There is a lot of formal mission prep that we hope to do this summer. What is just as important is the informal, that includes time the kids and leaders hang together, time they spend together involved in other things and the individual growth and maturity [spiritually and other] that each person pursues on their own.Tonight, I had an opportunity to hang with our DC team as they served at a local elementary school. I got a request a few months ago for some students to come and help out with a sort of open gym night at a local school, while some adults from GCC were running some kind of parenting seminar. On one hand, it looked a lot like free day care. But on the other hand, it fit in perfectly with this idea of informal preparation, so I signed up. Where else could some students get a first hand look at working with kids, with no advance preparation. Luckily, a bunch of the team showed up. Otherwise, it would have been me, my girls, 30 screaming elementary kids, 20 hula-hoops, and 25 basketballs.
Park and children's ministry is always fun, easy and is a great way to build relationships. Students have a great time, the kids love new people and parents are usually pretty appreciative which can lead to receptivity. Hopefully tonight was a good primer for these students to get a feel for some hang out time with kids. I think they might be doing a lot of that in DC.
Technorati tags:: student+missions, childrens+ministry
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