Please, meet "Surge".
The 4th-6th grade ministry has a new name. In ancient times, a name communicated a great deal about a person, descriptive of their character or attributes. Surge, on the other hand, is, well, just a cool name. Really, that's it. No hidden meaning. What is significant, though, is that we have a new name.
We remain a part of PromiseLand, the children's ministry at NCCC. But for some time we've recognized that 4th-6th graders aren't kids...yet they aren't adolescents either. So, a distinctive name for a distinctive style of ministry to a distinctive age group. Surge was born.
So what's different about us?
One, we recognize that pre-teens are truly in an "in-between" stage (and if you haven't read "Tweens are Fast Becoming the New Teens" [link at right], now's the time to do that). So we don't minister to them as we did when they were children. Yet, they're not ready for (or desire) the heaviness that sometimes comes with youth ministry. And if I had to identify a crucial element in our ministry to (and your parenting of) this age, it would be "autonomy", a word that means limited freedom. I think the key to producing responsible, caring, smart teenagers and eventually young adults is to give them ever-increasing amounts of freedom and responsibility, while you maintain the boundaries and uphold accountability (you don't surrender - voluntarily or by their insistence - your right to parent). We grant them as much as they can handle. Sometimes it's too much. Other times they want more.
The vision of our ministry is to have the Biggest Dreams, the Best Discipleship, and the Most Care. In addition to continuing to uphold PromiseLand's core values, we have some values and things that make us distinct. They appear below, as well as on our ministry's webpage.
Ministry Values
1. The centrality and necessity of God. We believe it is God who saves, transforms and changes people. Kids must love God before they can submit to him. Change apart from a love for God is merely behavior modification.
2. Age-appropriate methods and content. Preteens are a distinct age group – they’re not little children, teenagers, or mini-adults. They think differently than they used to, but their adult reasoning capabilities aren’t fully developed either. Therefore, we value curriculum and teaching methods that meets this age group’s unique developmental level.
3. Inquiry and curiosity. We do our best to tailor the content of our class sessions to the interests of the kids. Kids learn when they wrestle with ideas, ask questions, and assimilate new information into what they already know. We don’t believe lots of questions indicates confusion or misunderstanding, but an eagerness to learn.
4. Same-age Christian relationships. We encourage kids to establish 7 friendships with Christians of similar age that will endure through middle school and high school. Much of our programming is designed to support this goal.
5. Intergenerational relationships. In addition to caring parents, kids need other adults who invest in them in an intentional way. Whether we intend it or not, kids will learn and draw conclusions about God based on what is reflected in the lives of Christian adult authority figures.
6. Granting kids autonomy. Students can only learn how to make good decisions when they are allowed to actually make decisions. We try not to do for kids what they can do for themselves.
7. Long-term perspective. Spiritual growth and formation is a long-term process. A central part of our job is to work with parents to train and equip kids to make the decisions that will change their lives.
Ministry distinctives:
1. Student-centered learning that is engaging and built around student needs and interests.
2. Active learning, in which kids learn by doing. Extended periods of passive listening are not valued.
3. Life application as the best evidence of learning, not recitation of rote facts.
4. Small groups in which kids are matched up with a caring leader and grouped by age and gender and in which the Word of God is applied to everyday life.
5. An emphasis on fun and friendships. Church should not be boring. We want kids to value their time here and to look forward to spending time with the other kids and adults in the ministry.
Info, articles, and thoughts for parents of kids at North Coast Calvary Chapel.
