From Monica Schlange
I have a dream and it’s a doozie! But before I tell you about it, let me tell you where we are! This includes my own part of the Kids Ministry (which is the Littles), as well as the big kids outside of my scope (Kindergarten-5th grade)
Where we are:
The Kids:
There are so many young families coming to Grace now so the Littles and the Bigs Ministries are popping! On any given Sunday, between the 3 Littles rooms and the 2 services we’ll have around 50 littles. The older kids tend to have another 50 kids or so between their three classes. That’s about 100 kids in a matter of 3 hours. It’s PURE DELIGHT!
The Volunteers:
On any given month the Littles Ministry needs a total of 48 volunteers, minimum. We currently have 37. For the Bigs each month we need 16 volunteers, but we currently have 13. These numbers mean if no one does extra weeks we’d have to shut down the kids ministry one full Sunday a month. Eek! But our teams are the best and they love kids and they love Jesus, and they’ve been so kind about helping extra over the last several months. How much longer can we sustain being stretched thin? Let’s not find out!
Where we COULD be:
The Check-in:
We would love to have a check-in station that includes a safer, faster, more up to date way of checking the kids in and out. This would include an app for parents who can check their kiddo in from their phone as they arrive at church!
The Classrooms:
We want to vastly improve the classrooms in multiple ways: locating the preschoolers closer to the bathrooms, having safer room layout so that kids can’t escape during drop off and pick up, newer toys and decor, larger rooms for some of the classes, etc.
The Volunteer Support:
We want to offer occasional in-person group training, plus more structured time for the younger classrooms.
The Parents:
We want to offer a way for parents to carry out the vision of the younger age groups at home with monthly newsletters and better communication via text.
What we need from YOU (yes, YOU!):
Sunday Teachers/Helpers:
We need a minimum of 14 volunteers who are willing to commit to 1-3 Sundays a month for 6 months. This would, in part, free us up to work on all of the other expansions. Much of my own volunteer time is spent trying to fill holes in the schedule, so instead I could work on the dream expansion. Woohoo!
If you’re up for joining the team, please fill out this volunteer form right away. Next will be a background check that’s free and easy, and then we’ll train you.
We’re excited about you joining our team as we expand and grow and provide God’s best to the kiddos of our community!
