Kids face all kinds of situations in their young lives and do not have the ability to see beyond their immediate circumstances to the bigger picture. We will be talking about how we serve a God that we can trust no matter what, who will make something good out of our worst circumstances.

The first week we will be hearing about Jesus’ last days on earth. Even His own disciples didn’t understand that He was going to the cross for their sins. But they did remember that He promised them He would come back again. Our memory verse is John 16;33b, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Students will learn that no matter what is happening in their day to day lives, Jesus promised heaven and we can trust in Him.

On Easter we will be having three opportunities for your students to worship: 5:00 PM Saturday, 9:00 and 11:00 AM on Sunday. As we hear about the resurrection they will understand that not only do we serve a risen Savior, but that God is all powerful and no matter what happens to us in this world, we can place our hope in Him!

Week three we will be learning about two men that are often overlooked in the Bible. They were travelling to Emmaus and were accompanied by a stranger that eventually revealed Himself as the risen Lord. During this time the disciples were still confused and discouraged. They didn’t see the big picture. Kids often can’t see the big picture. They can only think of today and what is happening to them. They will learn that no matter what is happening in their daily lives, God has a bigger story and big plans for them if they commit their lives to Him.

Week four we will study the ascension of Christ and the promise He made to all of us that He is preparing a place for us. We will talk about the gift of the Holy Spirit who stays close to us so that we are never alone. As we are reminded that we are never alone we will emphasize that we are not promised that we will never have problems, but if our hope is in the living God, He will ALWAYS be with us.

On fifth Sundays we always talk about a faith skill. As we learn about what happened to the disciples after Jesus ascended to heaven, we see an example of how even though times were tough for them, they were following Jesus’ instructions in sharing His story with the world. We will talk about how to articulate your faith to others around you. Children will learn to express that their hope lies in a risen Christ who is the only way to eternal life.

Please be sure you pick up a copy of the Parent Cue. It is available all month outside the Elementary Worship Center. If you have a fifth grade or a kindergarten student, please note that we have two very important Foundation events coming up and make sure you register your child.

As adults we usually know the right thing to do, but still sometimes we don’t choose to do it because it is difficult, or makes us unpopular. But God wants us to do the right thing. In fact, it’s very important to Him. Proverbs 21:3 says, “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

We are studying the life of Daniel during March. He was taken from his home at an early age and transplanted far away as a captive. He was able to survive because he had a strong relationship with God and was deeply rooted in His word.

March 4, we will learn that when you know what God says, you can stand for what’s right. Like Daniel we need to know what God’s word says in order to apply it in difficult situations. I encourage you to make sure your child brings his or her Bible to worship as we do use them each week. If you sign up for an Adult Bible Fellowship on Sunday morning we have comprehensive Bible instruction for your child. The students in both age groups are working through the Bible learning to find, study and apply scripture.

March 11, we are studying that when you stand for what’s right, others can see God. Daniel’s friends stood up and worshipped God even when it meant dying in a fiery furnace.

March 18, our bottom line is you can stand for what is right, even when it’s not popular. This is so important to our kids as in order to follow God and give Him our lives we have to run counter to the culture.

March 25, we are teaching that in order to do what’s right, we need to get in the habit by practicing.

Along with our lessons this month we are teaching the kids practical faith skills. These skills are studying and personalizing God’s word in our lives, worshipping God with the way we live our lives, articulating our faith to others and talking to God in continuous prayer.

Be sure and “like” our Eastside Elementary Ministry page on Facebook if you have an account. That will keep you up on all of our announcements and activities. Your parent cue sheets are very important in that they suggest conversations so that you can intentionally influence your children to apply their faith in their daily lives. Soon we will be offering those cue sheets on the church website in case you lose yours.

If you would like a copy monthly of the God time devotions that correlate to our lessons, please drop a note in the black registration box at the check in window. We will be sure your child brings one home. If you ever have any questions about what is happening in Kids’ Kompass or our Bible classes, please feel free to contact me!

We are using the life of David from the Old Testament to teach the children honor this month. From his humble beginnings as a shepherd boy to a king who was not ashamed to honor God in a public way, David will give us a great example of how to honor others.

Be sure and pick up the monthly Parent Cue. It is on the table in front of the microphone each week. There you can find the Bible scriptures, the memory verse and discussion starters to help your child apply the monthly virtue.

First hour Kids’ Kompass we are blessed to now have five students helping us. They have named themselves Team K. At the end of each service we will be splitting the kids into small groups by grade and separating the boys and girls so that they can talk with their leader about how they plan to use what they learned each week. I would love to be able to do the same thing second service however I need some more adult volunteers who are willing to serve in the Elementary Ministry. Let me know if you think God is calling you to work with our kids!

