Kia Ora Bay Kids Whanau,
Wow it’s Term Three already! Aside from the speed at which everything feels like it’s moving - although that could be my old age - I love knowing that when we make it through this term we are propelled into the wonderful season of Spring, Hope on the Horizon and a sense of thawing out; But until then we continue to hunker down, slow down, and stay warm.
Discipleship Journey Encouragement:
As a way to breathe some life into our cold toes (without sounding a little odd) I want to share two passages that fit beautifully together.
Psalm 78 gives us an encouraging vision across generations, passing on the story of God's faithfulness. And 2 Timothy reminds us that what we pass on is not just information, but the precious treasure of the gospel, carried with faith, love, and the help of the Holy Spirit.
May these verses sit for you in a way that isn't burdensome or pressuring to "get it right”, but as a reminder that discipleship isn't about having all the answers; it's about faithfully telling God's story, living it out, and trusting the Holy Spirit to work in our children.
Psalm 78: 1-7 NIRV
My people, listen to my teaching. Pay attention to what I say.
2 I will open my mouth and tell a story. I will speak about things that were hidden. They happened a long time ago.
3 We have heard about them and we know them. Our people who lived before us have told us about them.
4 We won’t hide them from our children. We will tell them to those who live after us.
We will tell them what the Lord has done that is worthy of praise.
We will talk about his power and the wonderful things he has done.
5 He gave laws to the people of Jacob. He gave Israel their law.
He commanded our people who lived before us to teach his laws to their children.
6 Then those born later would know his laws. Even their children yet to come would know them. And they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God. They would not forget what he had done. They would obey his commands.
2 TIMOTHY 1:13-14 NIRV
13 Follow what you heard from me as the pattern of true teaching. Follow it with faith and love because you belong to Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the truth of the good news that you were trusted with. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
As a church, we're on a formation journey together - learning what it means to become people who are with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did. One of the greatest privileges we have is inviting the next generation into that journey with us.
Psalm 78 paints a beautiful picture of God's heart for families: "We won't hide them from our children. We will tell them to those who live after us. We will tell them what the Lord has done that is worthy of praise." (Psalm 78:4, NIRV)
Throughout the Bible, God invites each generation to tell the next generation about His goodness, His faithfulness, and His rescue. Faith has always been shared through stories around tables, prayers before bed, conversations on the way to school, reading Scripture together, serving others, worshipping together, and simply noticing God's goodness in everyday life.
Notice that Psalm 78 doesn't say, "Teach your children everything." Instead, it says, tell them what the Lord has done.
Your children don't need perfect parents. They need parents, grandparents, caregivers, and church whānau who are willing to keep pointing them to Jesus.
Paul echoes this encouragement in 2 Timothy: "Follow what you heard from me as the pattern of true teaching... Guard the truth of the good news that you were trusted with. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Timothy 1:13–14, NIRV)
The good news is that we don't do this alone. The Holy Spirit is with us, helping us as we share the good news with the children in our care.
At Bay Kids, we see ourselves as partners with you. We have the privilege of spending a small part of each week with your children, while you have countless everyday moments to help them discover who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him.
Children are certainly formed by what we teach them, but they are also deeply shaped by what they repeatedly see us doing—how we pray, how we forgive, how we worship, how we respond to disappointment, and how we trust Jesus in everyday life.
Psalm 78 captures both: we tell the story, and we live as people who remember God's faithfulness.
Our prayer is that together we would be a community that keeps telling the story of God's love - so that our children, and one day their children, would put their trust in Him, remember His faithfulness, and walk in His ways.
Our Term 3 Curriculum Plan:
In Bay Preschool, using the Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible, we’ve been gently navigating the art of sharing the stories of the Old Testament with our littlest ones, keeping our focus on the meta-narrative - the bigger picture of the whole story of God. We’ve been anchoring our language around what God is doing and who God is throughout each story so that these stories don’t stand alone as moral lessons, but instead teach our children more about what God is like.
