Honey, Covid Shrunk the Kids!
Depending on your age, you may or may not remember the timeless cinematic classic from 1989, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. It came out when I was 8 years old, so I think I was the exact target demographic. The basic premise is that Inventor Wayne Szalinski (played by Rick Moranis) accidentally and unwittingly shrinks his kids and the neighbor kids down to be a quarter inch tall. Not an ideal situation, obviously, and “hilarity” ensues as the kids learn to navigate their new tiny life.
Covid has brought about all sorts of challenges. Thankfully, no one has been shrunk (as far as I’m aware, I don’t think that is a Covid symptom). But at EBC, our Children’s Ministry has shrunk. For a season it was shut down altogether, and it has re-grown a fair bit over the last year or so. Presently, we have one K-5th grade combined class at each of the three weekend services, as well as Nursery on Saturday night and during the 9:00 am service. This is great!
Personally, I’ve had the opportunity to teach the 11:00 K-5th grade class since September, which has been really good. If you’d like to hear more about my experience teaching at 11:00, including some of what scared me about it, and what the experience has been like, there is a link below to a video where I’ll share in more detail.
We would love to see our weekend Children’s Ministry continue to re-grow. In pre-Covid days we had Nursery at every service, a separate Pre-K Class, and we’ve even at times had kids classes that were divided into K-2nd and 3rd-5th, rather than a single K-5 class all together. Re-growth has been a one-step-at-a-time process, and that will be the plan going forward as well. To continue re-growing our Children’s Ministry, we’re hoping to find some more EBC folks who would be able to join the team. Below are the big areas of opportunity:
Nursery Help
This is such a significant ministry, both to kids and to moms and dads. Speaking from our experience, Leanne and I sure love our 3-year-old daughter, Rosie. She’s a delight! And in her delightfulness, she loves to make noise, play with toys, bounce around, and generally be busy during all waking hours. What a tremendous blessing it is to us, as parents, to be afforded the opportunity to worship with less distraction while she is cared for in the Nursery every Saturday night. Not to mention the fact that Rosie absolutely loves being in the Nursery! (Also, in case you didn’t know, we don’t change diapers in the nursery. We have a paging system to call the parents and let them manage the “fun” part.)
K-5th Grade Teachers
We have such great kids here at EBC! This last weekend I was in both the 9:00 and 11:00 classes, and in both hours, the kids were respectful, they listened and responded well, stayed on task, and were truly enjoyable. What a blessing! We have been working through a very good curriculum that is well laid out, and Anna does an excellent job getting the craft and game supplies prepped for the teachers. Because of that, preparing to teach can be accomplished without excessive work on the part of the volunteer. I know for some the notion of being the primary teacher can be daunting, so we do also have needs for helpers in the classrooms, as we always make sure to have at least two adults in each class with our kids.
Willing Substitutes
We have awesome teachers and helpers in our Nursery and K-5 Ministry. But everyone gets sick from time to time. And everyone needs a week off here or there because they’re traveling or for some other life circumstance. Having a pool of substitutes that can be called on is such a huge help as well!
Who should join up with the EBC Children’s Ministry?
We’re looking for new team members who love Jesus and are willing to help shepherd the kids of EBC. That could be YOU! You can sign up as an individual and there are places where you could get plugged in to help quickly.
Here are a few other fun ideas for who might want to join the team.
- Two friends sign up to serve together. Finding time to connect with a dear friend can be a challenge. But especially in Nursery ministry, there are lots of opportunities to talk and enjoy being together while you’re serving!
- A parent and a teen sign up to work together. What better way to help your student grow in Christ than to serve the church body together? If you’re intentional in the effort, serving alongside your teen is an excellent way to help cultivate in them a love for God and a love for His people.
- A husband and wife team. It’s so good to be living out our faith together in our marriages. One of the ways we can do that is to serve side by side.
- We do welcome teenagers who are in 7th grade and above, who exhibit personal and spiritual maturity, to be helpers in classrooms where there is also an adult.
I know I speak for Anna Chalker (EBC Children’s Ministry Director) and Jillian Valway (EBC Nursery Coordinator) in saying that we would love if you’d give real honest consideration to helping us unshrink our EBC Children’s and Nursery Ministries! If you’d like to help, you are always welcome to call or email any us directly (phone numbers and emails in the EBC Directory), talk to one of us in person, or you can respond via the Response Form on the EBC App or on the Website.
You can watch my testimonial video on my experience in Children’s Ministry this year here.
Pastor Ryan Donovan
Categories: Evergreen Connection