Ministering to Kids and their Family in a Hospital

Ministering to Kids and their Family in a Hospital

I recently came upon a car accident where I was able to assist in a time of need. For most people, they wouldn’t think much further beyond witnessing an accident. But for the families involved in the accident, the physical pain, emotional turmoil, and spiritual journey will continue to unfold for them for much longer.

Here is how we can respond as ministers:

1) Make contact with the family. If you are on the scene of the accident, give them your business card with information and let them know you are available if you need them. Some families might later seek out your help for counseling or just a shoulder to cry on. Bottom line is make yourself available.

2) Follow up with a visit. Find out their names and visit the hospital. In some cases you will not be able to see the patients, but several family members will be in the waiting room area. Seek them out and pray with them. If you can connect with the patients, go in, pray, let them know you are available to help, and then leave. Don’t stay longer than necessary.

3) Love on those kids. Loving on the kids will speak volumes of love to the families of those kids. This particular accident needed a med-evac helicopter to transport the preschooler to the hospital. In the goody-bag that I prepared for him I put a toy helicopter that cost one buck. This will help him remember some of the heroes that came to his rescue that day.

There isn’t any need to spend a lot of money. Go to the local Christian bookstore and find some stickers and inexpensive toys. Go to Wal-Mart of the dollar store and get some fun toys that only cost a dollar. While you are there pick up a “get well” card for a buck too.

Here is my goody-bag for this trip:

1) Bibles – These are nice Bibles. This was only possible because the local Christian bookstore donated these that day. I don’t have a budget that would allow me to do this regularly.

2) Cup that costs 99 cents.

3) Helicopter toy- cost 99 cents

4) Get well card- 99 cents

Make sure to include your business card so they can get in touch with you at a later date if they need you.

As you can see, if doesn’t take much to minister to the families. These few simple steps will leave great impressions on every family you minister to in a hospital.

Stay tuned for a blog post about a goody-bag for parents who have just have a baby!

 

I held a lifeless body of a little girl in my arms today…

I held a lifeless body of a little girl in my arms today…

As I drove up over a hill I saw the smoke in the distance. Two vehicles had just collided at a busy intersection, enroute to driving my first grade son to school. I pulled off on the grassy shoulder. “Elijah,” I said. “Hang tight, Dad needs to go help these people.” I cracked the windows and headed to the smashed-in cars.

A woman was screaming….”My kids…..My kids….help my kids!” I ran quickly as she was trying to pull her preschool age boy with a bloody face out of the car. He was crying out. I noticed liquids pouring out from the smoking vehicle. Another gentleman approached so I instructed him to take the little boy away from the car to a safe spot.

The mom continued screaming, “My daughter!” I reached into the front seat and cradled her into my arms.

I held a lifeless body of a little girl in my arms today…

or so it seemed. She lay limp as I carried her across the road to safety. No visible motion in the girl as I transported her. Once I layed her on the ground with my hand under her head I recognized that she was breathing well. Praise God.

This sweet little second grader remained unconscious for several minutes. I can’t help but to think that this could be any one of my children.

Finally she regained consciousness and cried out. Everyone let out a sigh of relief and a gentle smile.

In come our heroes: the fire fighters, law enforcement, EMS, and the med-evac helicopter to attend to the injured and continue to provide safety for others. The ambulance and helicopter take the kids to hospital for treatment.

Both kids will be okay.

Three things I take away from this life-altering event today:

1. Don’t take life for granted. Only God knows the number of our days. Live each day as your last and live it to the glory of God.

2. Children are a gift. I watched as that dear mom stood over her daughter in distress and deep concern.

3. God desires to use us all the time. I could have left the scene saying that they were “lucky” nothing else happened, but I didn’t. Instead I took the opportunity to tell those I encountered, “Praise God for His protection!” Turn people to the One we can trust…the One that cares the most for us…the One that holds the world in His hands. Simple words can lead others to initiate a relationship with the God who loves them deeply.

I followed up with both parties at the hospital and ministered to their families. Check out my post to see how to minister to a family when their kids are in the hospital.

 

D6days Handout for volunteers

 

Here is good quick handout for you to give your volunteers this morning at church so they can go home and listen to some of the D6 Conference speakers this afternoon.

d6days volunteer handout

 

D6 Days gives FREE Kidmin and Fammin training May 1-4

 

Here is what you will find for FREE on d6days.com only on May 1-4, 2014.

D6 Days Content

Videos (Main Stage Sessions)

• Darrin Patrick—Walking in the Spirit From the Inside Out
• Lydia Randall—Balancing Busyness in Ministry
• Rob Rienow—A Church Philosophy for the Generations
• Dave Stone—3 Gifts for Your Kids
• Leneita Fix—Connecting with the Urban Heart

MP3s (Breakout/Lab Sessions)

• Tim Kimmel—A Grace Based Approach
• Walker Moore—The Orphan Heart
• John Trent—Where Do I Start? Finding the Plan that Works for You
• Diana Pendley—What I Wished I Knew My First Few Years in Ministry…25 Years Later
• Tim Smith—Creating Healthy Habits at Home
• Bob Davis—The Importance of a Kiss. A Model of a Healthy Marriage

 

Jump in now and watch your favorite family ministry speakers. Plan on being challenged to build your family and support the families within your church as they grow in the Lord.

 

#d6days    #d62014

 

 

Saddleback Church hosting Gathering on Mental Health and the Church on March 28

Saddleback Church will be hosting The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church on March 28, 2014.

