Children Ministry
Children Ministry Report ／ Angela Woo (Director of Children's Ministry)
Enriching Our Prayer Life: Prayer Journal
This year we spent more time practicing prayer and paying attention to how God answers our prayers. One of the tools we used to enrich our children’s prayer life was a prayer journal. We encouraged our children to write down their prayers every day and gave them various prayer prompts and topics. Writing offers different benefits from speaking. It allows us to engage in deeper reflection and encourages us to carefully choose words that best describe our thoughts and feelings. It also allows for a more intimate, personal conversation with God. Through the prayer prompts, our children were also able to expand their prayer lives and start interceding for others.
For some children, journaling provided an outlet for their creativity and artistic skills! We set up a decoration station for kids to bring their journals and decorate them with cool markers and stickers, adding personal touches! This helped our children get excited for journaling and cherish their personalized prayer journals. We hope they will continue to talk to God through their journals and develop a healthy habit of prayer.
Experiencing God through Life Sharing
In addition to the prayer journal, we also experienced the power of prayer together during our life sharing time on Sundays and Thursdays. We invite children to share about their lives along with their prayer requests and praise reports. We’ve prayed for upcoming tests, poetry competitions, student council elections, science Olympiads, illnesses in the family, trips, etc. We are thankful to see how our children are growing in their dependence on God and acknowledging His Lordship over all things. We also praise God for answering our prayers and allowing us to celebrate and praise Him as a family.
VBS at the All Church Retreat
We thank God that we were able to host an all-church retreat this summer at Pepperdine University! It was an incredible weekend filled with quality learning experiences and unforgettable moments of fun and fellowship. We are so thankful to God for blessing us with this wonderful opportunity to come together as a church family.
Our VBS theme, “Stellar: Shining Jesus’ Light,” truly came to life as children of all ages learned about how we can choose to shine His light in various circumstances. Through interactive lessons, creative crafts, and engaging games, the children not only had a blast but also grew in their understanding of God’s love. We witnessed young hearts light up with excitement as they explored stories from the Bible and discovered the incredible ways God’s love can change lives.
We want to extend our deepest thanks to all the volunteers, parents, and children who joined the VBS. We pray that our children will continue to shine Jesus’ light wherever they go and remember that they can always choose to follow Jesus!
兒童事工
兒童事工報告 ／ Angela Woo
豐富我們的禱告生命：禱告日記
今年我們花了更多時間操練禱告，並留心發現神如何回應我們的禱告。 我們使用了禱告日記來豐富孩子的禱告生活，鼓勵他們每天寫下祈禱，並給他們提供各種禱告提示和主題。 寫作與口語相比有著不同的好處。 它使我們能夠進行更深入的反思，並鼓勵我們仔細選擇最能描述我們的想法和感受的詞語。 寫作還允許我們與上帝進行更親密、個人的對話。 通過禱告提示，我們的孩子也能夠擴大他們的禱告生命並開始為他人代禱。
對於一些孩子來說，日記為他們的創造力和藝術技能提供了一個出口！ 我們為孩子們在教室設立了一個裝飾區域，讓他們攜帶日記本，並用酷炫的記號筆和貼紙裝飾它們，增添個人風格！ 這幫助我們的孩子對寫日記感到興奮並珍惜他們的個性化禱告日記。 我們希望他們繼續通過日記與上帝交談，並養成健康的祈禱習慣。
通過生命分享經歷神
除了禱告日記之外，我們還在周日和周四的生活分享時間中一起體驗了祈禱的力量。 我們邀請孩子們分享他們的生活、禱告事項和讚美報告。 我們為即將到來的考試、詩歌比賽、學生會選舉、科學奧林匹克、家庭疾病、旅行等祈禱。我們很感激看到我們的孩子越來越依賴上帝並承認祂對一切的主權。 我們也讚美神回應我們的禱告，讓我們一家人慶祝和讚美祂。
全教會夏令退修會中的VBS
感謝上帝，今年夏天我們能夠在佩珀代因大學舉辦全教會退修會！ 這是一個精彩的周末，充滿了優質的學習經歷和難忘的樂趣和友誼時刻。 我們非常感謝神賜給我們教會大家庭這個絕佳的機會。
我們的 VBS 主題是“恆星：閃耀耶穌之光”。各個年齡段的孩子學習到如何在不同情況下選擇閃耀耶穌的光，讓這個主題變得真實貼地。通過互動課程、創意手工和引人入勝的遊戲，孩子們不僅有歡樂的時光，而且更深地認識到天父的愛。 我們目睹了年輕的心探索聖經故事而興奮不已，並發現上帝的愛以不可思議的方式改變生命。
我們向所有參加 VBS 的志願者、家長和孩子們表示最深切的感謝。 祈願我們的孩子無論走到哪裡都能繼續閃耀耶穌的光芒，並記住他們總是可以選擇跟隨耶穌！