city kidmin

woa. woa. i'm back to the blog, baby. i'm as shocked as you. i was sick + busy which when added together = no blogging. but, the girl's back and feeling good. so, look out. 

last week, i attended the Family Ministry Conversation at Ginger Creek Church in the western chicago suburbs. which, for a newly self-appointed city snob, this was a heck of a way to drive. but, i caught up with friends, learned a few things, and spent time brainstorming new techy ideas. so, lesson learned. driving out of the city ain't all bad. #citysnob

during the event, we had the opportunity to discuss our distinctives as a city church. i've been working at willow chicago for 7 months now, and it's been my very first opportunity to lead within an urban context. call me an experienced children's leader who's learning a whole new set of tricks. fun, fun, fun. seriously. i love it. city people are my people. and, i'm thrilled for this opportunity! 

here's what i've learned so far about city kidmin: 

VOLUNTEERS arrive to serve on sunday on time or late based on the train & bus schedule. or, if their car is able to be dug out of a snowy alley on time and cheap parking is easily accessible. 

KIDS live in small spaces. this affects the way we help them apply the lessons to their lives, and we're mindful of how many take-home papers, crafts, trinkets, and coloring sheets we send home. 

VOLUNTEERS feel valued when we provide free parking vouchers as a thank you for serving.

FAMILIES ride bikes and scooters to church during the summer {you know, that one warm month Chicago sees each year}, which makes it necessary for us to provide space for their rides.

PARENTS choose to raise their kids in the city for a variety of reasons. one reason i see often is that the parents are in Chicago for a limited season of time due to work or school. because of this, many families don't stay at the church very long. we've intentionally not created a discipleship plan (birth-college) because it's likely we'll never see a family for this duration of time. 

VOLUNTEERS are also in the city for a limited amount of time. yesterday, i had a conversation with a volunteer who is moving after only serving for two months. this is the way it goes. instead of being frustrated, i'm grateful for any amount of time volunteers are able to give. 

KIDS are racially diverse. which, i love. diversity is a filter that affects all we do. we use the tru curriculum {for Age 2/3-Grade 3} and edit it every.single.week. in order to provide activities that apply to all of our children. we filter everything through our value of multicultural: videos, music, toys {recently, i passed on buying a toy because all of the children in the game were white.}.

VOLUNTEERS: because our children are diverse, we must provide volunteers and role models who are diverse as well. we do our best to make sure all children see a leader in small group or on stage who looks like them. this is super important to us. {PS: if you haven't seen my pastor's video on this, watch it. so good.}

city, city. what would you add? anything surprising to you on this list?