We had our AGM this past week and for those of you who weren't able to attend, I want to take the opportunity to share my update here .
2020 taught us many, many lessons. We all learned way more than we want to about virtual meetings and classes. We are now all very well-versed in hand-washing, hand-sanitizing, mask-wearing and people-distancing. But we learned a lot of intangible lessons and skills, too. Here, in light of children's, and youth ministry, are some lessons we learned.
2020 taught us that awkward and uncomfortable is OK.
We've all experienced our share of awkwardness this past year, whether it was extended silences during a lesson, mysterious noises during an important meeting, or technical difficulties with wifi, presentations or videos. We've endured and we found out that it's ok for church to feel awkward. In fact, the awkward moments allows us to extend grace and patience to one another.
Being forced to serve outside our comfort zone is also learning in disguise. God stretches us and forces us to face our fears (seeing ourselves on video!) and to grow in dependence on Him as we try new things and take risks to serve Him.
2020 taught us that we CAN do ministry in the in-between.
At the beginning of the lockdown in March, we thought we just had to come up with a short-term, temporary solution to do “church” for a few weeks. We needed a band-aid solution until everything was back to normal. As weeks turned into months, our thinking about ministry had to shift from:
“What can we do while we wait for things to go back to normal.”
to
“What can we do in our new normal.”
In Romans 8:28, Paul says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." God works in and through all situations, and we, as a church, can do the same!
2020 taught us to be a little more adaptable, versatile and resilient.
There were times when it really felt like our ministries flipped upside down. While our vision remained the same, we couldn't do anything the same way. We were forced to try new things, take some risks and learn through trial and error. We were forced to see ministry in a new light and for some of us, re-imagine our roles within Resonance Church.
The teachers, leaders, counsellors, special event helpers at ResKids, Ignite and Crossroads stepped up and stepped out to serve in 2020...
In 2020, ResKids, Ignite and Crossroads volunteers:
- wrote devotions
- developed curriculum
- organized
- photo challenges
- games nights
- mail-outs
- care packages
- craft kids
- community service initiatives
- summer Bingo
- used creative to design
- lessons
- games
- activities
- characters (SPAM cat!)
- crafts
- TED-Res talks
- created
- kids worship videos
- cooking demos
- lip-sync videos
- and so much more...
So thank YOU and praise God for his faithfulness in giving us exactly what we need to love and serve the kids, teens and young adults at Resonance Church.
ResKids lesson for February 28
We wrap up our series on Galatians with a story by Melissa Kruger called Where You Go, I Want You to Know. The book of Galatians reminded us of God's Amazing Grace in our lives and this week, we want to encourage the kids that Jesus and his AMAZING grace is worth it! Find out more about the book here or watch the storybook video with your kids!