DISCIPLESHIP NOW! Discipleship Now! West Virginia Baptist Convention JANUARY 2016

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1 DISCIPLESHIP NOW! West Virginia Baptist Convention JANUARY 2016 DISCIPLESHIP NOW is a periodic resource provided for local churches from the office of Discipleship Ministries. This issue: Children Parchment Valley Youth Camp Cowen There s an App for That! The West Virginia Baptist Convention App is available for Android and Apple products. Download yours today! Find it on the West Virginia Baptist Convention - American Baptist Churches USA American Baptist Home Mission Society Discipleship Now! Welcome to the first issue of Discipleship Now! a quarterly newsletter from the Discipleship Ministries of the West Virginia Baptist Convention. The goal of Discipleship Now! is to give local church leaders and individuals practical information, tools, recommended readings and suggestions about discipleship. What is discipleship? Simply put, it is the act of being a disciple. What is a disciple? Simply put, it is a person who follows and adheres to the philosophy, beliefs and lifestyle system of another. A Christian disciple is a follower, learner, and adherent to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Our working definition is: A Christian disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ who is intentionally growing and moving towards spiritual maturity. Growing in discipleship requires personal ac on. Each person who professes Jesus as Savior and Lord has a responsibility to move toward spiritual maturity throughout life. Each disciple has an individual journey, but does not journey alone. Believers are required to help and accompany each other on the way. The church as the family of God has a responsibility to every disciple to give assistance, encouragement and support throughout life as they grow in Christ. Discipleship Now! will provide informa on and helps for individual discipleship and will provide local churches with ideas, sugges ons and informa on to enhance discipleship within the local body of Christ. PLEASE do not just keep the informa on to yourself! Share the informa on, sugges- ons, ideas and materials with others. Consider who would benefit from what you receive in this newsle er and distribute it to others. Encourage others to sign up for this newsle er (pastor, Sunday School teachers, Chris an Educa on Board member, youth leaders, children s ministry leaders) and do not forget friends and family. Informa on is on the back page concerning being added to our list. Finally, we want to hear from you! If you have ques ons or sugges ons please let us know. Contact informa on is on the back page. Looking forward to sharing and growing together with you. Lisa G. Simmons Director of Discipleship Ministries Our mission is to empower local churches to be Christ honoring communities of faith, and to help them fulfill their mission by enabling them to do together what they cannot do alone.

2 How to Make Your Children s Ministry Irresistible 15 ways to get kids (and their families) to keep coming back. It s always difficult when you work hard at making your ministry impactful and fun only to watch as kids and families drift away as they lose interest or become disenchanted. So how do you make your ministry sticky in a good way? We asked several children s ministry experts for their keys to making your ministry one kids will fall in love with and want to come back to often. Aim for the oldest. Whenever you group different ages together, consistently engage the oldest kids in the room. You ll help them feel like they matter and when the oldest kids are excited, the younger kids typically follow suit. Learn kids names. Even if you start with family names and learn first names later; personalized greetings and calling kids by name goes a long way toward letting kids know they re cared for. In turn, you ll create a ministry where they feel they have a place and belong. Let kids own it. Giving kids the chance to help with technology, lead hand motions during worship, greet visitors at the door, choose between activities and read the day s Bible passage aloud are simple ways to give kids ownership over ministry. We all love things we re a part of more than events we just show up for. Make it count. Every week, ensure you send kids home with the ability to answer these top two questions from their parents: What did you learn? and Did you have fun? Go the extra mile or two. A great children s ministry experience always exceeds kids - parents expectations, whether it s your programming or clean restrooms. Have fun. Chances are if you re not enjoying the ministry, kids aren t enjoying it either. Give kids Jesus. Only when your kids and families consistently see and experience Jesus incredible love will they begin to truly love your ministry and all it has to offer. Build a faith bridge every week. When kids and families can always see how God s Word applies to their everyday lives, they won t be bored by your ministry instead they ll be hungry for more. Love your people. Kids and families want to be loved and to be known, and they long for a place to belong. Love them right where they are and they ll love your ministry back. Use the element of surprise. Kids love the mystery of the unexpected, so strive to give them something to wonder about each week. Wear them out. Give kids so many interactive experiences that when they leave they re excited, exhausted, and edu-tained. Make it personal. When you and your team listen and personally get to know what s happening with kids, they trust you and want to come back. Make it joyful! Because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we re filled with joy. We can share that joy every week with children through our attitudes, actions, and words. Make joy a core value of your ministry. Offer friendship. Everyone who serves in children s ministry is more than a leader or teacher he or she is a friend to children in and out of the ministry. This means sheltering, loving, guiding kids and following up when they re gone. Provide hospitality. Whether on a Sunday morning, at a special event, or during Vacation Bible School, you and your team are there to serve kids. It s up to you to offer welcoming hospitality and to create a warm environment where they can t wait to return. Excerpt from Children s Ministry Magazine January/February 2015

