Sign up for Adventure Club

Adventure Club begins Wednesday, September 16, for all kids kindergarten through 5th grade. This year we will be using the curriculum 252 Basics. It’s based on the verse from Luke 2:52, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” It teaches three incredibly important principles . . . taken right from Jesus’ life!

1 Wisdom…I need to make the wise choice
2 Faith…I can trust God no matter what
3 Friendship…I should treat others the way I want to be treated

Club meets Wednesday evenings during the school year, 6:30-8:00 P.M., in the church’s lower level. Registration cost is $40 per child with a family maximum of $80. Any friends invited will have their first year free! Partial and full scholarships are available.

In order to continue providing godly role models and ministering through families, parents of K-2 kids are asked to attend with their children unless they are volunteering in another area of club.

Registration forms are available in the church office or at the Kids Welcome Center in the lower level.

Questions? Please call the church office at 763.473.9463 or contact Cindy Johnson, Adventure Club Director, at cindy.johnson@wayzatafree.org.

Our first night of club on September 16 is Orientation Night. This is a mandatory night for all parents and children registering for Adventure Club. There are many new things that you will need to know if your child is participating in club this year.

Making an impact

I would love for you to consider working with us during the week of our SportsLife Camp (August 10-13, MON-THURS 9am to Noon). SportsLife has a desire to work with our church to develop kid’s faith in Jesus through innovative sports and arts programs. This on-site camp is packed with creative programming and outrageous fun…and an added bonus for Miss Sara, they are very organized!!

Volunteers are an EXTREMELY IMPORTANT part of the camp experience. With this program, the volunteer is freed from the planning and prep and is encouraged to jump in with the kids and build relationships.

Here’s what we are looking for…

Volunteer “Coaches” will provide a strong, familiar presence for your assigned small group of campers.

Make connections with campers, dive in with them! Share yourself with campers. Consider leading a huddle time during a Main Event (sport or art choices)…not required!! Otherwise, it will be taken care of by the SportsLife team.

Arrive 30 minutes before camp to welcome kids and help check them in. 5-10 minutes before camp, attend the “Coaches’ Corner” where the SportsLife team will discuss the daily schedule, pray and answer any questions you may have about the day.

Attend a short training meeting the Sunday before camp.

If you have teenagers in your family or work with the youth group, we also encourage you to ask them to consider volunteering with you. This is a unique opportunity and a great way to not only encourage kids to be creative and healthy, but to develop their faith and witness to others! If interested, respond to this post or contact Sara at sara.galligan@wayzatafree.org

90 degrees and counting!

The warm weather has been a great reminder that Camp Conquest VBS is almost here! If you haven't signed up for VBS yet, you still have time! I'm really excited to have the staff from Camp Victory come and work with our kids, but we would also like to have some familiar faces from Wayzata Free to welcome the kids to our church. If you could help us out by working at the registration table or welcoming families at the door, we would love to have you! We are also looking for some homes to host the camp staff during the week (Monday night through Friday morning). If you are interested in opening up your home and making some great people feel welcomed, please contact me at 763.473.9463.

Facebook, Twitter and more

As most of you know, online social networking has become hugely popular. In the interest of moving forward, we want to offer up a few more avenues for you to connect with us and find out what is going on at Wayzata Free. As of right now, in addition to the church website and this blog, you can also connect with me (Sara Galligan) on Facebook and Twitter.

If you already have a Facebook account, you can join our group "Wayzata Free Kids Ministry" and get started right away! We've posted some new pictures from the derby night, so check it out!

Ask Questions, Share Thoughts

Whether you're a parent, volunteer or a kid in our ministry we want to hear what you think! This is a great place to ask questions, offer up suggestions or just share what's on your mind!

Questions about summer programs (check out the information below)? Want to share what's been successful in your area of ministry? Have suggestions for ways we can support your family? Click on the "comment" link below and post!

Summer Stuff

I know everyone says this, but I am amazed at how fast this school year is flying by! We have been blessed so many times in our ministry and we are so grateful for all that God has done. We are also excited for what is to come! Here are some of the cool things that are coming your way this summer...

