Meet 2nd & 3rd grade's Nicole Fountas

Hi - My name is Nicole Fountas and that's me on the left with my siblings.  I am thrilled to be joining the children's ministry team at North Coast Calvary Chapel! 

I am from Orange County, but have spent many years in San Diego. I graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University and then spent two years doing AmeriCorps in Boston. I worked with a non-profit doing volunteer management for corporations, youth, and families, and I fell in love with serving and partnering with my community.  I made my way back to San Diego and work at PLNU's Spiritual Development Office, working with students who lead small groups, a mentoring program, and a creative arts event.

I love to read, learn about the stars, and ride my bike.  I'm new to North County and enjoy exploring and finding hole-in-the-wall breakfast places.  I am so excited to get to know the NCCC family, participating in ministry, and learning about and sharing Jesus with the 2nd and 3rd graders.

How the new chapel is like spiritual growth

If you've been on our campus recently, you've seen it go up before our very eyes: the new chapel building, which will grow our capacity to do ministry both on the weekends and during the week. Many people, myself included, have expressed amazement at how quickly it seems to be coming together: first the floor, then the walls, already a roof - and it's becoming easier to imagine what this place will actually look like.

At the same time, they (and I) have been amazed when they hear that the targeted completion date isn't until late March. At the rate they're going, it seems it should be done by Christmas! But it won't be. Once the walls get enclosed, the detail work inside begins.

And that's how the new chapel reminds me of spiritual growth:

• Spiritual growth is a long-term process.
• When we're born, we grow rapidly - sometimes so rapidly, that people assume we're more mature than we are. But the real mark of maturity is what's contained on the inside.
• Spiritual development is careful work that should not be done haphazardly...or you'll do a lot of work later undoing damage caused by bad construction.
• We often wonder, "What's going on inside?", and we'd give anything to be given a sneak peak.
• ...And, just as with a building under construction, sometimes you are allowed a sneak peak by the owner, if you ask nicely and are careful not to interfere with what's already in progress.

And, there are other ways in which the chapel is not a good representation of spiritual growth:

• There's no exact blueprint for spiritual growth.
• Unlike a building, we're never "done", but always in process, becoming more like our Creator.
• But also unlike a building, we're not unable to be used as we go through the process of development. Kids aren't "junior believers" who need to reach a certain age before we can consider them real Christians.

Wouldn't you love to see inside your child's soul, to be able to see what God sees? Wouldn't you love to see the plan He's laid out for them? How diligent have you been about teaching kids the language of spiritual growth, both from the inside-out - "This is what's happening inside me" - and from the outside-in - "These are the things God does and that I believe he would like to do in me"?

How to talk about God at home

Inspiration for this post came from Jeremy Lee at www.parentministry.net, a resource site that promotes effective ministry to parents and encourages parental involvement in their kids' spiritual journey.

Want your kid's faith to last? We all do. Otherwise, what good was the time you invested when they were children, reading to them, bringing them to church, answering their questions?

And the old line about "we're just planting seeds" that will bring kids back to the church once they hit their late 20s doesn't work anymore. We do need to be concerned about kids leaving the church (various studies say 70-80% of churched kids will leave after graduating high school) for the same reason we've always been concerned: because ages 15-25 are a critical decade of life. It's when you decide where to go to school, what to do with your life, who to date and possibly marry, where to live...how many decisions did you make between 15 and 25 that dramatically affected the path of your life? (On top of that, people are waiting much longer to get married. By the time they have kids, their lives have already settled into routines that do not include church.)

Now get this: children who have faith-based conversations in their homes are 300% more likely to stay in church after leaving home. (As cited by Jim Burns and Jeremy Lee.)

Not lectures or indoctrination, but conversations.

What do these conversations look like? Jeremy Lee from parentministry.net recently described three different forms these talks might take.

1. "As-you-go" conversations. These are not initiated by your kid, but they're also not planned by you. Instead, you find ways to infuse faith into the conversation. What you're doing here is really "weaving". Just like a single thread can affect or change the look of a piece of woven fabric, when we "weave" allusions to God and spiritual language into our everyday conversation, it gracefully brings spirituality into everyday life. Notice I did not say that it "makes an impact", because it may not - at that moment. Nor is it guaranteed to change your kid's mind, or even launch them into an extended discussion.

