THE ROAD Volunteer Information
Welcome to The Road! We are excited and blessed by your interest in serving the children of McDonough Christian Church. Inside this packet you ll find everything you need to know about serving in our Children s Ministry, as well as some tools to get you started in your ministry to these children and families! Think of this booklet as a road map to your Children s Ministry journey! In the next few pages, you ll find Our Vision, Values, and Goals p. 3 Our Discipleship Opportunities p. 5
VISION, VALUES, AND GOALS God told Moses, the leader of His people, that the best way to instill His ways, commands, and values in a child is through a team effort of parents, family, and the entire community of faith using everyday moments to teach children about the LORD. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. - Deuteronomy 6: 5-9 (TNIV) Knowing this, our ministry sought out God s will in developing a vision that practices this concept raising children to become followers of Jesus requires us as parents, family members, and a church to work together as a team! Therefore this is our vision Our Vision: McDonough Christian Church s Children s Ministry, The Road, exists To transform children into fully devoted followers of Jesus by bringing faith and families together.
Our ministry has also identified five important values that we want to teach to every child, and desire that all five values be present in everything we do! These five values listed below and highlighted in blue have become known as our Rules of the Road! Our Values: 1. God loves us and desires for everyone to have a loving relationship with Him. - Deuteronomy 6:5 LOVE GOD! 2. God saves us through His son, Jesus, and He is worthy of our praise. - Deuteronomy 6:21; 8:10; 10:21 PRAISE JESUS! 3. God wants us to know and obey His word, the Bible. - Deuteronomy 8:3 KNOW HIS WORD! 4. God wants us to love, respect, and serve others. - Deuteronomy 10:17 SERVE OTHERS! 5. God wants us to enjoy life, to have fun. - Deuteronomy 6:2 HAVE FUN! We also have a couple of very important goals we strive to accomplish in our ministry to children and families Our Goals: 1. That the parents and/or families of every child would take a proactive role in the spiritual development of their child and also in our ministry. 2. That every child experiences relationships with our teachers and volunteers who genuinely care for them and invest in their lives.
DISCIPLESHIP OPPORTUNITIES Every volunteer position, no matter what the task, is vitally important to our ministry. We believe that, together, as a team, we are creating experiences that bring our children closer to Jesus and becoming lifelong followers of Him. Every opportunity to serve in the Children s Ministry is an opportunity to make disciples of Christ! There are multiple areas within our ministry to serve, and opportunities for us to use all of the different gifts, talents, and abilities God has blessed each one of us with! Areas to serve include The Nursery Team This team includes all volunteers who serve and disciple our children from birth to 2 years old. The Early Childhood Team This team includes all volunteers who serve and disciple our children from age 3 to Kindergarten. The Elementary Team This team includes all volunteers who serve and disciple our children in 1 st through 5 th Grade. The Gate B3 Team This team includes all volunteers who serve and disciple our children with special needs. The Pit Crew This team includes all volunteers who staff our Pit Stop, the Children s Ministry Check-In Center. The Worship Team This team includes all volunteers who lead our children in worship each week. The following pages describe the different positions within each team where you can serve! Here at The Road, we consider everyone who interacts directly with and/or in front of our children as a leader. This is reflected in the different positions you ll find listed below.
The Nursery Team Classrooms: Baby Lane (Infants) Walker Way (Toddlers) Two Way Street (Two Year Olds) Discipleship Opportunities: Baby Lane Leader A Baby Lane Leader helps provide a loving and safe environment for our babies. He/She loves to be around, hold, and care for infants. He/She is gentle, loving, and ensures that our littlest ones feel loved and safe. Walker Way Leader A Walker Way Leader also provides a loving and safe environment for our toddlers. He/She loves to be around kids, likes to play with kids, and helps introduce our toddlers to God. A Walker Way leader, likewise, ensures that the children are safe and that they are loved. Two-Way-Street Community Group Leader A Two Way Street Community Group Leader loves to be around children who can walk and talk! He/She is energetic and loves to play with children. He/She also loves being in front of small children, introducing them to God and His Word, and doesn t mind using repetition as a means of teaching these children. And of course, he/she provides a safe and loving environment for the children.
The Early Childhood Team Classrooms: Preschool Plaza ( 3 Year Olds) 4 Way Stop (4 Year Olds) Pre K & K Crossing (5 s and Kindergarteners) Discipleship Opportunities: Preschool Plaza Community Group Leader A Preschool Plaza Community Group Leader is fun and has lots of energy for this energetic group of kids! He/She loves being around and playing with preschool aged children. He/She can present God s Word to these children in creative and exciting ways that helps the children experience the Bible. He/She can be responsible for reviewing and present each week s given lesson or curriculum, and loves to be with young children. 4 Way Stop Community Group Leader A 4 Way Stop Community Group Leader is fun and has lots of energy for this energetic group of kids! He/She loves being around and playing with preschool aged children. He/She can present God s Word to these children in creative and exciting ways that helps the children experience the Bible. He/She can be responsible for reviewing and present each week s given lesson or curriculum, and loves to be with young children. Pre K & K Crossing Community Group Leader A Pre K & K Crossing Community Group Leader loves being with children who are just beginning their school years. He/She is comfortable with young school-aged children, and can present God s Word to them in a relevant way. He/She can be responsible for reviewing and presenting each week s given lesson or curriculum, is comfortable in a classroom setting, and ensures a safe environment for children to develop friendships and their understanding of God s Word.
