Romans 1:12 ‘When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.’
Kia Ora Bay Kids Whanau,
BAY PRESCHOOL REFLECTIONS FROM SIMONE
This month, the lovely Simone Richardson is in charge of the Family Discipleship Email. We are so grateful for Simone's role as our Bay Kids Ministry Assistant, and for her work with Mothers and Babies through SPACE and Raising Hope. Thanks, Simone, for being the one who makes all the important details happen across every area of Bay Kids, and for always championing the Bay Preschool children, their families, and their space.
I love serving in Bay Preschool and the wider Bay Kids community! I love welcoming each child, by name, to Church. I want every child to know that they matter, that they belong at church. Not just because they have come with their parents but because each one of them has been created by God and has a calling from God. I believe creating a space that they enjoy and that they are happy in, is an important step in helping the seeds that have been planted, about who they are in Christ and who’s they are, to flourish.
In time those seeds will grow and take root in their little hearts and will be the basis of Proverbs 22:6 - Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.
Whilst I was praying about what to write and re-reading some of the previous Family Discipleship emails, God gave me a picture of a sapling tree with a supporting stay.
The sapling is our child(ren), the stays are you as parents and us as a Church. The stays are there to guide the sapling and keep it growing in the right direction. The stays are strong and sturdy because they have already been strengthened through growth, trials, time and being shaped into their purpose. We are here to guide our children, the stays give the sapling stability, but allow it the space to grow into it’s own tree.
How do we do this? We can model what it means to follow Christ for our children. Prayer time, devotional time, mission, giving and generosity and spending time with Jesus. Our children are little sponges, they watch, they observe, they absorb the example you lead with. But relax, they don’t need ‘know it alls’ as parents, they need adults that will model how to learn, how to go deeper and how to keep trying. They need adults to show them that it's ok to get it wrong sometimes, that God still loves them and still wants them to keep showing up, keep connecting, and keep coming back to Him.
Teaching our children can also be a second chance for us and does not have to be complicated. When David was little, he loved books and wanted me to read to him. I had this pre-conceived idea that I could not read out loud well because when I was in high school, I was terrible at it. I was insecure and completely intimidated when asked to read aloud in class, and so completely mucked it up. Reading to David gave me a second chance to practice and re-define my skills. He didn’t care if I was terrible or not, or if I had to practice a voice a couple of times to get it right. He didn’t care if I messed up a word, I would make a joke of it and I would do it again. He loved that I was spending time with him and I was reading to him. Our Children are the same. They are hungry for connection with us, dare I say it, as an example of how the Good Father loves to spend time with them and us.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (NIRV) says: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength. The commandments I give you today must be in your hearts. Make sure your children learn them. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up.
Highlighting God in your everyday life with your children, gives them the foundation to start looking for Him. All of our children, including our littlest ones, have been chosen by God. The best time to start teaching them about God and their purpose in Him, is now. If we drench them in the love and the beauty of God and they experience Him, not just know about him, but really experience Him, they will grow in their faith, they will own it, it won’t just be yours.
So, take every opportunity to bring Him into their world, let the stories in the Bible wash over them, even if it seems like they aren’t listening, the Holy Spirit is at work always. Think of it as planting seeds, little seeds of knowledge about the Big God story and how He loves them and knows them. Seeds that will grow and flourish and bear fruit. Plant as many seeds as you can.
Simone Richardson/Charlotte Buxton
Ministry Assistant/Associate Pastor
Bay Vineyard Church
charlotte@bayvineyardchurch.org