CentriKid

Relationships

Thankful Reflections

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As I notice the leaves changing outside and the trees as they seem to shift their stance, I posture my heart to a place of quiet thankfulness. In this new season I’ve taken a bit of time to reflect on those who invested in me in different seasons of my life. By the Lord’s grace, I was surrounded by some who loved the Lord and showed His love to me. I was steadily demonstrated the Lord’s character as it flowed so freely from these folks, even in the midst of the everyday. Today I lift prayers of gratitude and sing a song of thanksgiving to our Father because of this crowd.

Remembering the people who sang their verse, no matter how big or small, into my song fills me with overwhelming gratitude. I think of the monotonous mornings spent by my faithful nursery teacher; I remember the countless hours poured out by my youth pastor who later baptized me; I remember my college basketball coaches who instilled in me the love of the game and the greater value found in serving Christ; I think back on the memories shared with my first CentriKid camp director who took time to show me more than just how to solve logistical issues; I rejoice in the patient moments shared at the lakeside or on beaten-down field path with my grandfathers. These folks didn’t just pass their time, they shared with me their life. In both times of great excitement and in the dull day-to-day, these people showed me Jesus.

Use Your 60 through Thanksgiving
At CentriKid, we challenge leaders to “Use Your 60” by making the most of every moment with their kids. Why waste even one opportunity? I’m grateful for those in my life who saw the value in investing in me. These folks were heroes in hindsight. I’m sure few felt their importance in the moment of impact, but the waves of their intentional moments are felt today and into eternity. Let me encourage you, leaders. You may not feel like you’re bringing life-change in any given moment, but what you do in these moments adds up. Take for granted not a single one!

Spend a few moments today thanking the Lord for those who invested in you. Reach out to these heroes and remind them of their significance in your life. Ask yourself how you’re spending your moments. Time is fleeting, friends! In an overflow of thankfulness, be challenged to “Use Your 60” and make the most of every moment today.

Use Your 60

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At some point, the passing of minutes turned into the passing of paperwork.  You hammer out administrative details and planning with your ministry hours instead of doing your main passion—intentionally pouring into kids.  At CentriKid, we promise to free your hands of all the little distractions associated with kids ministry.  For one week out of the year, hand us the clipboard.  We’ll handle lunch, plan Bible Study, set up Recreation, organize leaders, and lead Worship sessions. You, along with your other leaders, have one main job: use your 60.   We want to help you make every moment count in ministry at church and at camp.
Use all 60 minutes of every hour to invest deeply in the lives of your kids. So…what does that mean exactly?
  • Find moments for one-on-one time with every child.
  • Meet with small groups before lights out.
  • Grab a snack and discuss his home life.
  • During her crafts track, ask intentional questions about friendships.
  • Cheer for them during outdoor competitive tracks.
  • Tell him your story.
  • Walk her through the gospel.

Whatever you do in your kids ministry, don’t waste a second worrying about details. We have it covered.

Go ahead. Use your 60.

Leading Well: Leading with Prayer

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Leading your team, whether it be three people or 300 hundred people, is huge. As Christian leaders, we want to serve Christ faithfully and steward the opportunities He has given us well, but how do we do this best?

I’ve learned (and am still learning) that one of the primary ways to lead your team spiritually is through prayer.

Looking at the life of Jesus, consider just a few of the times we see Christ pray to the Father. We see Jesus praying in the solitude of the wilderness (Luke 4 and 5), praying for guidance and help in the garden (Matthew 26), and praying for His disciples as He knows His time is soon drawing to an end (John 17) .

We serve a Father who is faithful to listen to His children. Scripture shows us this —
1 John 5:14 says, “Now this is the confidence we have before Him: whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (HCSB)

As we step out in leading others, may we remember our God who never fails and may we, in humility and with boldness, go to our Father in prayer. In leading your team spiritually consider these ways to pray:

PRAY FOR THEM. Before the throne, with genuine devotion, intercede on your team’s behalf. We have a Father who listens to the prayers of His children. Knowing this, create a routine to continually pray with your particular team in mind. No matter the circumstance, you can always remember your tribe in a loving, Christ-honoring way when you go to the Lord.

PRAY WITH THEM. It’s important to be a leader who prays with your team. Your team should be comfortable to pray with you and quick to come to you with their needs. Be mindful to create an atmosphere where authentic prayer is paramount.

PRAY OVER THEM. As the shepherd of your flock — be it an entire congregation or a volunteer group of four — you should regularly pray over them. This means to visibly, boldly, honestly pray over them, standing at their sides. Lead your team in group prayer and ask that the Lord would guide you all to walk together in faithful obedience to Him.

PRAY FOR YOURSELF. Remember that before you can lead anyone else spiritually, you must first be in a place of pursuing Christ. This does not mean you have to be perfect. As a spiritual leader, you do not need to appear as one who has “arrived”, as if you’re pulling others to meet you at your destination, but you have to simply be walking toward a life that looks more like Jesus.
“May you look more like Christ when you lay down tonight than you did when you got up this morning.”