Cost: $75.00 This will help cover the cost of New Creation’s fee for us to stay there.( Plus you will need money for Food)

Why: We are going to continue the relief efforts from the Tornado that devastated Joplin in May of last year.

What: We will be helping in the construction efforts. The church we are staying with have started a 12 in 12 campaign to build 12 houses in 2012.

Who: People who should come are those with construction abilities and special skills that are in that line. Painters, Electricians, handymen, and people with the general knowledge to build. This trip will mainly be a work trip so keep that in mind. We could also use some people willing to cook and prepare the meals for the people working all day. If you are interested in this trip call Dave Parkerson or sign up on the volunteer registration.

Self control is a huge issue with elementary students. We will be focusing on four areas that speak directly to issues that children have. Children will learn that God has the power to help us practice self control, specifically to learn to control our tempers and the words that come out of our mouth. The fourth week we will learn how God’s word tells us too much of anything can make us sick. Kids will recognize that video games, candy or tv can be fun but learning to stop before we get too much will prevent us from being “sick” since God is the only thing that we can’t get too much of.

The last week we zero in on what we think. This is so important to elementary students as what we think leads to how we act.

Sunday January 8, immediately following second service we will be having a very important brief parent meeting in the student worship center (gym). Your children will be kept in the worship area so you don’t have to worry about picking them up. Please make plans to attend. We will be unveiling Foundations, a tool that will help you parent Godly children.

I’m thankful for a church that is friendly.  That’s not a cliche!  Walk in this place and within a few feet it is unistakebly clear that people are nice, kind, smiling.  They want you here and you can feel it.

I’m thankful for a church that is forward moving.  While we treasure memories and often enjoy the works of those who have went before us, we are not shackled by any of that.  I am constantly amazed at the willingness of our congregation to try new things, allow “out-of-the-box” thinking, and take risks that many others would not.

I’m thankful for a leadership team I work with who love each other, serve with passion, rise above pettiness, and are called by God.  I don’t have the time nor do you have the patience for me to thank every staff member and elder who serve alongside me.  They know who they are and they know the value they bring to what is happening here.  By the grace of God, we get to do all of this together!  Awesome.

I’m thankful for a church who loves my family.  This is personal, but it is more important to me than I can express.  Never a Sunday goes by that someone doesn’t ask somethng about my wife or children.  They understand that family is a priority and they love mine.  I could never fully repay their acceptance and support for the people I love the most.

I’m thankful for a church that leans toward grace.  It’s a constant battle to figure out if one should favor law or grace.  Both are critical, and Jesus was perfectly balanced.  That is our goal as well, but whenever we lean around here we tend to lean toward forgiveness and compassion, even when people are messed up.  There is something about that which seems right to me.  I’ve been in churches who leaned the other direction, and although definately obedient to the faith, the “grace-lean” gets my nod.

I better stop.  More and more reasons keep coming to mind and you’re probably getting tired of reading what you already know.  Eastside Christian Church is a great place.  I’m so humbled that I get to be here!

When we remember what God has done for us, we can’t help but have an overwhelming sense of gratitude to Him. Because of His sacrifice in sending His only son to die on the cross for us, we need to stop and be grateful for Him saving us, and preparing an eternal place for us.

Meanwhile here on earth our children have so much to be thankful for. When they look at children in other countries they can only begin to thank God for daily blessings that sometimes we take for granted. I hope you take the holiday season as an opportunity to share a project with your children — Operation Christmas Child or the Christmas Party we sponsor at the Community Action Center are both wonderful opportunities to let them focus on the needs of others.

The Bible lessons in Kids’ Kompass this month will focus on:  how we need to show gratitude in ALL situations, show gratitude to others, and very important to students of this age — adjust our attitudes and focus on the blessings we have rather than the blessings we don’t have!

Keep your ears open for an incredible new program coming to Eastside. It is called Foundations and is the cooperative work of Early Childhood, Elementary and Student ministries. We will be unveiling the details to all of our parents in January 2012 (which will be here before we know it!)

Take time to say thank you to God this month and teach your children gratitude in our day to day lives.

Student Guidelines

For both the parent/guardian & student please understand that along with obeying the leadership, the following guidelines need to be adhered to:

• NO form of tobacco, alcohol or drugs
• NO displays of affection (ie. kissing, etc.)
• NO fireworks, guns, knives, pornography, etc.
• NO ipods, cell phones, gameboys, tv’s, etc.
• NO bikinis/2 piece swimsuits that show stomach.
• All clothing must be modest and not distracting.