forward to participating in the event next year.

Dead in the Water

A friend of mine wrote this entry this morning. http://networkedblogs.com/p12975236 -- worth a look

I noticed that all of my other friends are linked here... so I need to step up my writing to be included.

Every once and a while I have one of those conversations with someone that is worth repeating. Last night I had one of those conversations with my dad. He is a slow deep thinker who talks in reverse circles and somehow ends up with me either thinking "I've heard this before" or just "hmmm."

Last night was a little of both so hang with me.

So my dad visited a church and made this observation; "I can guarantee you that the church we went to is at no risk of becoming a dead church."

So in my best Florida regressive language from my upbringing I responded "howya figure?"

My dad's response was quite profound. "Because it is already dead."

For me this is of great interest because I have observed things my dad considered to have "life" in the church world. I made this judgment because he failed to see the cannula and oxygen and heart monitors positioned all over some churches in his experience.

How do we miss all the obvious signs of sickness in the church leading to a certain death? If enough nurses gather around a patient it is difficult to see the signs of distress. Same goes for churches. If there is enough activity around the facility, there is an assumption of life. I too am guilty of this same assumptive logic. On the way home yesterday I noticed a brand new church sign. I immediately wondered what good things they must be doing.

So the conversation continued...

There weren't more than 2 people in the entire facility between the ages of 18 and 50. To be fair I would never presume that a church is dead just because the average membership is old, but he went on to tell me about the elementary school around the corner and how many children were picked up for school, yet none of them were in attendance at this church they all pass on their way to school.

So

I'll buy in to the argument that the church is dead. If any church, your church included, is having no impact on the lives of the people in the area it would be reasonable to assume that Jesus has left the building and the operation is now in human hands. Might be time to look for a renter since you no longer provide a product (Jesus) and the money you are spending is therefore wasted.

As the conversation continued my dad asked about our church in reference to life. Yesterday we had the most visitors since opening and the best offering by miles. Is this an indication of "life" within the church?

Almost everyone is under 50... is this an indication of life or is it a reflection of an intentional target audience?

Believe it or not the conversation had a conclusion. You will need to assume a few additional pieces of conversation prior to this question.

"How does a person come to Christ?"

Well it is not;

through a friend

with current music

with eloquent speech

with proper attire .....

It is only through recognizing;

that all of our our efforts to save ourself have failed and will fail

that we bring nothing of value to the spiritual table

that the sacrifice of Jesus is completely sufficient for our salvation

Otherwise we are we are spiritually lifeless regardless of the activity, church included, that surrounds our lives.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My

This is Lisa and I hijacked the blog to give a plug for our current series going on in KidVenture. It's called . . .

and it is one of the best I've seen. The kids love it! We "fly like eagles, stand like flamingoes, wrestle crocodiles, and charge like rhinos"! And we are learning about our world, how to take care of it, and most importantly, how God takes care of us.

Parents, we also have a worship time and an offering if you would like to talk to your child about participating in the offering. I know it has opened up some great dialogue with my 7 year old. . .

We would love to have MORE children go on an animal adventure with us! If you are thinking about checking us out, we are ready and excited to meet you and your kids!

Speaking of hijacking, (hows THAT for a segue?) Ryan has a neat video to show you and a great teaching time lined up for Sunday. What if we got hijacked?

Come Sunday to find out.

10:07 am. See you then :)

What if you got Hi-jacked

I just entered the realm of the secret service.

Sunday is gonna be good. Can't wait to preach this sermon. My only prayer for this week is that you will get the Bible Hero treatment and get Hi-jacked.

Or you could give in voluntarily.