Children Ministry
By Angela Woo / Director of Children's Ministry
Translation by Maggie Hui & Joanna Wang
Raising Leaders for the Future
Our children’s ministry leaders understand we are not just teaching children for today; we are preparing future leaders of the church. One approach we take is to invite our children to actively brainstorm and discuss how we can serve God now and when we grow up. We encourage our children to picture their life-long journeys with God and see themselves as an integral part of God’s Kingdom Plan.
In March, after our children learned about how the early church appointed leaders, we had a mock meeting to nominate and vote for future church leadership. This led to an interesting discussion on identifying our gifts and passions. Our kids showed so much excitement and eagerness as we engaged in this activity. We pray that God will continue to fuel their passion for His Kingdom work and use them in mighty ways in the future!
Bye Bye Jeremiah! (Aug 2023 – May 2024)
How many of you have completely read the book of Jeremiah? How was your experience? Really hard, right? Our children embarked on their journey of reading through the book of Jeremiah in August 2023. Each week, we read one or two chapters together out loud at our Bible Bookworm Night Zoom meeting. It looked like it was never-ending. “Jeremiah, we love you, but how much longer?” we asked ourselves. But through our children’s perseverance and our Bible Bookworm leaders’ faithfulness, we finally reached the end of this journey in May! We finished the book and celebrated together at the “Bye Bye Jeremiah Party”! At the party, we read the final chapter together in one voice. When we reached the final verse, everyone had a big smile from ear to ear, reading the verse at the top of their lungs. What a moment it was! We thank God for this journey and have now embarked on a new journey with Ezekiel! Will there be another party called “Bye Bye Ezekiel”? Most definitely!
Vacation Bible School: Scuba “Diving into Friendship with God”
As soon as you step into our hallway, it is as if you were transported to a deep underwater world! You are surrounded by ocean creatures and seaweeds that are taller than you, navigating in the water like a scuba diver! And that’s not the end of it. As you walk up the stairs, you meet a school of fish all heading upstairs with beautiful jellyfish draping their colorful tentacles above your head. When you reach upstairs, you suddenly find yourself in a submarine! Now you are surrounded by metal walls, and the only way to look outside is through the periscopes. What an exciting immersive experience created by our team of dedicated volunteers!
We thank God that He provided us with a wonderful team of volunteers from both FECDB and ACC. The entire VBS truly resonated with our church’s theme – A Family Following Jesus. The harmonious teamwork and gifts contributed by everyone made this VBS not only possible but remarkable! Our children learned that God is a friend who is real, who loves, and whom we can trust. We pray that our children will cherish the memories made during this three-week VBS and enjoy their friendship with God forever!
兒童事工
Angela Woo
培養未來的領袖
我們的兒童事工帶領者們明白，我們不僅是在教導孩子的今天，更是在為未來教會的領袖們做準備。我們採取的一種方法是邀請孩子們積極思考和討論如何在現在和未來服務神。我們鼓勵孩子們展望他們與神同行的一生旅程，並看到自己作為神國度計劃中不可或缺的一部分。
今年三月，在孩子們學習了早期教會如何任命領袖後，我們進行了一個模擬會議，提名和投票選舉未來的教會領導人。這引發了一場有趣的討論，幫助孩子們發現自己的恩賜和熱情。在這個活動中，孩子們表現出極大的興奮和熱忱。我們祈禱神能繼續燃起他們對祂國度工作的熱情，並在未來大大使用他們！
再見，耶利米！（2023年8月 – 2024年5月）
有多少人完全讀過《耶利米書》？感覺如何？真的很難吧？我們的孩子們在2023年8月開始了閱讀耶利米書的旅程。每週，我們在聖經書蟲夜的Zoom會議上一起大聲朗讀一到兩章。這看起來似乎永無止境。「耶利米，我們愛你，但還要多久？」我們問自己。但是通過孩子們的堅持和聖經書蟲帶領者的忠誠，我們終於在五月底完成了這段旅程！我們讀完了這本書，並在「再見，耶利米派對」上一起慶祝！在派對上，我們用一個聲音朗讀了最後一章。當我們讀到最後一節時，每個人臉上都掛滿了笑容，大家都用最大的聲音讀出了那一節。這是多麼美好的時刻！我們感謝神的帶領，現在已經開始了《以西結書》的新旅程！會有另一個叫「再見，以西結」的派對嗎？絕對會有的！
暑期聖經學校：潛水 - 「探索與神的友誼」
你一踏入我們的走廊，就彷彿被傳送到了深海世界！你被海洋生物和比你高的海藻包圍，像潛水員一樣在水中穿梭！這還不是結束。當你走上樓梯時，會遇到一群魚正往樓上游動，美麗的水母在你頭頂上方揮動著五彩繽紛的觸手。當你到達樓上時，突然發現自己置身於潛水艇中！現在你被金屬牆包圍，唯一能看外面的方式是通過潛望鏡。這是一個由我們敬業的義工團隊創造的，激動人心的沉浸式體驗！
我們感謝神，祂為我們提供了一個由FECDB和ACC的義工組成的出色團隊。整個暑期聖經學校真正與我們教會的主題—「一個跟隨耶穌的家庭」相呼應。和諧的團隊合作和每個人帶有神恩賜的貢獻，不僅使這次暑期聖經學校成為可能，更使其變得非同凡響！我們的孩子們學到了神是一個真實的朋友，一個愛我們並且值得信賴的朋友。我們祈禱孩子們能珍惜在這三週的暑期聖經學校中創造的回憶，並永遠享受與神的友誼！