discipleship - my healthy church · unannounced moments 9 disciplines of enduring leadership...

MAR/APR/MAY 2016

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SOLUTIONS FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL & SMALL GROUP LEADERS

New Releases Created and Published for My Healthy Church

THRILL SEQUENCELive for what really matters

THE BUSH ALWAYS BURNSFind Jesus in the unannounced moments

9 DISCIPLINES OF ENDURING LEADERSHIPDiscover your design

AFTER THE HONEYMOON90 days to athriving marriage

FIRE BIBLE DEVOTIONS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS21 days of devotions for kids

TRU FIRE CURRICULUMA Spirit-empowered curriculum for kids and youth

A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED LIFE KITSExplore the functions of a Spirit-empowered life

KINGSTONE COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELSBiblical comics and graphic novels

BELIEVE SMALL GROUP KITSBelieve God for greater things

A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED CHURCHActs 2 Journey of discipleship

A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED LIFEPursue the fullness of God

CONFESSIONS OF A CHURCH KID � e good and the bad of growing up in the church

CLEAR THE STAGEMake room for God

INSIDE OUTGuide to servant leadership

PRAYING WITH CONFIDENCE31-day prayer guide

BROKEN ESCALATORS A twist on happiness and promotion

RHYTHMS OF GRACEDiscover God’s tempo for your life

LEAD SO OTHERS CAN FOLLOWPractical tips for biblical leadership

WHEN WORDS HURTHandle criticismwith grace

WHY SOME CHURCHES ARE BLESSEDBiblical principles on missional giving

SOAR & THE HUMAN RIGHT: SONGS FOR JUSTICESpirit-empowered worship

THE LIKEABLE CHRISTIANLive Jesus’ radical love

MEGA SPORTS CAMP: EPIC MOMENTSChildren’s ministry outreach

THE HUMAN RIGHT JOURNEYStudents dig into faithand evangelism

THE POWER OF HOMEDiscipleship starts at home

LET’S DO FAMILY TOGETHERHonor God by lovingeach other

TALK NOW AND LATERLead kids through life’s tough topics

THE BIG TENYouth ministry how-to

GOOD KIDS, BIG EVENTS & MATCHING T-SHIRTSJoin the youth ministry conversation

THE WORD AND THE SPIRITDiscover the Holy Spiritin a personal way

DESPERATE FOR JESUSOvercome obstacles to follow God

SELAH DEVOTIONALFind rest for your soul

SMALL GROUPS & CURRICULUM

HEALTHY FAMILIES AND MARRIAGES

HEALTHY YOUTH AND KIDS

HEALTHY ADULTS

HEALTHY LEADERS

FEARLESS &A PSALM IN YOUR HEARTStudies on Psalms and the book of Mark

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contentsPA G E 6

Using the Love of Sports to Share the Love of God

PA G E 8

Radiant Life themes

PA G E 9

Vida Nueva themes

PA G E 1 0

Evaluating Your Outreach Events

PA G E 1 2

Why Your School Matters

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J U L I E H O R N E R A N D T I M C O N R A D

We hosted a sports camp for the first time,” shares Bethann Fernandez, a children’s ministry director in Michigan. “The neat part is the men that volunteered to help. Eighty-five percent of the coaching volunteers were men who had never volunteered in children’s ministry. They all said they’d be back next year.

W hat do Bethany Hamilton and people in your church have in common? Surfi ng pro? Annual

salary? Probably not. Athletes like Bethany Hamilton are sponsored by national brands because they communicate a message. Surprisingly, that’s exactly how they are like people in your church. Most likely, people in your congregation would eagerly volunteer to combine the most important message of all through the sports they love.

Sports-centered outreach is easy!You may not realize that sharing Christ through

sports is easier than you think. The gospel message is easily communicated through a MEGA Sports Camp outreach. Just decide what sports you will feature and where you will host your camp.

Using theLove of Sports

to Share theLove of God

7

Which sports? The kit offers playbooks you need for basketball, soccer, and cheerleading, and adding baseball and flag football is easy. Consider starting with just one sport for a one-day clinic or host a VBS-like sports camp.

