<![CDATA[The Park Children's Ministry

<![CDATA[The Park Children's Ministry - CM Blog]]>Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:44:57 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Change!]]>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:45:24 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/03/change.html    So I have been in the ministry for 20 years now. Yeah..I am old. It has been a crazy 20 but one thing I know for sure is that the only thing that stays the same is that things are always changing. I have actually grown to love change and don't like things to stay the same for very long. This may sound weird to you, but it must be some sort of odd ministry related brain problem that I have developed. It's me and I can't do anything about it. So with my wierdness in mind....here are the latest changes.

Camp is full for the scheduled two weeks that we have. There is, however, a third week option. If you want your child to go to camp and you waited too long...please contact me asap at brian@parkway.cc

Sun City Sing - if you were planning on singing on April 3, it has postponed and the date will be out as soon as we know from Sun City Christian. They are doing construction and had to call off our sing. Stay tuned for details.

Volunteers: If you are NOT currently serving somewhere...WE NEED YOU! Consider serving in our children's ministry. You can be a greeter, small group leader, helper or whatever. We need you!

Our "merge" is almost here! I am excited about the potential to reach many more people for Christ! It should be a lot of fun!

Brian
]]><![CDATA[We can do this!]]>Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:31:24 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/03/we-can-do-this.htmlBy Brian Leach

     I have been reading in the book of Numbers lately...yeah...I know exciting stuff...but there really is some cool stuff in there. I read recently about Moses sending the spies over to check out the Promise Land and the report that was brought back. If you don't know the story...this is it in a nutshell...12 guys were sent and when they went they saw that the land was awesome, but that there were some really big challenges with the people living there and here was the end result...10 out of the 12 said that it was impossible to take this land and that they should pack up and move back to Egypt and see if they could get their old jobs as slaves back.
    But two of the guys, Caleb and Joshua, stood up and said to everybody...."WE CAN DO THIS!" In the end, the group didn't listen and it resulted in 40 years of wasted time and for all the naysayers to not get to see the awesome promises that God had for them. Only the two got to go through.
    I have always wondered what would have happened if they would have listened to Caleb and Joshua. I know, that's like saying what if Adam and Eve had never sinned...but imagine if we approached life, church or whatever with the philosophy of "WE CAN DO THIS," instead of "oh no..this isn't going to work..." How would we live differently? How would we respond to challenges in our lives differently?
    I know that our church is facing some really cool challenges and for some this is hard and I know that I sound like I am just saying this because you think I have to, but really...WE CAN DO THIS! and it is going to be fantastic for the kingdom of God.
    I'm guessing that the Israelites were wishing they had listened to Caleb and Joshua's advice when they were stuck in the desert and my challenge to you is this....don't let this awesome God opportunity pass you by. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Stuff you should know:
Camp Sign up! Camps are over half way full! Make sure to get your spot NOW! Go to ccvonline.com/camp

Improv is back! On Friday, April 1...watch for details!

Sun City Sing - Sunday, April 3 - We go and sing for Sun City Christian Church...please sign up at the your child's area on the weekend or email brian@parkway.cc

]]><![CDATA[ Be in the know!]]>Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:01:20 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/02/-be-in-the-know.htmlHey Parkway people!

If you missed the meeting last weekend to find out all the NEW children's ministry info...then you missed a lot. If you are a current volunteer then please consult your Black Badge leader. If you don't currently serve, then WE NEED YOU!

As you know we are joining forces with CCV Peoria and that is taking place on April 10. We have a lot of stuff to do before that and we want you to be informed. If you missed the last meeting last weekend, we are having another meeting the weekend of March 19-20 during every service. The meeting currently planned to be in Building C, which is the smaller building right outside the new building. If you missed the last one, PLEASE don't miss this one. The info is VERY important.   Please RSVP with your area leader that you will be attending or if you are not serving and want to come and hear what is up...then just let us know yo are coming.