But what it does do is make something abstract, concrete. Lee used the example of being at the beach with his sons, and "drifting" down the shore. When they turned around to walk back, and his sons asked him how to know where to get back, Lee told them to look for their beach chairs. Then he said to them:

"Use that as your marker and let's walk back. You know, that kind of reminds me how God is for me, because we kind of drifted away and we needed a center point for where we wanted to be. Do you know that's how God is for me in my life? When I don't know whether something is right or wrong, or if I don't know what I should do, or if I don't know what is true or what is false, God and the Bible and my faith - they're like those beach chairs. They give me something to look at; something to know where I'm supposed to be going in life."

Quick and pithy, as-you-go conversations allow you, as a parent, to talk about your own faith. The fact that waves at the beach could remind you of God's stable presence in your own life demonstrates for your kids that your faith reaches beyond church to touch all of life, that your own relationship with God is an important part of who you are (it's something you think about, even away from church), and that reminders of God at work are all around us.

2. Kid-initiated conversations. Remember that kids' questions aren't a cause for alarm! It means their built-in curiosity is at work. When kids ask, shoot a quick prayer to God, thanking Him that their God-given curiosity has been sparked.

A couple of thoughts:
Don't overwhelm them with your answer. If our answer becomes a lecture, kids will be less likely to ask in the future (because who liked getting lectured?).

Turn the question back on them. If it's bothering them enough to ask you, chances are they've already done some deep thinking of their own, and have come to a tentative conclusion. So it's not a bad idea to let them answer first, because their own answer - while not definitive to them - reveals a lot about what their real question or concern is. For example, if a kid asks, "Did our dog go to heaven when he died?" and you come back with, "What do you think?", your child might say something like, "I think so, because he was a good dog, and I want to see him again." That answer points to their real question, which is, "Am I going to like it in heaven?" If you just answer, "yes" or "no", you'll never get at the underlying issue, which touches on your kid's trust in God, His goodness to us, and why eternal life has value.

Don't be afraid to say "I'm not sure"...even if you are! Admitting you don't know shows humility, and teaches that for a lot of our questions, there aren't simple answers. Then help your kid find the answer. Show them how to use a Bible, a concordance, a commentary, or other source (801 Questions Kids Ask about God is a good one).

Why would I say "I'm not sure" if I already know the answer, instead of just giving them the answer? Because this is also an opportunity to demonstrate for them how to find answers. So you might say, "I'm pretty sure it's ___________, and here's why I think that," or, "Let's look at a couple of things the Bible says about it, and see if we can figure it out."

3. Strategic, parent-planned conversations. These can be family devotions (ooh - big topic for another week), talks centering on a particular issue like bullying or drugs or "The Talk" (here's a great resource for that) or more formal things like a rite of passage. These can be the hardest, because while you're geared up for it, your kid may not be. That's why as-you-go and kid-initiated conversations trump parent-planned ones, because kids are more receptive.

Some thoughts:
Don't make it a lecture... Think dialogue. A give and take.

...but don't start by saying, "What questions do you have?", either. You have to give them something to chew on. You're setting the parameters of the discussion, but you'll probably have to ask them questions at the start before they'll offer some of their own.

Don't let yourself be disappointed with the outcome. Lee says that when it comes to rite of passage talks he's had with his kids, "Sometimes it's fabulous and amazing, and other times, it's like, 'ok, thanks' and there's no real reaction. But you know what? That's not my job. My job is not to determine their reaction; my job is to just show up and be strategic."

Above all, talking about faith and spirituality at home brings the subject out into the open. It normalizes it. It heals the separation we may have introduced between "God stuff" and "the rest of life." And it establishes you, the parent - the most willing, consistent, and persistent influence in a kid's life - as a trustworthy person to consult about all of life.

What we've done with Harvest Party

by Matt & Tammy Gollaher. Note: Matt Gollaher is the pastor to college & young adults at NCCC; he and Tammy have two daughters.
The Harvest Party and Halloween are two great outreach opportunities. We like the fact that NCCC does the Harvest Party on a different night than Halloween. We see the Harvest Party as a great opportunity to invite our neighbors to our church community.

Harvest Party is a great event that is free (except for the food and those booths are fairly cheap). There is a variety of games, rides and shows that are age and theme appropriate and safe.  The campus has a security staff that seeks to ensure families' safety and enjoyment. Having two separate times is helpful in cutting down the crowds and allowing for an earlier time for younger children.