3 Experience Blessings at Parchment Valley Conference Center in 2016 Temple Challenge - a biblically centered exercise opportunity for all levels. It is Fun, gets you Fit and ready to do Fabulous things for God. Going on now. Volunteer with the Parchment Valley Veterans Therapeutic Program, which assists veterans struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or other emotional problems stemming from combat. Going on now. Join a School of Christian Studies class and plan to take more at sites throughout the state. Enjoy personal quiet time and reflection by scheduling a personal retreat. Participate in the Spring (March 12) and Fall (November 5) Children s Rallies. A great time for kids and leaders! 250+ students have attended each rally. Volunteer to help at Brothers Keeper (June 26-July 1), an annual, week long event for youth to help disadvantaged families in Jackson county. Approximately 200 students participate each year. If you are 55+ years, attend one of the Golden eers conferences! They are in the Spring (May 2-4) and Fall (September 12-14). For musicians, vocalists and those who just love praising the Lord through song, try out the annual Worship and Music Conference (June 16-18). Plan your own event! Parchment Valley is available for retreats, meetings, camps, training sessions, reunions and one-day or multi-day gatherings. PHOTO COURTESY OF ZOLA MILLER In His Grip, Frank R. Miller For children currently in grades K-5, 6th grade is optional. at the Greenlee Activities Center Parchment Valley Conference Center If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:9 COST: $12.00 (if postmarked by February 29th) $25 (if postmarked after February 29th or at the door) To download the registration form, go to: discipleshipyouth

4 Who is God? (The answers may surprise you!) If you want to get some funny and poignant responses to the question, Who is God?, just ask a group of children. Art Linkletter was a famous television personality back in the 1950s and 60s. (Yes, those who remember him, it dates us!) He was best known for his shows House Party and Kids Say the Darndest Things. In the later show, Linkletter would interview children on a variety of topics and their honest responses, many times hilarious, led to both a humorous and greatly loved television show. You just can t tell what will come out of the mouths of kids! The book OMG! How Children See God by Monica Parker, shares what Parker found when she asked children from various cultural, economic and social backgrounds about God. Here are some examples: God is a spirit. God is a holy man who makes planets and stuff. I have no idea, but gods are good guys. God is someone who owns heaven and he s very kind to let people go there. God is my dad. God is a really, really famous spirit. God is a super hero for the world. God has giant ears so He can hear everything we are saying. The comments above probably brought a smile to your face. Kids do say funny things sometimes. However consider these questions: 1. How would your children (no matter what the age) answer the question, Who is God? 2. How would the children in your church answer the same question? 3. How would YOU answer the question? 4. What are you and your church doing to assure that everyone within your family of faith knows the answers? Navigators Press has produced a 30 day prayer guide focusing on the attributes and names of God (see next page) This a great way for you and others to learn what the Bible tells us about our Heavenly Father and Creator. I am confident you will find something new about God as you use this guide. Here are some suggestions for using the guide: Save the guide from this newsletter and place it in your Bible or with your daily Bible study materials. Use the guide for your family devotions. Copy and distribute to your Sunday School class, small group, American Baptist Women s group or Men s group. Share with your children and youth ministry leaders and encourage them to use it for a month during the year. Share the guide with your pastor. The pastor may want to preach a series of sermons based on the guide. Then copy and place in the bulletin for the congregation. Make a poster or bulletin board sharing the information found on the guide and add a new name each week.

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6 YOUTH I Peter 3:15 says, But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (NIV) Be prepared! How does that statement fit into the discipleship process? The West Virginia Bap st Conven on has several programs in place to help the children and youth of the WVBC grow as a disciple. Bill Hull is leader of T-Net or the Vision 2000 Training Network. This is an intensive training system from the Navigators Church Discipleship Ministries division that is commi ed to the development of disciple-making congrega ons. Hull describes the following four stages as central to the disciple-making process: Come and Follow Me : An invita on to become established in the essen als of the Chris an faith. The youth ministry of the WVBC provides an opportunity for con nuing the discipleship process in partnership with each local church. The events and youth training programs are designed to help students to be be er disciples of Jesus Christ. Come and Be with Me : An invita on to minister. Youth Leader Core for high school students is a training ground for students to begin learning how to serve and use their God-given gi s in ministry. Bap st Campus Ministries is a Come and See : An invita on to see what Chris anity is all about and to commit one s life to Christ. The West Virginia Bap st Camp at Cowen is a wonderful place for all age groups to see what a Chris an community looks like. Younger Midler allows students in grades 2-4 to experience 44 hours enjoying Camp Cowen, gathering of college students on several campuses that work on personal discipleship and give students an opportunity to serve. Remain in Me : An invita on to a life me of devo on and service to Jesus Christ. This last stage is so important. Conven ons, camps and churches all need to come together to help the discipleship process, but there is individual responsibility also! wonderful fellowship and the love of Chris an people. Youth, families and men can also experience this throughout the summer. Are you making decisions that will make you a be er disciple this year? Are you helping your church make be er disciples?