Mental health affects the lives of one in every four people in the United States. There is not only a possibility that you will cross one of these people during your day, there is a certainty. Thankfully Saddleback Church has taken a lead in this prominent area that has been kept in the secrecy of our homes. Through the training, connecting, and information shared, hopefully we will begin to see hope come to the homes of those affected.

 

Visit the website here to stay up to date on information as it is released. This event will be webcasted to help reach audiences all across the U.S.

 

Free video editing program until Feb 4

Love free? The grab this free video editing program until Feb 4.

There are a lot of great video editing programs out there. Adobe Premiere Pro is excellent but can run $400 for old copies, and much more for the current subscription services. And Final Cut Pro is $300 bucks. One of the big challenges for churches, is the cost involved.

In comes HitFilms (for just a few more days) This powerful software usually costs $149, but today you can pick it up for FREE.

This software can handle all of your basic video editing needs and also provide some pretty cool options for making enhancements to your videos in ministry.

Click here to head on over to HitFilm and grab their free software until February 4.

Thanks to Tim Schmoyer, a youth minister and youtube pro, for tipping us off with this great free resource.

Feel free to leave a comment and share with us about your favorite video editing resource.

 

New Free Kids Bible App from Youversion

New Free Kids Bible App from Youversion

 

1. Quality – Youversion is not going to release a program sub-par. Expect supreme quality.

2. Performance – Youversion’s adult Bible app runs smooth. We can assume this kid’s Bible app will run similarly.

3. Fun. My five year old cannot put it down. He loves it! The story is well read. They illustrations are fantastic. There is a lot to interact with in each scene and achievements can be made to reward the child.

4. Great Price. Free. Not going to get better than that.

You can download the app on IOS or Android today. Get it and get your family plugged into reading the BIble!

A special thanks to Lifechurch.tv for being the source of youversion.com

 

D6 Megan Lacefield #D62013 Leading the NextGen Ministry Team

D6 Megan Lacefield #D62013

Leading the NextGen Ministry Team

Have a cohesive plan from birth to college.

Leadership starts with you.

Consistently lead up. 
support the core values of your pastor

Consistently lead down. 
Lead with excellence.
It takes constant encouragement.
Know them personally

Create a team with individual and specific job descriptions.
Create an atmosphere of crossover between ministries.
Communicate a clear vision.

Fight for the unity of the team

Do you have a plan for the next generation? Do you have a plan for your team?

Megan Lacefield
Pastor of NextGen Ministry at New River Fellowship Church
@meganlacefield

 

D6 Dr. Timothy Paul Jones #D62013 Conference Notes

D6 Dr. Timothy Paul Jones #D62013

Family Ministry is about having a ministry bigger than your ministry.
What Jesus did was for the church and for the world. Something much bigger than your ministry.

How did our storylines in our ministries get so small?

There are spiritual reasons for this, but at the same time there is a context we live in that defines why our storylines got so small.

End of Deut. 6… to tell the story of generations past with view of generations future.

The History of Family Ministry in Five Drawings

1. The Society Movement -late 1800s
2. Efficiency Movement -early 1900s
3 characteristics: centralize, segment, professionalize
3. Separation– mid 1900’s
separate youth out. Keep them connected to church during youth years, and hopefully they will come back to the church after youth years.
4. Era of Dis-integration– late 1900’s
conglomeration of separated silos
other groups withiin the church wanted emphasis and self-focus like the youth had
congregation became a collection of programs
5. Coordination– present and future
comes out of a dissatification of this dis-integration era
keep different ministries but draw them in and help them to see how essential integration with generations is.
helps them see a image of a bigger story
driven by Gospel and drawn by a diverse community

Recognize you are part of a story that God is telling throughout the ages.

Help your children see that their lives are bigger than themselves.

What do I do with my church?
Don’t change things you are doing. Re-purpose what you are doing.

The TIE Principle: 
Train Involve Equip. 
How can you train, involve, equip your parents to do ministry?

Train
Involve (do events that if your parents don’t show up, then it doesn’t work)
Equip (give a resource to parents to remind them of what they are to be doing)

What do I do with me?
Often our value is based on what we do in our ministry. We must remember that the story is bigger than ourselves. Our value is settled in Jesus.

Dr. Timothy Paul Jones
Proessor of Family MInistry at Southern
Serves in children’s ministry at Sojourn Community
@timothywashere

 

D6 Rob Morgan #D62013 Hope for Your Prodigal

D6 Rob Morgan #D62013
Hope For Your Prodigal

Sometimes attempting to be a D6 parent leads to L15 parenting (Deut 6, Luke 15)

Psalm 121 He who keeps Israel will never slumber nor sleep. (my child)

2 Samuel 14:14 The Lord devises means so that the Lords own will not be banished from Him

God has a way of working in our lives when we don’t realize that He is working at all

Luke 15:11-32

The correct response for a godly person is joy when anyone makes a response to God in their life

The older son was just as much a prodigal because he emblemized the pharisees

Grief/Grace Cycle when dealing with children in difficult times and situations

1. Pain
2. Prayer 
James 5:16
Col. 4:13
3. Patience
4. Peace
Acts 19:36 ; Psalm 107; Matt. 8:26 ; Psalm 131
The Lord wants you to have peace in the storm and calmness in the crisis
5. Praise

Remember: Prodigals have a way of coming home.
 

Rob Morgan
Senior Pastor of The Donelson Fellowship
@robertjmorgan