Age Level Insights for Volunteers (and Parents!)

I found this nifty website where volunteers can refresh what they know about the kids in their Zone class/environment. Check out www.kidsgrowth.com for a ton of useful and easy-to-find information.

Or check out www.childrensministry.com for more help with how to reach children of a particular age with biblical Truth.

Christmas Eve Volunteer Information

Children's Ministry Volunteers, VBS Crew Leaders, Station Leaders, and other Crocodile Dock People:

We wanted to let you know about a perfect opportunity for you to get involved with kids at Cornerstone this Christmas Season.

We are busy working on a Christmas Eve Experience that kids will not soon forget and we would love to have you play a part in making it happen. Christmas Eve services will focus on the theme of RENEW and this year services will be held at 1pm, 3pm, and 5pm in Livermore, and at 4pm and 6pm in Brentwood. Are you able to take part with us at one or more of the services? Here is what we are looking for:

Crew Leaders: Much like VBS we need adults that just want to hang with kids and experience the night with them. You will need to do very little prep and will have a blast as you guide kids from station to station! (Elementary and Preschool)

Station Leaders: Also very similar to VBS station leaders are the Christmas Eve Station Leaders. You help us communicate a point to kids that rotate through your station. This leader will need to do a little more (but not much) prep as they prepare to guide children through a brief lesson experience. (Elementary and Preschool)

Baby Holders: In order to provide an opportunity for parents to enjoy the Christmas Eve service undistracted, we are also looking for loving adults that would love to hold babies during each service. We only need a handful of these, so sign up quickly if this is what you want to do.

If you would like to help us provide a Christmas Eve Experience for kids that will really make a kingdom impact, please follow the link below and sign up online!

Christmas Eve Volunteer Signup for Livermore

Christmas Eve Volunteer Signup for Brentwood

You can also call Joanna at (925)579-5429 if you have any questions!

Invitation

Plan to come to Cornerstone’s Livermore building on November 7th for an awesome day with Craig Jutila, the former children’s pastor of Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. He’ll be speaking on leadership in children’s ministry and how God can use us to go to that next level as we seek to reach the children in our community.
This event, called “LIQUID Leadership” will help you plug the “leaks” that waste your time and provide you with a pool of resources that not only wet your appetite but cause you to overflow in your leadership. November 7th 8:30am-4:00pm.
I really want all of you in children’s ministry leadership roles to invest this time in our church, in our community and in our kids. I promise that you’ll be blessed! Use the link above to register. (or email Joanna Opperman if you are one of our Zone volunteers: we'll pay your way!)

Our Growing Ministry

CandyZone was a total hit this year! Well, it is every year, but especially this one. Everyone seemed to enjoy how it was spread out and all the fabulous candy for the money. I had a great time and loved being a hillbilly. ;-) Especially losing my front, capped, tooth that night. I literally got to play the part. (so embarrassing!)

This was an outreach event, and boy did we outreach. God sent us about 200 extra kids over the weekend, just at our Livermore campus. Ya, extra! It was record breaking!! Amazing turn out for everyone. Pastor Matt VanCleave spoke and really hit home with lots of our visitors. It looks like our Church is not going to stop growing. With that said, we need more and more teachers and parent helpers in Livermore and Brentwood. In order to keep our Children's Ministry growing, please help us say "Yes, we have a spot for you" to every child. To help us, please visit http://livermore.cornerstoneweb.org/zone_volunteer (Livermore) and http://brentwood.cornerstoneweb.org/zone_volunteer (Brentwood) for more information.

CandyZone Volunteer Opportunities

We would love your help with CandyZone again this year this Friday, October 31. We have several volunteer opportunities that you can choose from. Please use this FORM to sign up to help.