Leading a team spiritually is an important task, but it is not a complex one. Rest in knowing that leading others spiritually is a gift – a simple and genuine gift. Your care and devotion to this gift in which you’ve been entrusted will reap great reward when you humbly and wholly present it before the Father.

Youth Development: Scaffolding

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Dr. Crompton started my last collegiate semester by telling me I was the producer of my own education. How much was he being paid for me to teach myself? Of course, what he said was 100% true. Dr. Crompton helped me learn my education was on me. I chose to study, I chose to work hard, I chose to come to class, I chose to learn, or I didn’t.

Dr. Crompton’s posture is what the youth development community calls scaffolding. Educators, for example, will give their students just as much support as he or she needs to equip their students to learn. You teach them the formula, you show them problem solving techniques, and you diagram a sentence with them. Students then may choose to solve the problem or write persuasively.

Just as scaffolding is built around a structure to help construction, so too, youth developers work to support youth in their development. Scaffolding is built, knowing it will not be there forever. Children ministry workers, parents, and the aunts and uncles in our world your goal is to support. The youth we love succeed when we accept our role as their support and not as their producer. Dr. Crompton was right, I needed him to guide me and not to provide me the answer.

As a youth development principle this has to be transferrable to a discussion in your kids ministry. Start with these ideas.

  • Pray for your kids’ growth and spiritual development. Simply said, our God does the growth, you do not. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
  • Focus on the process. Instead of saying our kids do not know enough scripture, ask yourself how can I help our kids learn scripture.
  • Foster mentor relationships. Scaffolding works best in one-on-one scenarios. Mentors can understand individual youth and tailor support to the youth’s specific needs.
  • Ask kids what they want. Youth voice is paramount. Scaffolding means you give the kids ownership of their growth, which is impossible without listening.
  • Learn from a scaffolding rockstar. You know someone who great at this. Learn from what they do. Ask this rockstar to help you help your kids.

Special thanks to Dr. Crompton, Odis Luper, Wade Graves, Scotty Voight, Dr. Edwards, Derek Sutt, David and Beth Spindle, and countless others who could fill this page as my scaffolding rockstars.

Guest Blog: Being Intentional Where You Are

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This past summer I had the incredible experience of traveling from Tennessee all the way to California, then to Texas, Missouri and Arkansas sharing the Gospel and playing OMC with hundreds of kids. Prior to the summer, whenever I told family and friends that I was spending so much time in a van with the same people for 8 weeks, most of them laughed at me while giving their most insincere, “Good luck!”

As I sit here eight months later, I would give absolutely anything to be back in that van with those people driving to California. There were days when we spent 15+ hours in the van driving across the western United States. For me, it was not about the view, the fun games we played, or the awesome dance parties we had in the car: it was about the intentionality. One of CentriKid’s defining characteristics that I resonate most with is that we accomplish every task with the driving force of intentionality. One of our most beloved quotes is, “Life-change happens best in the context of relationships.” It pushes us to have meaningful conversations with every child that comes to camp. Not only does it drive our attitude when campers are around, but even we have time off.

During those long hours of driving and riding to California I cherished the moments when I was able to learn something new about my teammates. I tried asking more than just “surface-level questions” to truly understand the heart of my team. Yes, there is importance to learning what career a teammate wants to pursue, but I was really challenged by a friend this summer to be intentional about being intentional. Through these conversations with teammates, we were able to encourage each other through our weakness while praising the Lord for the goodness of His Gospel in our lives. We were able to pray for each other and carry each other’s burdens as we learned to love each other even more. True life-change happened for me because of these intentional conversations and relationships. It was beautiful to see how the Lord used broken people to come together to glorify the only unbroken One to so many kids during the summer.

What I like most about asking intentional questions is that it does not have to happen in a cramped van driving to California. As Christians, we are all called to live intentional lives with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ along with our friends, colleagues, and family.

I am immediately reminded of the relationship Paul and Timothy shared together. Paul was incredibly intentional on teaching and encouraging Timothy as he grew stronger and deeper in his faith. The opening of 2 Timothy displays this so beautifully when Paul writes:
“I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy…”

I am thankful for the memories created while driving to California, but I am even more thankful for the conversations we had as teammates that pushed each other to follow Christ more. I challenge you today to not sit idly by and be content with shallow relationships around you. Pursue relationships like Paul and Timothy, who deeply care for one another, and push each other more towards Christ.

About the Guest Blogger:

i-kFJ58KB-XLCarson Albritton has been working CentriKid since 2012.  He has been a team leader, a stage host, a rec staffer, a track time manual writer, and has served at Lifeway’s VBS Events.  Carson is a student at the University of Georgia.