childhood Archives - Baptist & Reflector

COVID-19 CRISIS FORCES CHURCHES TO ADAPT

June 25, 2020

Association’s 10 churches try new format, provide Backyard Bible Clubs ‘in a bag’

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

Leslie (left) and Jimmie Lee Nolen, Royal Ambassadors at Hickman Baptist Church, Hickman, help prepare bags for the Backyard Bible Clubs sponsored by churches in New Salem Baptist Association. Looking on is Sue Turner Hall.

CARTHAGE — For more than 11 years, New Salem Baptist Association had sponsored Backyard Bible Clubs in low income areas.

The plan was to do it again this year, but COVID-19 entered the picture and it appeared the association would not be able to minister to children in Carthage and surrounding areas, said Marty Dodge, director of missions for New Salem Baptists.

To not do anything was not an option for Dodge. “We’ve got to do something for the kids,” he said. Knowing that it was not feasible to do a live BYBC with volunteers working with the children, the association, with the help of the mission committee, developed “something different,” Dodge said.

The association decided to do a “portable” Backyard Bible Club that will be delivered in bags to neighborhood children. Churches are in the process of preparing the bags that will include a Bible lesson for the week, activity page, pencils, crayons, tracts, Scriptures and, of course, the snacks and treats that go hand-in-hand with children’s activities. [Read more…]

TBMB KIDS SPECIALISTS: ROUTINE IMPORTANT

April 10, 2020

Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — With children staying home from school and activities, keeping them in a routine is critical, agree Tennessee Baptist Mission Board childhood specialists Donna Blaydes and Vicki Hulsey.

Blaydes suggested that families establish and stick to a routine.

“Routine is an important part of a child’s daily life,” she observed. “During this time when a child’s life has been temporarily disrupted, it is important to establish a new routine for your family,” she said. [Read more…]

PARENTS CAN TEACH BIBLICAL TRUTHS TO CHILDREN DURING EXTENDED TIME AT HOME

April 10, 2020

Note: Many resources are available online for families. See list beneath this story for a few options.

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

FRANKLIN — The coronavirus pandemic is providing many parents more opportunities to share biblical truths as children are now confined to their homes rather than schools or daycare facilities.

The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s childhood specialists, Vicki Hulsey and Donna Blaydes, are encouraging parents to take advantage of the unique opportunities they have to invest in the spiritual health of their children. [Read more…]

HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

February 27, 2020

Children’s Missions Day gives kids the chance to be actively involved in ministry work in variety of ways

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — Although the service projects that were performed across Tennessee this year on Children’s Missions Day were wide-ranging and extensive, the main goal of the projects was precise and singular: Sharing the love of Christ.

Designed and developed by WMU in 2008, Children’s Missions Day provides children, grades first through sixth, with opportunities to become actively involved in mission work in their own communities.

Hundreds of children in Tennessee participated in the annual event and gained “hands-on” experience of what ministry and missions are all about.

“I love that boys and girls are following God’s command to put their love into action (1 John 3:18) as they create projects to reach out to their communities,” said Vickie Anderson, executive director-treasurer for Tennessee WMU. “It is exciting to know that children in Tennessee are joining thousands of others across North America to meet needs and impact lives.” [Read more…]

HOSTING VBS WAS A TRUE TEAM EFFORT AT HALEY’S GROVE

December 12, 2019

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

CROSSVILLE — Kim Margrave thought she was making a simple phone call regarding administrative numbers.

Little did she know she was actually setting off a chain of events that would ultimately lead to eight professions of faith at Haley’s Grove Baptist Church in Crossville.

The sequence began last February when Margrave, former volunteer missions specialist at the Tennessee Baptist Missions Board, was in the process of contacting various churches to gather information for the Annual Church Profile that is compiled by the TBMB.

While speaking on the phone with Haley’s Grove pastor Robert Hawkins, Margrave discovered that the church had discontinued its Vacation Bible School ministry several years ago because the church was unable to put together a volunteer staff large enough to host the event.

Hoping to find a solution, Margrave immediately contacted TBMB childhood specialist Vicki Hulsey, who then contacted members of Maury County Baptist Association, including director of missions Dale Ledbetter. [Read more…]

CHRISTIANS SHOULDN’T BE INTIMIDATED BY OTHER VOICES

November 14, 2019

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

In 2015, Tennessee legislators passed a state law that authorized local school boards across the state to put policies in place allowing students to be excused during the school day to attend a class in “religious moral instruction.”

The freedom to have release time for biblical or moral instruction actually has occurred for more than a century and possibly longer. It was contested in 1952 and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bible Release Time (Zorach versus Clauson, 343 U.S. 306). [Read more…]

STILL JAMMING: GA EVENT TURNS 30

October 22, 2019

By Ashley Perham
Baptist & Reflector

Tennessee WMU missions and ministry advocate Linda Robbins leads a JAM small group as children learn more about missions.

NASHVILLE — JAM, a one-day mission event for children, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

JAM, which stands for Journey into Adventures in Missions, was started by the Tennessee WMU in 1989.

Originally, the event was only for 1st through 6th grade girls in the WMU Girls in Action (GA) program.

In 2001, the event became open to all children in 1st-6th grade. [Read more…]

THE ABCs OF GEN Z

October 10, 2019

TBMB leads seminars on how to reach this easily-distracted demographic

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

SHELBYVILLE — “Does anyone know what a slo-fie is?” asked Donna Blaydes as she glanced around the classroom filled with adults.

After a few moments of mostly blank stares and silence, Blaydes explained that the term, which is only about three weeks old, refers to slow-motion “selfies” that can be recorded with the latest version of iPhones.

The response to Blaydes’ question perfectly illustrated the point that she was making: Technology is moving so rapidly that it can be challenging for parents and grandparents to keep up. [Read more…]

10 CHARACTERISTICS OF GEN Z

October 9, 2019

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

SHELBYVILLE — While leading a breakout session called “Parenting and Grandparenting Gen Z Kids” at the TBMB’s conference, Debbie Doane revealed 10 common characteristics among Gen Z-ers. Doane then discussed ways in which these characteristics shape relationships with this demographic. By learning more about their world, it becomes easier to open the lines of communication, she said.

1 They’ve always been ‘wired’

Gen Z kids have been surrounded by screens their whole lives. With the commercialization of the internet in 1995 — the year that many consider to be the start of Gen Z — and the influx of cell phones, Gen Z is seemingly always connected to something. [Read more…]

FROM CHURCH-HOUSE TO NEIGHBORHOOD-HOUSE

September 27, 2019

By Justin Mullins
Young Families Pastor, Collierville First Baptist Church

Children enjoy a Backyard Kids Club provided by Collierville First Baptist Church.

A few years ago, our church, Collierville First Baptist Church, decided to take a closer look at who we were reaching through our annual Vacation Bible School. While our numbers were strong, we were surprised to discover that only four percent of the children who attended were unchurched.

We put all our resources, volunteers and effort into a huge program that consisted of 96 percent of the children attending our church or another church in the area. So, we began to pray and ask the Lord for a new and exciting opportunity to reach new families with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We defined the success of this program by how many unchurched families we could reach. [Read more…]

Association’s 10 churches try new format, provide Backyard Bible Clubs ‘in a bag’

Children’s Missions Day gives kids the chance to be actively involved in ministry work in variety of ways

TBMB leads seminars on how to reach this easily-distracted demographic

1 They’ve always been ‘wired’

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