The Elementary Team Classrooms: 1 st Grade Speedway (1 st Grade) 2 nd Avenue (2 nd Grade) The Parking Lot (3 rd Grade) Route 4 Jesus (4 th Grade) Route 526 (5 th Grade) Discipleship Opportunities: Elementary Community Group Leader (Any grades 1 5) An Elementary Community Group Leader loves being around school-aged children. He/She enjoys teaching children God s Word, and can find creative and exciting ways for the kids to experience their lesson each week. He/She can be responsible for reviewing and presenting each week s given lesson or curriculum, can lead their class through the different crafts, activities, games that go along with each week s lesson, and maintain a safe learning environment.
The Gate B3 Team Classrooms: Gate B3 (For children with special needs) Discipleship Opportunities: Gate B3 Community Group Leader - A Gate B3 Community Group leader loves to be with children with diverse and special needs. He/She helps create a loving, safe and positive environment for these children, and can help accommodate the class to meet their specific needs. He/She can be responsible for reviewing and presenting each week s lesson, and also desires to build relationships with the kids in their class. Gate B3 Buddy A Gate B3 Buddy is someone who can simply be a friend to children! They play with our Gate B3 students, and help them transition to the different activities during each week s lesson. He/She is patient and a good listener, and can help create a safe a loving environment for the children to learn about God.
The Pit Crew Areas: The Pit Stop (Children s Ministry Check-In Center) Discipleship Opportunities: Guest Check-In Crew Member A Guest Check-In Crew Member welcomes new visitors to our church and ministry. He/She is friendly, helpful, and inviting. They also love to smile! A Guest Check-In Attendant can assist our new visitors through the check-in process and help them get to the right classroom or area of the Children s Ministry building. Regular Check-In Crew Member A Regular Check-In Crew Member is helpful and friendly. He/She loves to be around a lot of people, enjoys helping people and making them smile. He/She is responsible for checking-in our children on our computerized check-in system. Crew Chief The Crew Chief is friendly and loves to meet-n-greet both visitors and regular members. The Crew Chief if helpful, and is able to point visitors and members to the right classroom or area that their children need to be. He/She remains at the entrance door to the Children s area, and becomes the first safety and security check-point for the Children s area. He/She is also available to stand at designated doors to assist with the check-out process, which involves checking the name badges of children and their guardians.
The Worship Team Areas: The Loft (Elementary Worship area) Preschool Worship Room (Preschool Worship area) Puppet Room (adjacent to Preschool Worship area) Discipleship Opportunities: Preschool Worship Leader An Early Childhood Worship Leader loves to use music and singing as worship to God. He/She is comfortable being in front of young children, is energetic and fun-loving, and loves to sing and do motions to songs. He/She is also good at motivating small children to participate in worship, and loves to teach children new songs, motions, and simple prayers. Preschool Large Group Storyteller An Early Childhood Large Group Storyteller makes learning fun for our early childhood aged kids! He/She is comfortable being in front of children, can effectively communicate the week s lesson, is a good storyteller, and can help make God s Word relevant to a child s life in fun and creative ways. Elementary Worship Leader An Elementary Worship Leader loves to use music and singing as worship to God. He/She is comfortable being in front of older children, is highly energetic and fun-loving, and loves to sing and do motions to songs. He/She is also good at motivating and cheering on kids to participate in worship. Elementary Large Group Storyteller An Elementary Large Group Storyteller makes learning fun for our elementary aged kids! He/She is comfortable being in front of children, can effectively communicate the week s lesson, is a good storyteller, and can help make God s Word relevant to a child s life in fun and creative ways. Tech Leader A Tech Leader is technologically savvy! They run our sound booth, powerpoint, videos, lighting, and other audio/visual aspects of our worship services. They keep our kids worship services flowing smoothly and are a vital part of our worship team! Puppet Team Puppet Team Leaders make learning fun for our young children through the use of puppets. They are creative, energetic, and can be dramatic as well. They can learn lines from a short script, and love to use their voices and bodies to bring joy and laughter to children.
When Can I Serve? There are three main programs during the week that contribute to our children s discipleship process, all of which you can serve: Sundays 9:15 a.m. Kids Community Group Hour - During this hour, children meet in age appropriate classrooms and community groups, where they experience curriculum-based learning with wonderful, devoted teachers and leaders! The curriculum includes all kinds of fun activities, and accommodates all learning styles. 11:00 a.m. Kids Worship Hour - This is a high energy, fun-filled hour where children experience worship through singing, an interactive story, offering time, and activities in their age appropriate small groups. Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. Kids Wednesday Night Live - Our kids have their very own, special Wednesday Night Live (WNL) programming as well. Kids meet in their own, age appropriate community groups and have tons of fun! There are also special events throughout the year that are geared toward Children s Ministry and children. Vacation Bible School (VBS) Children s Summer Camp Fall Festival SumFall Kickoff