Are you an All-Star?

“When is VBS?”

I’ve answered that question more than a few times the last month, and my answer is always a little surprising – even to me.

“We are not having VBS this year.”

I’ve always loved VBS, but for a few years I’ve felt that maybe there was something else out there for us to do.  We decided it was time to dream about something different, and we started to get excited about the possibilities. This summer, we’ll be hosting three week-long camps – and to kick it all off? All-Star Week!

All-Star Week is a sports camp for all kids going into 1^st through 8^th grades. It will be June 11-15 from 10 to noon, and it doesn’t cost a thing.  In addition, kids can come to Good Eats for breakfast at 9 and stay for lunch at noon.  Everyone 18 and younger eats for free!

We choose a sports camp because we believed it would be something the kids in our town would enjoy, and running it in conjunction with Good Eats just made sense.

Kids will get to choose between basketball, soccer and cheerleading.  You don’t have to pre-register your kids for the week, but if your child wants to play basketball you will need to fill out a permission slip because we’ll be transporting those kids in a van to play in the Faith Baptist Church gym.

Our goals for VBS have always been to serve all children in our community, and to teach them about God through fun, stories, and relationships.  Our goals for All-Star Week are the same. We’ll just be going about it differently.  If you would like to be a part of All-Star Week it’s not too late.  You don’t even have to be an athlete to get in on the fun.  Just let me know at jholsted@fellowshipnorth.net or call 501-779-5926.

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Jen Holsted works at FN with elementary-age students. She’s married to David Holsted (who also works at FN), and they have a son, Jackson. She’s an avid basketball fan and (little-known fact!) once guarded Lee Mayberry in a pickup basketball game.

 

Filed under: FSM, missions, All-Star Sports Camp, basketball, cheerleading, Good Eats, soccer

KAA: you know!

A group of students from Fellowship North joined with students from STEP Ministries and went to Kids Across America for an entirely new adventure. Bobby Harrison went along and had a great time – he’d like to tell you all about it below! (This is a little longer than a regular post, but so worth the read.)

You couldn’t have slapped a smile off my face. It was unshakable. I woke up with anticipation and went to bed with gratitude. Every. Single. Day.

I’d heard from Harold and Dena [Nash] that going as a leader, a Kaleo, at Kids Across America would be one big “bubble bath in Jesus”, but I wasn’t sure I could quite believe it.  At least until I saw it.  Or better yet, experienced it.  But I’m here to tell you, the bathwater was just right and it was full of some pretty incredible bubbles.  Bible studies.  Worship with workers from across the country.  Fellowship with fellow youth leaders.  I came back restored and refreshed and reinvigorated and reignited and renewed.  And I knew that would be the case, even from the first couple of days at camp.  As for the students?  Well that’s a different story.  And it’s one worth telling.

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Filed under: Bobby Harrison, FSM, peak ministries, camping, Castle Bluff, KAA, Kids Across America

Looking for a hero!

Berit Kimrey loves VBS at Fellowship North. She wrote about it here a couple of summers ago. It’s that time of year again, and Berit wants to know if you will help out – here’s what she wants her family at FN to know:

2010 VBS will be held June 21-25!  As in years past, we will open our VBS to the community with special emphasis on the Summertree/Pike View area.

This year’s theme is Hero Headquarters! which is a supercool superhero format relating to unlikely heroes in the Bible.  I am including a link here so that you can peek around and listen to the upbeat music.

VBS will once again be held indoors this year (yea!) with the exception of dinner nightly.  We will have moving rotations like last year. However, unlike years past, we will NOT have a middle school program during VBS.  They will have their own event, End-O-Summer Daze, in August. The schedule is provided below:

5:30-6:00 – dinner

6:00-6:35 – opening

6:40-7:35 – rotations

7:40-8:00 – closing

As we all know, VBS doesn’t happen by itself and is only successful because of the dedication of the volunteers, like you.  We have the following groups available:

• 1st-5th Boys/Girls (there are 10 possible classes)
• Drivers/Dismissal
• Registration
• Dinner (must be available early each day to prepare dinner)
• Clean up
• Part-time (we will place you where you are needed most)

So what’s next?  If you served last year as a leader and want to move up with your class, please let me know ASAP so we can reserve that particular age group for you.

Please email me at berit.kimrey@heifer.org, bkimrey1@comcast.net, call/text me at 416-1501, facebook me, or tweet me (@beritk). Let me know the following: Name, Contact Phone, Contact email, area of preferred service, and dates you are available.

We will have a couple of training sessions (Wednesday, June 16, or Sunday, June 20 – you can attend either one) in order to review some necessary information to make VBS both worry and hassle free.

This is one of the best outreach events we do each year- and is so fulfilling to watch kids of all ages and backgrounds come together to shout out Bible verses and sing and dance for the Lord.

In Him,

Berit

Filed under: FSM, student, elementary, Pike View, Summertree, VBS

mr. roboto

Just thought you might want to see what those kids are really doing upstairs in the Lookout on summer Sunday mornings…

We’re turning them into ROBOTS! (pic via Bryan Jones)

Filed under: FSM, elementary, Lookout, robots, summer

VBS and ‘Sweeter’

posted by Sarabeth Jones

Here are the latest couple of videos we’ve posted; the VBS recap from last Sunday:

And the student choir singing “Sweeter” from our anniversary Sunday (sound is a little wonky on this one, we’re still working these things out):

You can always find our videos in the resource section of our website or on our YouTube channel.  Enjoy!

Filed under: FSM, peak ministries, sunday mornings, 25th anniversary, student choir, VBS

by the numbers

posted by Sarabeth Jones

Just want to make sure you caught what Jen was saying Sunday morning (in case you were having a coffee break, or reading the program, or texting your…oh, wait a minute, you would never text during church, right?).  Anyway, she threw some numbers out:

• About 75 people help out each week, every week, 9 months of the year, taking care of our nursery – 5th graders.
• For 3 months (June, July, August) – those folks get a break.
• We need 40 people each Sunday to cover all those leaders and provide our kids a safe, fun place to connect with God.
• 40 people x Sunday summers = about 500 volunteers needed this summer.
• About 500 people are about how many are in the room any Sunday morning.

Jen then reminded us how important kids were to Jesus.  Which in turn, reminded me that quite often, God is asking me to do small things (with great love, as Mother Teresa would say).  The things that don’t necessarily make me look good.  The things that I don’t even necessarily want to do.  Yep, I’m one of those people who would say kids are just not my thing.

But Jen challenged me Sunday.  Reminded me.  And she wants a card from everyone in the room. Have you turned yours in yet?

Filed under: FSM, 23rd Avenue, K-1 Connection, Route 54, WeeROCK