Peter Witkowski Summer Camps

Connect Camp: 2016 Review

Connect-Camp-BlogAnother exciting month of Connect Camp has come to a close. With the help of over thirty committed adults and youth, First Baptist Eastman was able to put together an amazing day camp that featured everything from Baseball to praise band. During the months of June and July, we connected with forty-five different kids. Each day of camp, we averaged almost 35 kids. We peaked on the first day of camp when 41 arrived. Our lowest attendance occurred on the last day of camp -Thursday, July 14. We hosted 30 kids and 53 kids and adults for our family day luncheon.

Each day, the kids kicked off camp with a worship rally at 8 AM. Next, they participated in two track-times (activity times) of their choice before coming inside to cool off with a snack. Then, they rounded off the morning with a small group Bible study, another track time, and a brief closing worship rally that concluded at noon. FBCE kids’ ministry loved hosting the kids. And I am confident that many of the kids liked camp. It takes a lot to convince a grade schoolers and middle schoolers to wake up early on summer morning. Plus, I received a lot of positive feedback from parents, kids, and volunteers.Connect Camp by church

I truly believe Connect Camp this year fulfilled its mission of connecting kids to Christ and of connecting unchurched families to our church. The gospel was preached every day during both the worship rally and the small group time. Seed was sown. And by having parents and kids attend camp all month long, we got to know at least two new families.

Connect Camp Attendance ChartOur numbers did trend down a little from last year’s Connect Camp. Last year we averaged 40 students. This year dipped down to about 35 per day. I am not sure why attendance dropped slightly. Perhaps our number were hurt by the Dodge County School schedule, perhaps Camp went down because it started two weeks after VBS, or perhaps we simply encountered a sophomore slump. Regardless, Connect Camp still reaches the largest number of kids of any camp run or attend by FBCE. Lord willing our numbers will rebound next year!

And as always, we loved using the Zip curriculm published by Lifeway. It was easy to use, fun, etertaining and gospel filled! Without Zip Connect Camp would still be just a concept. But with the curriculm, FBCE has seen its dream of reaching the kids of Eastman become a reality!

Not it’s your turn! What was your kid’s favorite part of camp?

Peter Witkowski Children's Ministry

Kids’ Pastors Should Pastor

kids-pastors-that-pastorThere is a reason kids’ ministry sometimes gets separated from Big Church. In Big church, people love listening to the organ. In kids’ Ministry, people jump up and down to the rhythm of the drums. In big church people sit calmly in pews struggling to stay awake. In kids’ ministry, the people run around throwing dodge balls at each other. In big church, you great each other with a hand shake. In kids’ ministry you get greeted with a pie to the face. Kids’ ministry often looks very different from adult ministry.

But despite appearances, they are actually very similar. Both are based on the preaching and teaching of the gospel. To be effective both must proclaim the Word. The same gospel that saves little old ladies saves crazy little grade schoolers.

And because the preaching and teaching of the gospel is essential to kids’ ministry, churches should require their kids’ pastors to be teachers. They should care more about the content of their Wednesday night kids’ program than how much green slime was used. In short, the church should not just look for kids’ pastors that can run a nursery or entertain the little ones for 2-3 hours a week. These are good things. But they are not the ultimate thing. Kids’ pastor need to pastor.

Notice what Paul tells Timothy:

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers (I Tim 4:16).

How do you reach kids? How does your kids’ pastor keep his soul refreshed and point kids to the gospel? He watches his teaching. He spends time studying the Word. He regularly and frequently immerses himself in the Bible. And because he studies, he can accurately teach it to others. He can show others how to become more like Christ (I Tim. 4:13). Because he studies, he can reach your kids with the gospel.

At the end of the day, a kids’ pastor will only be effective if he is regularly in the Scriptures. Yes, it’s good to have a guy who can relate to kids, who can create great programing, and who can plan engaging events. But if your kids’ pastor looks more like a cruise ship direct than a pastor, he will not be ultimately effective. He may connect with kids but he’s not getting them to Christ. Salvation comes through hearing the Word. Your kids’ pastor needs to be studying the Scriptures so that he can faithfully declare them. The gospel is ultimate. Let’s encourage our kids’ pastor to spend more time studying and less time entertaining. Let’s give them the freedom to grow in their faith. And as they grow and as the get a better understanding of the Word, everyone will benefit. The gospel will be better proclaimed and more and more kids will come to Christ!

Are you ready for your kids’ pastor to pastor?

Peter Witkowski Parenting

Getting Back Up After Sin

stairs-blogSin stinks. And I think that the stench is even worse when we sin against our kids. Every time I sin against my toddler son or baby girl, I feel the weight of it twice over. So how do we find relief? What do we do when we mess up and dishonor God with our thoughts, words, and actions? We take a look at a very familiar Bible story found in Luke 1.

The Setting

In Luke chapter 1, we meet Zachariah and Elizabeth. They are both describes as being, “righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Luke 1:6).  But as with all good stories, Zacharias and Elizabeth face a large crisis. They have no children. And though many Americans view children as an imposition to their rightful exaltation of their selfish desires, the ancient Jews viewed kids as a blessing. They understood the Word of God. You were to want children. Because Zachariah and Elizabeth had no children, their lives were undoubtedly a conundrum to themselves and to those around them (Luke 1:25). They all had to be asking, “why would someone so godly not have kids?”

The Sin 

The answer, God even greater plans for them. Plans they could not even imagine. So God sent an angel to tell Zachariah that he was going to send the couple a son. And not just any son, he was going to send them a child with the spirit of Elijah who would turn many to the Lord (Luke 1:16-17).  And now we get to good part of the story. Zachariah says no. He tells an angel that he is too old to have a baby. He tells a supernatural being with a supernatural message that the supernatural cannot happen. He blows it; he sins. After a lifetime of following God, he doubts God’s goodness. He sins and becomes mute.

When we sin, we follow Zachariah’s pattern. We stop believing the promises of God. Sure we aren’t contradicting the word of an angel. Talk about an insane moment. But we can still relate.

If the truth be told, we are doing something far worse. We are doubting the love and wisdom of our risen savior. We are ignoring a lifetime with the savior, and once again trust in our flesh. And when we snap at our kid for interrupting our football game, for not doing the dishes, and for lying about her homework, we fail to trust God. We assume that God cannot work. We assume that happiness comes from us getting what when we want it. When it doesn’t  happen, we doubt God’s goodness and power. We sin. And as Zachariah, we suffer the consequences of our sin. We experience broken relationships. Momentary lapses come with real loss.

The Solution

So how do we get back on our feet? How do we recover? We do what Zachariah did. We start trusting in the Lord. We repent and remember that God is good. We remember that our obedience to God is not driven by others. It is driven by our love for God who first loved us. The solution for doubt is trust. And as we begin to renew our trust in God, obedience and joy will follow. When it came time to name John, Zachariah obeyed God. He named John, John even though all his friends wanted John to be Z. Jr. Zachariah obeyed (Luke 1:63).

The solution for all of us who have doubted God and made a mess of things is to trust and obey. Even if we have sinned against our kids who are too little to speak, we can find restoration through Christ if we will repent.

Have you sinned recently against your family? Repent, set your mind on Christ, and begin obeying!

Are you ready for joy to return to your home?