The Calling

I recently found this letter and wanted to share it with all of our volunteers. This is the heart/passion/vision of Fall Creek's Children's Ministry. For those of you that work with children and are passionate about seeing them come to Christ, let these words encourage you.

"I am a minister. I am a minister to the largest mission field in the world. I am a minister to children.

My calling is sure; my challenge is big; my vision is clear; my desire is strong; my influence is eternal; my impact is critical; my values are solid; my faith is tough; my mission is urgent; my purpose is unmistakable; my direction is forward; my heart is genuine; my strength is supernatural; my reward is promised; and my God is real.

In world of cynicism, I offer hope. In a world of confusion, I offer truth. In a world of immorality, I offer values. In a world of neglect, I offer attention. In a world of abuse, I offer safety. In a world of ridicule, I offer affirmation. In a world of division, I offer reconciliation. In a world of bitterness, I offer forgiveness. In a world of sin, I offer salvation. In a world of hate, I offer God's love.

I refuse to be dismayed, disengaged, disgruntled or distracted. Neither will I look back, stand back, fall back, go back or sit back. I do not need applause, flattery, adulation, prestige, stature or veneration. I do not have time for business as usual, mediocre standards, small thinking, outdated methods, normal expectations, average results, ordinary ideas, petty disputes or low vision. I will not give up, give in, bail out, lie down, turn over, quit or surrender.

I will pray when things look bad. I will pray when things look good. I will move forward when others stand still. I will trust God when obstacles arise. I will work when the task is overwhelming. I will get up when I fall down.

My calling is to reach boys and girls for God. It is too serious to be taken lightly, too urgent to be postponed, too vital to be ignored, too relevant to be overlooked, to significant to be trivialized, too eternal to be fleeting and too passionate to be quenched.

I know my mission, I know my challenge. I also know my limitations, my weaknesses, my fears and my problems. And I know my God. Let others get the praise. Let the church get the blessing. Let God get the glory.

I am a minister. I am a minister to children. This is who I am. This is what I do."

Roger Fields

Kids Blitz

Children's Ministry Update

Fall Creek Family,
Things have been wild and crazy the last few weeks so it's nice to have some time to update you on what has been happening in our kids' ministry.
We have started our regular Sunday School classes on Sunday mornings. This means that each week after you check your child in he or she will go directly to their classroom for small group time. Starting in October they will go straight to the Depot where we will spend the first 20 minutes of each service practicing our songs for the Christmas musical. I am very excited to see our kids perform on December 14th!

We have some great volunteers in our children's ministry department this semester. These adults love the Lord and they love your children! We are very blessed to have such great people teaching our kids. Be sure to stop in and thank them whenever you get a chance!

AWANA is off to a great start. Last Wednesday was our first traditional club night and we had 42 kids attend! We use the worship center, the Depot, as well as four more classrooms and the nursery. It's great to see the kids working on memorizing their verses and I especially love seeing our small group leaders connect with the kids in their groups. Our AWANA team is incredible! I encourage you to come by on a Wednesay night and observe your child's class. It's pretty awesome to see! We have kids in preschool through 6th grade on Wednesday nights (as well as the few in the nursery) and they are all diving into God's Word and learning more and more about him. What a great thing to be a part of!

For those of you who have older children and are interested in baptism please contact me by email at cadystephens@fallcreekonline.org or by calling the church office at (317)841-8749. We will be doing baptisms during our Sunday morning service on November 2nd. Please let me know as soon as possible if your child is interested. We have a foundations class that they need to go through in order to be baptized. This is something that has been laid on the hearts of the board members as well as the staff. We are excited to see your kids take the next step in their walk of faith. If you have questions I would love to talk to you about this!

Things are going well in our ministry. Our church is in the middle of a huge transition but I know that God has a plan for us! Please continue to keep our children's ministry in your prayers. Pray specifically for:

• AWANA. This is the largest outreach program that our children's ministry offers. Pray that more and more unreached children/families will start to attend.
• Pray for our children's ministry volunteers. Pray that their passion will not die down and that they will be able to see and understand the great importance that they have in our church.
• Pray for our church as a whole. Pray for a unity as we seek out a new senior pastor. Pray for smooth transition and willing servants.

I would love to talk with you if you have questions or concerns about our children's ministry. Please feel free to contact me at cadystephens@fallcreekonline.org or by calling the church office at (317)841-8749.

Your Wednesdays will never be the same.

This week is our first official AWANA club night! We had a great turn out at registration last Wednesday and are eager to begin!
It's not too late to sign up! Bring your child on Wednesday night by 6:30 and sign up at our registration desk. Carin Hines and Emilie Moore will walk you through the registration process and we will get your child all set up! The registration fee is $35 per child which covers his or her learning materials, uniform and awards throughout the school year.
We look forward to seeing you this Wednesday night at AWANA!

Our opening ceremony is in the sanctuary. Check in at the welcome desk in the front lobby.