7 The 2016 Camp Season is Rapidly Approaching! It is me to begin looking at your calendar to start solidifying your plans to join us at camp this summer. The theme chosen for this season will focus on 1 Peter 3:15, asking the ques on of preparedness to the students as they work toward strengthening their own rela onships with Christ and as they look toward sharing that rela onship with those around them. Are you prepared to give an answer for your beliefs? As we look toward the 2017 camp year, we hope to see a change in the physical layout of camp itself. If you ve ever been to camp at Cowen or if you ve sent and received a child, you will probably recall the number of smelly, soggy socks and water-logged shoes that come home at the end of the week. Rain is an ever-present blessing at Cowen. While a storm can be fun to watch, it can o en put a halt to small groups who meet outside or evening ac vi es that were planned for a big, open field. By the end of the 2016 camping season, our hope is to begin work on a new facility that will provide the answer to the all too common rainy day ques ons like, Will we get to do the evening ac vity tonight? or Our small group mee ng area is soaked. Where will we meet instead? The Sunny Day Leadership and Ac vi es Center is currently in the works and will provide the means for groups to meet, learn and play on those rainy days at camp. The hope for this new facility is that it will be mul func onal. While rain will influence how much the complex is used for game me, the desire is that it will also be used as a training ground to teach and disciple students in scripture and leadership. The aim is to honor past leaders through remembrance of their work and by building up new leaders for the church. Ground is already being moved so the building can begin as soon as the camp is ready, but we s ll need support for this to happen. As you pray for the camp and the campers who will be a ending this summer, we would also appreciate your prayers for the

8 Resource Contacts: Lisa Simmons, WVBC Director of Discipleship Ministries, Associate of Mission Support, Rob Ely, WVBC Director of Student Ministries, Frank Miller, WVBC Director of Operations at Parchment Valley Conference Center, Koreen Villers, WVBC Director of Children s Ministries, villers@wvbc.org Jerry Losh, WVBC Director of Senior Adults, jerry@fbcoh.com For more informa on, contact the office of the West Virginia Bap st Conven on PO Box 1019 Parkersburg, West Virginia Phone: or Lisa Simmons, Director of Discipleship/Associate of Mission Support lsimmons@wvbc.org, Valma Adams, Administra ve Assistant for Discipleship Commission adams@wvbc.org Contact Valma at adams@wvbc.org if you do not want to receive this mailing in the future or if there is someone else in your church who would benefit by receiving it. Curriculum Review: The Road to Resurrection by Group Publishing Easter Events for Families. If you are looking for an Easter event that makes a lasting impact, then look at The Road to Resurrection. This event draws families back to church and closer together. And admit it Eater egg hunts aren t doing the trick. Bring your church the fun, all-church event that gets families talking and walking with Jesus! Scripture from the Gospels guide everyone through the events surrounding Jesus death and resurrection. Perfect for any size church and all ages! Easy to plan, promote and recruit volunteers. $ Free shipping on your Event Kit, but hurry offer expires 2/28/2016. Use promo code FL Book Review: 12 Huge Mistakes Parents Can Avoid by Tim Elmore You are not raising kids; you are raising future adults. You re deeply committed to helping your kids succeed. But you re concerned why are so many young people unprepared to face life on their own and enter the workforce after graduation? You re doing your best to raise responsible children, but sometimes you wonder, am I really helping them? Tim Elmore shows you how to avoid 12 critical mistakes parents unintentionally make. Some of the mistakes that Tim Elmore discusses in his book are: Mistake 1: We Won t Let Them Fail. Mistake 5 : We Remove the Consequences. Mistake 10 : We Value Removing All Pain. And Mistake 11: We Do It for Them. West Virginia Baptist Convention Office of Mission Support PO Box 1019 Parkersburg, WV Non Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Parkersburg, WV Permit No. 36 DISCIPLESHIP NOW! January 2016