A Time for Everything

I am sure this passage from Ecclesiastes 3 is familiar to us all... "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven..." (3:1, NIV)

The Message Bible says it like this... "There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth..."

As I came on staff here at Albany First Assembly last year, one of my jobs was to assess all of the current programs to see how they were doing, and to see what we could do to make them as effective as possible.  We have a wonderful group of adults who give now, and have given in the past to make our Royal Rangers and Girls Club Programs successful.  More than just successful as a program, though, these folks have committed to making sure our kids here at Albany First are growing in their faith.

While these programs are still relevant and hugely effective in a lot of churches across the world, right now, for this time at AFA, through speaking with our Children's leadership, Pastoral Staff and Volunteers, we determined that Royal Rangers and Girls Club were probably not the best fit for our church during this season.  There were many factors in making this decision: everything from the volunteer need to wanting to better serve our visiting children.

God has birthed a vision in my heart, and our Children's Leadership Team has helped me champion this vision.  Next Wednesday Night, February 1st, we will debut a new program called Discovery Club. Discovery Club will give each child in Kindergarten through 5th grade the opportunity to come each week and be taught an exciting Bible lesson, grow in peer relationships, eat fun snacks, and learn one hobby or skill each month.  We will be bringing in special guests each month to teach things such as Woodworking, Cooking, Photography and First Aid.

Our lessons will tie into the virtue that we will be presenting each month in Clubhouse Live!, meaning your child will have only ONE concept, and ONE verse to learn each month.  Won't it be great for each child in our church to have firmly grasped 12 Scriptures and Virtues, rather than loosely grasped 52?

I am excited about this new program, and I think our AFA kids will be excited as well!  We will kick off Discovery Club with a month of "Mythbusters!" So parents, please remember to bring your kids to The Clubhouse, Rm 203-204 (Where Clubhouse Live! meets) next Wednesday, Feb. 1st @ 7:00 for Discovery Club!