More info you should know:

I just heard that camp is already HALF FULL! If you are planning on registering your child, check out my last blog for info on how to do it, but don't wait any longer or you won't get in!!! Go to ccvonline..com/camps to register.

Sunday, April 3 - We are going to Sun City Christian Church to sing for the congregation there. I am going to need at least 50 kids to go on this event. We are planning on 1st-5th graders. Please let us know if your child will be attending.

Lots of exciting stuff happening right now here and I am challenging you all to be a part of it! Don't just watch it happen...be a part of it!

Thanks!

Brian
]]><![CDATA[Camp 2011]]>Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:35:41 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/02/camp-2011.htmlby Brian Leach    Ok...I have been waiting until I got all the details before I gave you the "low down" about camp this summer. So here are the plans. We are going to go to camp this Summer as ONE church - both Peoria and Surprise campuses together at United Christian Youth Camp in Prescott, AZ.
    There will be two dates offered this Summer but let me tell you...spots will go very fast and they are extremely limited so PLEASE book your spot as soon as possible.
    The dates this summer are June 1-5 and June 6-10. Now I know already that PEC is still in school and I am extremely sorry for this inconvenience. I am offering two solutions. 1. Allow your child to miss a couple days of school near the end...they mess around a lot then anyway:) or 2. Contact me personally and tell me you want you kid to go to camp but won't take them out of school and I will find a week that they can go and I will send counselors with them.
    Another change is this - camp is for kids going into 4th through 6th grade. I realize that it had been advertised that incoming 3rd graders and some have already registered but the programming at UCYC is specifically directed for 4th - 6th graders. Please let me know if you have any questions.
    The cost is going to remain the same IF you register by March 22. You can register online at ccvonline.com/camps. When registering there is a special code for Surprise Campus peeps and it allows you to get the rate that we have advertised from the beginning. Please contact me for the code at brian@parkway.cc.    Please use this and remember if you wait until after March 22 then you will pay the much higher rate.
    If you have already paid money for camp, here is what you need to do. Please come by or call the church and ask for a refund check. They will be more than glad to get that to you. All registration MUST be done online.
    I am very excited about camp this summer. I will be at both weeks and I am going to be one of the speakers for camp this year. Please register asap, let's fill this camp with Surprise campus kids and have a rocking week of camp.
    If you have any questions, please email me at brian@parkway.cc or call me. I would love to talk with you.

Thanks,
Brian
]]><![CDATA[What a Week!!!!!]]>Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:22:33 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/01/what-a-week.htmlby Brian Leach

Ok...a lot has happened this week that most of you Parkway people know about. I do plan on blogging about this, in fact, I plan on blogging a lot this week.

But the thing for today is this----GO TO GOLDEN SPOON TONIGHT AND EAT YOGURT! I will be there serving and so will a lot of the staff.
It will be a great time for us to hang out, eat some really good stuff and help kiddos for camp.

I really plan on giving you guys all the details that I can for the upcoming changes of our church officially becoming CCV Surprise, but I don't have a lot to give right now. I will update you with camp details, with curriculum details and any other details that I can think of.   So stay tuned...

Also this week...I have noticed that the weather got colder today....I am praying for a warm up by Friday...because I am sleeping on the roof because the kiddos raised over 5,000 pounds of food. This event is going to be broadcast on our website so you and your children can watch from your nice warm homes. Way to go kids! I am proud of your commitment to help other people!

Have a great
]]><![CDATA[Golden Spoon]]>Fri, 28 Jan 2011 10:21:40 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/01/golden-spoon.html

Monday, January 31st
3pm-close

Fundraiser for both Elementary and Jr. High summer camps!!!

Have any of you ever been to a buffet or a yogurt place where you can serve yourself? It seems so easy, doesn't it?

Well when you've got to worry about portion control, and proper food handling etiquette, that's not the case!!! But we will have fun anyways :)

We went and had training on Wednesday and Thursday morning. It was so much fun! I figured out a slight strategy, if you fail the first day, you get to go back and try again... meaning you get more yogurt!!! :) So for all those wondering WHY I failed on Wednesday, now you know... LOL.

