Annual report1

Recommendations

Info

I have just completed my eighth year overseeing Family Ministry here at Otumoetai Baptist. As I look back over that time, one of the areas we have made great progress in is the way we partner with parents. Here are some of the ways we did this in 2017: Running faith at home workshops, to encourage and resource parents in passing on their faith to their children in the home. Last year Jigsaw did a workshop on service, where the families made blessing bags to pass on to others. Wonder Kids looked at my church. Families took home a book to read to their children called ‘What is the Church’ as a tool for teaching their children the importance of faith community. Crèche parents considered meal time routines, such as Grace, and took home a placemat and others resources to give them ideas to use at home. We also had a meeting with the parents of youth, including Zero Gravity, to talk through Easter camps and how to make the most of this experience when their children return home. Providing resources to use in the home. We gave families an Advent tree at Christmas which we also used in our Christmas family 6
service. This provided a great link between home and church. We were also able to give each family a copy of the devotional book, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd Jones. Links between Children’s Ministry and home. In 2017 we developed a new ‘at home weekly’ resource which informs parents of what their children are doing in Children’s Ministry so they can both prepare and reinforce at home. This is a great way home and church can work together. We launched this at the beginning of the year, at a family lunch, and gave each family a magnetic clip, so they can hang this on their fridge. Opportunities for social connection. We continued to provide opportunities for children and their parents to develop friendships with other church families. This is an important part of being church family. In 2018 we aim to make these more intergenerational by inviting the whole church whanau to join us at these social events held at the end of each school term. I also consider our Sunday morning children’s programmes to be a vital part of the church/home partnership. Children need other adults to walk with them on the faith journey and this is a key aspect of all our groups. Thank you to the leaders in crèche, Wonder Kids and Jigsaw. Your involvement with our children is a great blessing to our families. I know as a parent that your input into their lives is hugely appreciated and is a vital part of their discipleship. A special thank you to my leadership team: Margi Baldwin, Rachel Keam, Sarah Robinson and Gay Cochran. I always look forward to my meetings with this team as they provide me with great feedback, ideas and encouragement. Partnering with parents to create connections and grow the faith of our children. Partner: We seek to partner with parents and support them in the spiritual formation of their children. Connect: We seek to build intentional relationships between children and spiritual mentors, to encourage the development of friendships with other children and to foster a sense of belonging to the wider church family. We seek to connect with non-churched children and families in our community. Grow: We seek to work with the Holy Spirit in the spiritual formation of children, providing opportunities for them to experience God and to deepen a loving relationship with Christ. Thank you also to Julian, for his continued hard work in the office. Jan 7
Page 1 and 2: This is the Otumoetai Baptist Churc
Page 3 and 4: WELCOME Our From Brian Cochran—Se
Page 5: Elders Report 2017 provided numerou
Page 9 and 10: We spent a term looking at challeng
Page 11 and 12: Wednesday Communion Service The Wed
Page 13 and 14: Our Life Groups General life groups
Page 15 and 16: BMF (Baptist Mission Fellowship) An
Page 17 and 18: Prayer needs for the coming year wo
Page 19 and 20: show the signs of old age (it happe
Page 21 and 22: Statistics For those of you who lik
Page 23 and 24: Budget comments Mission Church Miss
Page 25 and 26: completed a few behind the scenes e
Page 27 and 28: Statement of Financial Position As

Annual report1

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?