JUNE 15-19
We're bringing camp to Wayzata Free! This summer Camp Victory and Wayzata Free will be partnering to offer our very first Camp Conquest Elementary VBS. This is a special week designed to give you all the things you love about camp and combine it with the Bible teaching, relationship building and excitement of VBS. Plus, we've extended our days (9:00am-4:00pm) to give your kids even more! Our fun loving counselors and staff will work with your children each day to help develop life skills, teach them from the Bible relevant lessons for their Christian life, and share with them a week they'll not soon forget. We believe this is a unique opportunity, one that we could not pass up!

This week is open to kids who have completed Kindergarten through 5th grade. The cost of this event is $69 per child, $200 max per family. Scholarships are available!!! Registration opens Sunday, April 5. Information will be available at the Kids Welcome Center and on our website.

July 13-17
We've decided to offer our preschool VBS as a separate program on a different week this summer. This will not only give our kids more space to move about, but a shorter day and curriculum that better fits the needs of preschoolers! Boomerang Express Preschool VBS will be offered to kids two through five years old and will run from 9:00am to 11:00am. Cost for this event is $20 per child. Registration will open Sunday, April 5 and will be available at the Kids Welcome Center.

August 10-13
We are also excited to offer a NEW kind of sports camp this year. SportsLife is an innovative sports AND arts camp that works with kids to develop their athletic and artistic passions and skills while teaching from the Bible and modeling Jesus' love. This camp is open to kids 1st through 5th grade and will run from 9:00am to Noon (Mon-Thurs). Cost for this camp is $60 per child (includes t-shirt and sports bottle) and $160 max per family. Registration will open Sunday, April 5 and will be available at the Kids Welcome Center.

JellyTelly, Tim Kimmel and much more!

If you've never been to a kids ministry conference it's a great time of refreshment and it gives you a renewed sense of purpose! And then there's the added bonus...you get tons of free RESOURCES!!! So, of course what kind of Kid's Pastor would I be if I didn't share the resources and knowledge I gained at said conference.

Phil Vischer, creator of Veggie Tales, has come up with a new project called JellyTelly. This is a website that is made to bring the Bible to life to kids across the world. Every day they will post a video clip (similar to a youtube clip format) that creatively presents the truths of God's Word in a fun and interactive way. Mix in some silly characters and skits and you're good to go. It's also a safe place to play games and interact with the creators and characters of JellyTelly. Go check it out by going to www.jellytelly.com

Tim Kimmel is an author and speaker known for his series entitled Grace Based Parenting. We were fornutate enough to hear him speak at the conference and hear his revolutionary parenting philosophy that takes the stress out of parenting and puts the fun back in! Grace Based Parenting lays out a road map for parenting the way God parents us--with grace! Check out his website at www.GraceBasedParenting.com We would love to offer a parenting seminar or class using this curriculum. If interested, please comment on this post and let us know when would be the best time (day of the week, evening, etc.) and the best format (one day seminar, elective on Sunday, eight week class, etc.).

We have tons of resources that we picked up and we want to make them available to you! Take a look at the books and samples that will be available to check out at the Kids Welcome Center later this month!

Sara

"I'm a Christian Now"

It is exciting when a child feels and accepts the invitation to follow Christ. Becoming a Christian is a decision that affects every decision. Given the importance of that decision, we would like to invite you and your child to be a part of a discipleship process that will complement what you are currently doing to assist your child in growing in Christ. This study is entitled "I'm a Christian Now." The process will include a book to use in your home along with this four week class for your child. You are your child's best teacher and we want to equip you to guide them on this journey to follow Christ.

Please take a few moments to consider enrolling your child in this class. It will require time during the week to follow up on each session, but it will be time well spent-time that will impact your child's life from this point on and to eternity.

Your child will receive a journal to work in each day during the week. This will be valuable time for you both. Also, you will want to commit to see that your child attends each of the four sessions except for illness or other crises. Each session will cover important information about what it means to be a Christian.

We will be eating dinner together (suggested cost $2) and meeting in B202 (the old blue room) from 5:15pm to 6:15pm on the following dates:

• Wednesday, January 14
• Wednesday, January 21
• Wednesday, January 28
• Wednesday, February 18

If interested or if you have questions, please contact Sara at 763-473-9463 ext 213 or email sara.galligan@wayzatafree.org