Our girls love it because it's another opportunity to get dressed up and play with their friends. So this outreach event is one where we invite our friends and neighbors in our community to join us. I always bring home a stack of fliers for our girls (four and six years old) to pass out to their neighborhood friends. They take them to their doors as an invite. The majority of invites are for those in our neighborhood that we are already in relationship with and occasionally we invite a new family as an entry point into relationship. We then make plans to meet up with the families we've invited on that night. The kids from a lot of these same families have been involved in Kids Games or Max Sports Camps, and their families have even joined us for Christmas, Easter Sunrise and Freedom Fest services and events.

Halloween is another great - if not greater - outreach opportunity. Just like our Superbowl Sunday night focus at NCCC, where Mark Foreman challenges us to join in our communities outside of church and be “Salt & Light” at Superbowl parties, Halloween can give you that same opportunity.  Your neighborhood and neighbors are alive on this day and night, interacting with one another. On Halloween we usually plan with our neighbors to meet and eat together potluck style before we trick or treat. Then we as families walk the neighborhood together, watching our children and chatting about life. Then we spend more time on our driveway passing out candy to our neighbors and many more visitors. This outreach event is us seeking to use current pathways or opportunities to be Christ.

Be intentional in community in both of these outreach events and seek what God does. In our experience over the last ten years of going to NCCC, He has only blessed our neighborhood relationships.

Do You Really Want Your Kid to be Like Jesus?

Gary Oliver and H. Norman Wright published a book called "Raising Kids to Love Jesus" in 1999. In chapter 3, Norman Wright asks a provocative question: Do You Really Want Your Child to be Like Jesus? At first blush, the answer appears to be yes. After all - What Would Jesus Do? And Christlike attitudes and behaviors - aren't they the point of Christian parenting?

But what does "be like Jesus" really mean?

"If Jesus were here today, who would His followers be? We may not want to consider them. They would probably dress differently from those with whom we worship in church...

Do you know what you are asking your son or daughter to become? You are saying, "Don't fit in! Be different to the extent that others question you, wonder about you, shake their heads about you, aren't sure whether you'll make it in their group, their clique or their organization." You are asking your child to be a nonconformist to the status quo.

You may be uncomfortable reading this right now. Jesus was a man who looked at what was going on in the world - the society, everyday life around Him - and said, "This isn't good." He looked at the way people were living and essentially said, "That's the easy way to live. But it's not good." He confronted the destructiveness of people's lifestyles, which wasn't very popular with the establishment. He encouraged people to live a life that would be very different and contrary to the establishment. He also claimed that only a few would be willing to live that kind of life. Jesus called people to live a risky, different kind of life - one that promised peace, but a peace different from that which the world around us gives.

Do you know what Jesus preached? Nonconformity. He was different. Do you want your child to be seen the same way He was? Others saw Him as an eccentric, which is contrary to our desire for popularity and comfort. He was also seen as a heretic by the religious leaders of that time...

So do you want your child to be like Jesus? I'm sure you want your child to behave in a Christlike manner. We all do. But Jesus wants more than that. He wants us to have His mind in all of its fullness. We may be satisfied with behavioral change, but God wants a mind change. The mind has always been more important to God than our behavior." (H. Norman Wright and Gary Oliver, Raising Kids to Love Jesus, (c) 1999, pp. 41-43)

Compelling stuff. Here's why it matters.

Somewhere along the way, Jesus picked up an undeserved reputation as a mild-mannered lightweight. Gentle Jesus, meek and mild. But whether or not Jesus was Mr. Rogers to everyone he met isn't the important thing. What's important was his motivation. Jesus was determined to turn the world away from self and self-reliance, which is sin, to Him and Him-reliance.
Consider the words he spoke to people after personal encounters:

• "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
• "Son, your sins are forgiven."
• "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
• "Return home and tell how much God has done for you."
• "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity."
• "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
• "Go now and leave your life of sin."

He may have been gentle in his approach to them, but his message was never, "Stay unchanged."

Part of "success" in spiritual training means discerning what direction God is moving, and then joining in step with that. If we try to push against or across the current, we are doomed to frustration.

Our direction is shown by our message. What direction do we perceive God is moving? What is that message?

• "Retreat"?
• "Be safe"?
• "Be nice"?
• "Seek comfort"?
• "Fit in"?