The staff will be there to greet you, serve you some yogurt (we're really only good at mini's and small's) and get you some samples while you wait in line. Come out and show some support for our campers!!!

Here's a few photos from our experience at Golden Spoon :)

Brian, eating his mini.

Susan's successful mini!

My cute little mini :)

Drew's awesome small at the end of the day.. Toppings and all! Drew wants to get a part-time job there now!!!

Click the "Read More..." link to see some more pictures from our journey!

Mr. Mike showing us how to make samples. They are by FAR the HARDEST thing about serving up some froyo...

My giant sample... If you like a lot of frozen yogurt to get an accurate taste, you know who to come to! :)

Working on our skills

Tyler focusing on the task at hand

Susan and her mini again! :)

Brian makes messy ones... so watch out!

Focus, focus, focus!

Washing her hands... we all know how much Susan LOVES to be clean and sanitized!!! :)

]]><![CDATA[Help us, help you]]>Wed, 19 Jan 2011 08:13:29 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/01/help-us-help-you.htmlOh the cheesy-ness of that line never ceases to amaze me... but in some cases, it's true. We want to HELP you guys raise all the funds that you need for your kid's camp, and two volunteers in Parkway CM have ways for you to do that.

Brenda Lee, a volunteer in the 1st-5th grade area of Children's Ministry for years now, is going to be hosting a few parties at her house that are sure to help your kids with fundraising opportunities for camp.

Here's the info from Brenda:
Location: My House (call/text or email for address)
Phone: 623 332 6080
email: ChurchChick3@yahoo.com

2 meetings are available for you to come to
Wednesday, January 26th @ 6:30pm
Saturday, January 29th @ 11am

Any parents are welcome to attend with or without their kids. However, only high schoolers may attend without their parents.
The first opportunity will be Party Lite. It seems really easy and very profitable! The kids sell from the "limited" list and they actually keep their 50% of the funds off the top. They do not send it in and wait for a rebate to return. So, if they start it the day they get the packet they could actually make all their needed funds and have it for the March 1st due date for camp.

If any parent needs help or wants ideas on how to raise individual funds for their child, have them call me! I like this stuff :)

Another volunteer, Chrissy Shero, has a way for you to raise funds too. Here's the info from Chrissy:
Fundraising Opportunity

Hi, my name is Chrissy Shero and I am a beauty consultant with Mary Kay. I know how expensive it is to send your child to camp, so this year I am donating some of my profits to you for your child to go to camp.

Here is out it works:

If you host a skin care class I will donate 25% of my profit to your child to go to camp. My profit is 50%. So if you have a $600 party, my profit would be $300 so your child would then have $150 donated towards their camp fees.

If you have a guest at your party who books a skin care class…they will get the same opportunity. If they do not have a child they are sending to camp, but still want to help you out then the profit from their party will be donated to your child as well.

If you are interested in booking a skin care class please contact me at one of the following:

623-505-8697 Cell

chrissyls1006@yahoo.com

I look forward to helping you get your child to camp this year!

Chrissy Shero

So that's just TWO ideas for individual fundraisers to help with camp costs. If you need other ideas, you can contact Brian (brian@parkway.cc)

As far as Parkway fundraisers go, we have a LOT of stuff going on that I'm sure you want to be apart of. Remember, all the money raised with the following fundraisers goes to pay for the buses.

JANUARY 31st // GOLDEN SPOON (3pm-close)
Parkway staff will be at Golden Spoon serving up some fro-yo to anyone that comes in. Trent, Brian, Drew, myself, and Susan will be there, as well as others on staff. So come by and spend some time with us, eat some AMAZING frozen yogurt, and help our kids raise money to go to camp.