What facilities? You don’t necessarily need a gym. Go to the park or rent the school or community gym. Make a soccer area by using cones on the church lawn. Ask people in your

church to bring in portable basketball goals and set them up in the church parking lot.

Effective OutreachWithout evangelism, the MEGA Sports

Camp kit is just another program. But once people in your church see the effect as they share their faith and a child accepts Christ as her Savior, they will know they are part of something powerful.

Expect a response. “Our normal VBS attracts 125 kids, but by focusing on sports, we had 210 kids register,” notes Suzanne Cole, director of children’s ministries for her church in Louisiana. “Everyone had a great week, but best of all, when the gospel was presented, hands went up all over the auditorium. Close to thirty kids accepted Christ as their Savior.”

Sports Beyond Your Church and Community

With a little planning, your sports camp can easily reach beyond your community. Host a sports camp or clinic and charge a little extra. Then sponsor a free camp in a different part of your city for kids who can’t afford to participate. “We had an inner city church that heard about our sports outreach and brought a

van load of kids every night,” shares Bethann Fernandez. “We would like to help the pastor of that church run their own camp next year and send some of our volunteers to help.” A church in California used the money earned from their sports camp and hosted a camp for thirty-seven kids in a different community. Twenty-four of those children accepted Christ.

“We decided not to charge for our sports

ministry, but we did take up an offering,” shares Judy Harvey from Pennsylvania. “Our missions team is going to host a MEGA Sports Camp outreach in Russia for orphans and unchurched kids."

Recruiting Your Ministry TeamFind the people in your church who, like

Bethany Hamilton, love sports. Look for the combination of a background in sports and a committed believer. This immediately ties together a love for sports with a love for Christ, which is vital. The great thing about the MEGA Sports Camp kit is that you are not limited to using only “parent-types” as volunteers, and not all your volunteers need sports abilities. There’s also a need for assistant, snack and safety coaches. A MEGA Sports Camp outreach is truly a place where everyone in your church has a place.

Many high school students play sports competitively. They make great coaches because younger kids look up to them.

Dads and moms who coach kids’ sports teams are also good options. Although they may currently invest their time in sports, they may not be able to share Christ in that context.

Don’t rule out single adults or retirees. They need only a desire to be involved in ministry.

The universal love of sports is the perfect avenue to share the greatest love of all athletes. As you use sports camp in your church, you can experience the powerful connection this ministry can have to sharing the gospel. So what are you waiting for? Play ball!

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Check out ourSpring 2016 unit themes. Radiant Life curriculum provides a proven way to systematically disciple and educate believers of all ages.

NURSERYO N E -Y E A R C YC L E

· The Little Boy Who Shared His Lunch

· Heaven is a Happy Home

· Creation

PRIMARYT H R E E -Y E A R C YC L E

· Judges of God’s People

· Jesus, Our Savior

· Joshua Leads God’s People

HIGH SCHOOLF O U R -Y E A R C YC L E

· Ancient Faith/Future Faith

· Try This for a Change

· A Higher Standard

KINDERGARTENT W O -Y E A R C YC L E

· Jesus Is My Savior

· Jesus Is My Friend

· Jesus Is My Healer

YOUNG TEENT H R E E -Y E A R C YC L E

· Worship: It’s Allabout Him

· Handling theHard Times

· Wise Up

TODDLERS & TWOST W O -Y E A R C YC L E

· God Gives Families

· Jesus Lives

· God Keeps Me Safe

· God Gives What I Need

MIDDLERT W O -Y E A R C YC L E

· Jesus in God’s Plans

· The Ten Commandments

· God’s Word

YOUNG ADULTGraduates & ProfessionalsS E V E N -Y E A R C YC L E

· 1 Corinthians

· Jeremiah & Lamentations

PRESCHOOL & BEGINNING EXPLORERST W O -Y E A R C YC L E

· Learning about Easter

· Learning to Obey

· Learning to Witness, Pray, and Worship

PRETEENT W O -Y E A R C YC L E

· The Gospels

· Paul’s Epistles

· General Epistles

ADULTS E V E N -Y E A R C YC L E

· Lessons from1 Corinthians

· Jeremiah and Lamentations

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Revise los títulos de nuestras unidades de septiembre 2015 a febrero 2016. El currículo paralelo Radiant Life/Vida Nueva provee el mismo discipulado de excelente calidad para alumnos de habla hispana de toda edad. Para una descripcíon de cada unidad, visite www.MyHealthyChurch.com/VidaNueva si necesita ver la tabla de esquemas temáticos de Vida Nueva.