Are these "Christian values"? Who says so? I once heard someone tell a group of kids, "Jesus doesn't want us to be angry." Well, I'm not so sure. I think Jesus was plenty angry at some of the things he saw wrong in the world - and it motivated him.

As your kids grow up and discover the problem of homelessness, would you rather that they be angry and unsettled about it, or comfortable with it? When they learn that large numbers of elderly adults are homebound and never get visitors, do you want your kids to be bothered by that, or ok with it? If they hear that in some countries, educating girls is illegal or discouraged, do you want them to be spurred to action, or paralyzed by indifference?

What if we encouraged kids to understand the problems in their school or their community? Then they might appreciate the human predicament and how hard change is, instead of clinging to a shallow understanding that we can change ourselves by willpower. Seems pretty biblical to me. How about urging our kids to speak out against injustice, by standing up for kids who get bullied or excluded? How about taking your kids to "dangerous" places, where they might encounter the kinds of people society left behind? Surely these are the kinds of Christian values we want to instill, right?

If we aren't spending time and money preparing kids to advance into the world, but only to buy into the success-and-performance ethic of our culture, what are we actually asking them to follow?

Meet Jenni Balderson, 2nd & 3rd Grade Coordinator

 
Hi!

I'm Jenni Balderson and I feel so privileged to be joining the the Early Elementary Children's Ministry team!

I have been married 11 years to my sweet, spontaneous, John Wayne-ish, surfer husband named Jim. Together we get to care for (and part-time homeschool) the most wonderful little people---Ezra (8), Santiago (6), and Violette (4).

I feel most alive while reading the Word with my morning coffee, running the shoreline on a cloudy day, watching my kids in the waves with their dad, growing with community, and most of all, sharing God's love with your kiddos and mine!

It is a joy to be serving here and I truly can't wait to partner with and build relationships with you and your kids! :)

Is There a Separate Gospel for Kids?

In just six weeks, I take the plunge. I'm getting married. Did you know that marriage involves two commitments? Yes, it's a commitment to the person you're marrying to be faithful to them. But that implies another commitment: to not look to anyone else to provide what your spouse was meant to provide. In the language of the old marriage vows, it was, "forsaking all others."

What beliefs are we asking kids to "forsake" when they become Christians?

Because Christianity is that kind of commitment. At the same time as we believe in the power of God to forgive and restore and regenerate us, we are simultaneously choosing to believe that nothing else can do those same things for us.

So when we mix the gospel with a heavy dose of character education, we are asking kids to make a dual commitment.

When we tell kids God is full of grace but only teach laws and rules, we are misrepresenting the God to whom we want them to be committed.

When we say things like, "Christians don't do that..." we are subtly communicating that God's acceptance comes with conditions.

On the other hand, when we say to them, "All you need to do is ask Jesus into your heart," we are teaching a superficial Christianity, failing to paint the picture of a life-transforming, all-encompassing gospel.

There is not a separate gospel for kids.

Just as you or I aren't saved by being "good", neither are they.

Just as you or I don't live as Christ's disciples by trying harder and gutting it out, neither do they.

Just as you or I don't persevere through trials by the power of positive thinking, neither should they.

And the things we are taught when we are young are very, very difficult to undo. Have you known any adults who say things like, "I'm not into religion - too many rules", or, "I don't need Christianity in order to be a good person"? I have too. Too many. That's why we need to get it right the first time.

Meet Our Early Childhood Team Leader, Angie Goode

Hi there!

I am so excited to be a part of the Early Childhood team here at North Coast Calvary Chapel!   I am thrilled to be able to be able to be a part of the babies- preschool age group not only because they are crazy cute, but that I get to watch them as they begin to learn about Jesus!   

So a little bit about me:

• Grew up in a Christian home and accepted Jesus into my heart at church when I was four.  (Yes, I do remember praying with my Sunday School Teacher! ☺ ) 
• I have been working with kids since I was 12 from being a babysitter, to volunteering at church throughout college, teaching preschool and tutoring kids from three years old  – 12th grade. 
• My husband and I have been married for 15 ½ years and we have four kids: ages: 12, 11, 10, and 8 ½. 
• I love reading, fun coffees, and  running (when I have a minute).
• I am truly blessed to be a part of a great team and I am looking forward to meeting you all.