We’ve looked at the life of King Saul, and David the Shepherd King and then we’ll continue with King Solomon, and the epic adventures of Daniel and Jonah.
In the second half of the term we’ll look again at the New Testament starting with John the Baptist as we explore what John helps us learn about God - that God keeps His promises and God wants everyone to know Jesus.
In Team Bay Junior we have been finishing up our wild, wonderful, and sometimes quite wacky journey with the 13 Very Amazing Animals and How God Used Them resource. These stories have taken us all over the Bible showing us through creative and active ways that God’s care for all His Creatures and all about His love for us. From Doves to Quails, Camels to Donkeys, Sheep and Fish…and even a snake, our children have learnt about a God who is Powerful and Faithful, who hears our prayers, and who loves us and gives us second chances.
For the rest of the term we will be walking through some New Testament stories that show us that God knows everything, that His plan is best, and that Jesus came to seek and save us - bringing us His freedom and His love. We will use the language of Rescuer, focusing on who Jesus is rather than what they must do.
And for our Team Bay Seniors, we’re finishing up our series on 13 Very Awesome Promises and How God Always Keeps Them - with the focus on the kindness and faithfulness of God, and how His promises are good for us. We’ve looked at trusting God’s promises, waiting on God’s promises, understanding the promise of Jesus, and God’s promises of never being alone and not needing to fear.
Next we’ll be learning all about the stories behind ‘13 Very Bad Days and How God Fixed Them’. Stories from lives that span the Old and New Testaments pointing us to a God who is in control, who has a plan, and who forgives us and wants us to trust in Him.
New Remember Verses:
Here are our new Remember Verses, and actions, for Term 3.
Bay Preschool - based on, 2 Timothy 1 v 13 ‘Follow what Jesus teaches. Do it with faith and love.’
Follow
March on the spot
What Jesus teaches
Point your hand up and down and nod
Do it with faith
Strong hands on hips
And love
Both hands across heart
Team Bay Junior - 2 Timothy 1 v 13 ‘Follow what you heard from me as the pattern of true teaching. Follow it with faith and love because you belong to Christ Jesus.’
Follow
March on the spot
what you heard from me
Mime listening, cupped ear
as the pattern
Move your hand along in a rhythm, 4 times - to show a pattern
of true teaching.
Open your hands out like a book
Follow it
March on the spot again
with faith
Strong arms
and love
Both hands over your heart
because you belong
Wrap your arms around yourself in a big hug
to Christ Jesus.
Point up high
Team Bay Seniors - 2 Timothy 1 v 13 and 14 ‘Follow what you heard from me as the pattern of true teaching. Follow it with faith and love because you belong to Christ Jesus. Guard the truth of the good news that you were trusted with. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.’
Our Bay Kids Team:
I’m really excited that we have such a strong Bay Kids team going into this new term. I’ve been so grateful for Simone’s leadership and her wonderful organisation and care. Alongside our amazing volunteers (thank you everyone) across all three of our programmes, we now have the incredible Josie stepping in as the Team Bay Junior Lead role on a Sunday morning. We’re just really wanting to create some community, continuity and consistency - particularly in this busy and energetic space. Thanks for coming on board Josie.
Please continue to pray for all our precious Bay Kids children. We are absolutely enjoying this beautiful formational discipleship season with them. Thank you for allowing us to journey alongside your family.
Arohanui,
Charlotte and Simone
PS: Just to update you - we are making great progress ‘behind the scenes’ with some policy work, particularly around Child Protection, Health and Safety as it pertains to Bay Kids at Tamatea High, and with our Police Vetting and Code of Conduct procedures for all Serving Volunteers. Thank you to all of those who have been involved in this process so far. If there is an area of policy that you would like to contribute to or raise a concern over then please feel free to send all your questions to Charlotte charlotte@bayvineyardchurch.org We will provide another update when these policies are completed and publicly available.