About
The Birth of Kids Shine ...
as told by Vicki Bowker and Farrah Gregory
Do you love to hear a story of God at work ... taking bits and pieces of lives and putting them together into a brand new picture? Well, that's really our story. Two women - different ages, backgrounds and experiences - brought together for God to write some new chapters into their lives. Here's a bit of how it began ...
In May 2005, we met together for only the second time. Within a few weeks we would begin our new relationship as the Children's Ministry pastors at Peace Portal and on this day we just wanted to share our passions with each other. What we didn't know was what God was about to birth!
As we talked we knew we were of "the same heart" - wanting children to grow deeply in their understanding and love for God. But how could that be easily conveyed? We knew we wanted to create a new identity for the ministry that God would develop under our leadership, so agreed to pray separately for the next month to see if God would gift each of us with his thoughts.
Four weeks later we began our working relationship. Almost the first thing we did was meet together again with the unspoken question waiting to be answered ... what did God say to you? As we talked we quickly realized he had, indeed, given each of the same thought ... "HELP THE CHILDREN SHINE FOR ME". Yes, we thought, kids can shine for God at school, at home, in sports ... and in that moment KIDS SHINE was born!
But there's more ... we also realized that the picture of a tiny flower pushing up through the dark soil and emerging strong and beautiful - its roots firmly planted -was the picture both of us had been given of children growing in faith. Yes, God was truly in this! Thanks to the amazing artistic gifting of Erin Miller, our wonderful logo was created and KIDS SHINE was here to stay! How amazing is God?
So ... how do we help the children shine? Here is the "Children's Ministries Map" of Peace Portal Alliance Church that we use to keep us on target ....
THE MAP ...
Through their Preschool Years:
Birth – Kindergarten
- By the end of age 2, our children will know that Jesus loves them, their family, their church and the world
- By the end of age 4, our children will have a grasp of the foundations of their faith:
- Creation; Heaven; God the Father; God the Son (Jesus); Prayer; Salvation;and the importance of God’s Word (memory verses)
- By the end of Kindergarten our children will have advanced understanding of those foundations of faith and will be building on them.
- All our pre-school children will learn one song/month that is being sung in the church worship services
- All our pre-school children will be able to verbalize what they learned in the previous weeks
Through their Elementary Years:
Grades 1-4
- Our children’s understanding of their foundations of faith will have developed even more
- Our children’s Bible knowledge will have deepened and expanded
- They will be able to verbalize their faith (share it with others)
- They will take “ownership” of their faith by wanting to make wise choices and apply what they have learned of Christ-honouring character to their lives
- They will be offered the opportunity to accept Christ as their Saviour
- They will have their own Bible and be able to use it
- Their understanding of prayer and prayer life will be taking shape
- They will really know who Jesus is and what He came to do for us
- They will understand the holiness, awesomeness and love of God
- They will have opportunity to be missional with our community and the world
Through their Pre-teen Years:
Grades 5/6
- Our children’s Bible knowledge and understanding will have expanded to see all of history and life in the context of God’s plan
- Our children will experience spiritual accountability for the application of all they know
- Our children will be given opportunity to give back to God through ministry training and experience.