FEBRUARY 14th // VALENTINE'S DAY CHILDCARE (6-10pm)
Do you need someone to watch your kids on Valentine's day so that you can go out on a date? Bring them down to Parkway and we will watch them! Our middle school campers and middle school leaders will be here, ready and willing to watch your kids for you so that you can have a fun night out.

FEBRUARY 24th // PETER PIPER (time TBA)
Pizza, games, and family time- what could be better?! Head on over to Peter Piper Pizza, play some games, eat some pizza, and just have a good time.

We have lots of other fundraisers coming your way soon, so be on the lookout.... Barros pizza, Improv Night @ Parkway, Bunco (who doesn't love Bunco?) and my absolute FAVORITE place to eat (besides grandma's house) CHICK FIL A!!!!!!

Mmmm... so good... ANYWAYS! Make sure you come out to the fundraiser nights and support our Parkway Elementary and JR. High Campers.
]]><![CDATA[On the ROOF]]>Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:34:46 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/01/on-the-roof.htmlBy Brian Leach

Don't ever challenge kids something that you hope doesn't happen...In Novemeber I challenged the kids at Parkway to collect 5000 lbs of food for Valley View Food Bank and if they did....I would sleep on the roof of the church.

Well...they did! And to keep my promise, I will be sleeping on the roof on Friday, February 4. Yes...it will be cold and yes...it might be scary....but for the kids and for food for the needy...I am in.

We are going to live video this event through this blog so if the kiddos want to see what is happening they can. It should be fun and if you want to swing the kiddos by to see what is happening you are more than welcome.

Thanks for helping your kiddos raise food for people in need!

Brian
]]><![CDATA[752!!!]]>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:31:34 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/01/752.htmlBy Brian LeachThanks to all who came out to help make lunches for the homeless. Your efforts made 752 lunches in about one hour! That's crazy fast! It was a lot of fun to hang out with you all and do something good for the less fortunate. Thanks!

Going along with the numbers thing...I have a camp goal this year. I would like to take 150 kids to camp this summer. We took about 113 last year and this would be the most that the Elementary ministry has ever taken.

If you don't know about camp and who it is for. It is a fun filled week of getting to know Jesus and making friends that could last a lifetime. Our camp is in California at a camp called Forest Home. You can check it out at foresthome.org. Click on Adventure Mountain because that is where we are staying.

The dates are June 19-24 and cost for camp is $215 if paid in full by March 1. We are doing a ton of fundraisers to pay for the bus and to help make sure every kid gets to camp.

Please contact me if you have questions or want to get your kid signed
]]><![CDATA[Coming THIS Week!]]>Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:01:09 -0800http://theparkcm.parkway.cc/1/post/2011/01/coming-this-week.htmlHey everyone!

First Happy New Year! I hope you have some HUGE goals this year for yourself both personally and spiritually. If you don't have any goals then you most likely won't do anything...profound...I know.

This week there a couple of things happening that you will NOT want to miss. First, on Wednesday is the kick off for our After School Bible Study. The study runs from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm...if your child doesn't get out until later...please note the the actual Bible Study doesn't start until like 4:15pm...so please come even late!

Next is on Friday, January 7 at 6:30pm is our first ever Family Service Night.
It will be a night where families come together to make lunches for homeless people that will be delivered by another one of our Parkway Ministry on Saturday.
We are asking for families to bring the following:

If you last name starts with:
A-E = Peanut Butter
F-J = Jelly
K-N = Bread
O-Q = Small bags of Chips and plastic sandwich bags
R-V = Hard Candy and Brown Paper bags (lunch size)
W-Z = Plastic Knives and Soda (cans)

After the work is done then we will open up all the fun stuff to allow you all to hang out as families and get to know other people. This is a cool event that you can invite other families who don't come to Parkway to.

Lastly, on Sunday, January 9 at 12:30pm, we are having our fist informational CAMP MEETING. If you child is going to be in 3rd through 5th grade next year at school then please come and find out the stuff that is involved in going to camp.

We are starting off 2011 with a lot of stuff so don't miss out!

See you this weekend,
Brian]]>