PRIMEROS PASOSCICLO DE DOS AÑOS

MAR A MAY 2016

· Aprendo de la Pascua

· Aprendo a obedecer

· Testifico y adoro

JUN A AGO 2016

· La Creación

· Dios ayuda a Noé

· Elías y Eliseo

TESOROSDEL REYCICLO DE DOS AÑOS

MAR A MAY 2016

· Jesús es mi Salvador

· Jesús es mi Amigo

· Jesús es mi Sanador

JUN A AGO 2016

· Dios hizo nuestro mundo

· La primera familia

· Patriarcas

MIS AMIGOSCICLO DE TRES AÑOS

MAR A MAY 2016

· Jueces del pueblo de Dios

· Jesús, nuestro Salvador

· Josué guía al pueblo de Dios

JUN A AGO 2016

· Pablo, un hombre nuevo

· Pablo, prisionero por Cristo

EL EXPLORADORCICLO DE CUATRO AÑOS

MAR A MAY 2016

· La fe de ayer y hoy

· Cambios en la vida

· Norma de excelencia

JUN A AGO 2016

· Las epístolas generales

· La batalla de los sentimientos

· ¡Prepárate!

EL COMPAÑEROCICLO DE CUATRO AÑOS

MAR A MAY 2016

· Los Evangelios y los Hechos

· Las epístolas de Pablo

· Las epístolas generales

JUN A AGO 2016

· Los dones espirituales

· Enseñanzas de los reyes

· El Apocalipsis

EL EMBAJADORCICLO DE CINCO AÑOS

MAR A MAY 2016

· Difundir las buenas nuevas

· La ciencia y la Biblia

· La cosmovisión cristiana

JUN A AGO 2016

· Jeremías: la palabra de Dios en tiempos difíciles

· Los postreros tiempos

EL MAESTROCICLO DE SIETE AÑOS

MAR A MAY 2016

· Lecciones de Primera de Corintios

· Jeremías y Lamentaciones

JUN A AGO 2016

· David y Salomón

· Las transiciones de la vida: Etapas de la vida adulta

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Evaluating Your Outreach EventsI t’s important to evaluate your

ministry outreach; to just do it isn’t enough. Telling people about Jesus is always good, but we should strive to make it the best possible. Evaluation helps us make our events the best they can be. But what does it mean to evaluate? Simply put: to evaluate your outreach event is to determine what qualities make it a success. Is it att endance, response, or interaction? Is your outreach a success when you get lots of volunteers or when you meet a specifi c need in your community? There is no single scorecard that can evaluate every ministry outreach. That is why you need to be clear about your outreach goals before you begin. It's said, “What gets measured gets done,” so let’s humble ourselves and att empt to measure the things that Jesus commanded us to do.Consider these questions to ask when determining the goals of your ministry outreach:

1. Who are you tryingto reach?

Are you ministering to church

families, kids from a particular neighborhood, or an elementary school with a particular need? Your event may need to be reimagined if you are only att racting kids from neighboring churches.

2. How are you trying to reach them?

Now that you know who your audience is, you need to be clear about what you are trying to do. Are you buying backpacks, preaching the gospel, or raising funds for a ministry? We oft en measure outreach with the wrong tools and miss out on opportunities for greater impact.

3. What do you want them to do?

This may be the most diffi cult question because it can seem selfi sh. We think that we don’t want to pressure people to do something but, oft en, we really do. It’s okay—Jesus forced people to make a decision all of the time. And unless we are willing to do the same, we may never know

how eff ective our outreach truly is. Are you looking for new church att enders, commitments to Christ, or bags of garbage picked up? Knowing this allows you to measure the eff ectiveness of your outreach.

0. Why are you doing this?I saved question “0” for last.

Answering questions about who, how, and what will bring clarity to your why question. This is the purpose of your outreach and should be crystal clear to all involved. We have all been part of ministries that failed to answer this fundamental question, and thus have wondered if it was worth all the eff ort.

Lett ing the Holy Spirit guide you in the formation of these goals is critical. It may seem counterintuitive to some of us to believe we can evaluate a genuine move of God. But the truth is that the Holy Spirit gives us power to tell people about Jesus in all phases of our outreach events. Now you have something to measure and a great tool for making your next outreach your best outreach.

B Y B R E N T C O L B Y

THE VA LUEOF EVA LUATION

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Featuring articles on topics like:

Healthy Church KIDS Blog BuildsHealthy Ministry: Focusing on the implementation of vision and philosophy.Healthy Leaders: Providing a Spirit-led community of kidmin leaders.Healthy Disciples: Cultivating the spiritual formation of your children.

For free articles, tips, and teaching tools, visit Kids.HealthyChurch.com

Healthy Church KIDS Blogfor Spirit-empowered kids leaders

SUPREME COURT RULING THE HOLY SPIRIT PROTECTING KIDS

IN A DIGITAL AGE

MyHealthyChurch.com • 1.855.642.2011 Kids.HealthyChurch.com

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I n the United States alone, there are over 24 millions students between 7th and 12th grade.1 Housing those students, there are 68,000 schools.2 Can you

imagine what could happen if our local churches began to see the campus for what it is—one of the greatest mission fi elds on the planet?

Through the eyes of a missionary, it’s a stocked pond of students waiting to be hooked to the truth as long as someone is willing to throw out the line. To make the deal sweeter, the impact you have in the school will have a direct impact in the community. The largest collection of unreached people groups in

B Y S C O T T Y G I B B O N S

Why Your Schoolmatters

CH A NGING THE WAY YOU V IEW SCHOOLS

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Featuring articles on topics like:

Healthy Church Youth Blog BuildsHealthy Ministry: by focusing on facilitating ministries to thrive in the five functions of going, growing, connecting, serving, and worshipping.Healthy Leaders: by redefining success for leaders through introspective ideas, self-care, and leadership development.Healthy Youth: by developing and impacting students spiritually, relationally, emotionally, intellectually, and physically.

For free articles and resources, visit Youth.HealthyChurch.com

Healthy Church Youth Blogfor Spirit-empowered youth leaders

DISCIPLESHIP CHANGES

EVERYTHING

CHRIST-CENTERED COMMUNITY

TRYING TO BE EVERYTHING FOR

EVERYONE

MyHealthyChurch.com • 1.855.642.2011

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any community intersects through the local school. By adopting a school in the community through connecting with, identifying, and serving their needs, you are accepting God’s commission to the church to invest in your community. Whether your church has 5,000 members or 50, any church can do something to impact their school. Here are some practical steps for you to start.

Meet with the local school to figure out what the campus’ needs are.

It all starts with that initial conversation to build relationship and trust. Don’t come in with an agenda. Your goal is just to let them know that you’re here to serve and help in whatever capacity you can.

As a church, determine that you’re going to both commit to pray and meet that need.

We can have all the programs and outreaches in the world, but if we aren’t praying for our school, then we’ve lost the heart of our mission. Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (NIV).

Claim your local school in prayer.Equip and empower students to be missional in how they

view their school. It will be your students that have the biggest impact within the school. But if your students never truly understand the significance of the field they are in, the school will never change. Your students help carry the culture in your school. Missional discipleship is key.

Take advantage of opportunities that are already occurring in the rhythm of the school year.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Come alongside events that already happen throughout the year and help serve. Clean the stadium after a football game. Provide bagels and coffee for teacher in-services/appreciation day/or even a Friday surprise. Lead a clothes drive for students within the school.

There’s no magic formula for this. You are the expert of your community! Find what needs to be done, bring your youth and church alongside, and do it!

1Private School Universe Study, 2011-12 2National Center for Education Statistics, 2011-12

...but if we aren’t praying for our school, then we’ve lost

the heart of our mission.

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TELL EVERYONE ABOUT JESUS. EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO KNOW HIM.

FIND THESE GREAT RESOURCES AND MORE.

High School Small Group Curriculum

30-Day My One Shirt Challenge & Devotional

The Bush Always Burns

The Human Right Album

BE THE VOICE OF THE HUMAN RIGHT AT THEHUMANRIGHT.ORG/VOICE

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