• Booth/Game Operator (5:45-7pm)
• Inflatable Assistants (4:45-6pm, 5:45-7pm, 6:45-8pm)
• Help with Set-up (all day)
• Help with Tear down (8-10pm)
• Overseeing Craft Area (5:45-7, 6:45-8pm)
• Admission (4:45-6pm, 6:45-8pm)
• Rockwall Attendant (5:45-7pm, 6:45-8pm)
• Information/Lost & Found Counter (5:45-7pm, 6:45-8pm)
• Overseeing Plasma Car Area (5:45-7pm, 6:45-8pm)

We are asking that volunteers pick a shift that would work best for them.

If you need more of an explanation of what is involved on a certain job before you choose, email us so we can give you a description.

We Want You!

Have you seen the old “I WANT YOU” U.S. army campaign ads? It was used to help develop the U.S. army as they engaged in WW1 and WW2. It gave the young men of the time the realization that the U.S. army was not just a great career opportunity; but helped them understand that their great nation needed them! It was a statement that urged that they were a part of something bigger then themselves and communicated that their great ‘U.S. of A’ needed their help!

Well we will not be rolling out massive red, white, and blues posters will a guy in a top hat saying “I WANT YOU” any time soon here at Cornerstone. However, we do want to encourage our congregation that they too are a part of something bigger too! Today our kids and youth go through more battles and temptations then ever before. Our nation and culture continues to read off the same script that speaks of consumerism, materialism, and self-love.



Ladies and gentlemen; we are all on the front lines in that very battle and we are the hands and feet of Christ! We do need your help. We need your prayer, time, and investment into these kids. Whether you want to be in a classroom or not we have needs that will help these kids.

For more information on serving in Children’s Ministry please contact Ryan Bicker at ryanb@cornerstoneweb.org.

Pete signing off…

Calling All Men!

When I started on staff here at the Brentwood campus I started receiving the “Children’s Ministry” magazine. At first I just thumbed through the magazine just enjoying the ads and small articles, until one day I came across an article about men serving in Children’s Ministry (actually the importance of).

Here at Cornerstone Fellowship we have 11 people on our team and only 4 of them are men. I have to say that I am so grateful for those men and the energy that they bring to our team. Their minds work in a whole different way than us women and we laugh a lot but they have such a great view of life—a much different view (at times) than us women. Just the same, our Brentwood volunteer team has 31 women to 5 men. I truly believe that to be the most effective for our kids that MUST change.

In the article I read out of the CM Magazine I learned some important truths about Men serving in Children’s Ministry. First, and I believe most important,, the Bible says Fathers (men) should teach children the truths of God. There you go no “ifs”, “ands”, or “buts” about it; God has called the men to teach our children.

The second truth that hit home is that “only a Man can be a male role model”. This seems simple, but HUGE. In our church I know of too many boys that really need that extra male attention and a Godly male example …..and they are not getting it. One or two male volunteers cannot impact a group of 20-30 boys the way that they need to. And, the obvious, we as women cannot relate to these boys like they need.

The third truth that I learned, Men reduce discipline problems in the classroom. WOW, I am sold—we need you men to step in and help us gain control. Sadly, when even a few kids are acting up it tends to ruin the overall vibe and tone of the classroom. Therefore, the lesson may not be as effective for the other kids.

The fourth and last thing that really hit home was this. Men leaders spice up the classrooms. Let’s face it—boys like the rough and tumble feeling that only a Man can bring. Men play different and kids just know it. Men may not be the one who a child runs to when hurt or even sad, but kids always seem to know who will be the most fun to be with… the man in the room or even better - Dad.

One of the many things that I love about Cornerstone Fellowship is this, our Children’s Ministry is not girly. The Men on our team make sure of that and when things start looking girly they let us know. So MEN ARE WELCOME and they will not be working in a girly ministry or environment.

On a personal note, I know how much my kids just love having their Daddy (Dave) serving in their classroom on Sundays. My husband (their Dad) is a hero in their eyes. They see him very little in the week so Sundays is a great time for them to see him and enjoy him. And as that Hero they look to him to see Jesus and they learn so much from him. Honestly, in our home they learn the most from Dave (I am so not the scholar of the house). They love that Daddy will get down and play with them—Daddy’s can make children’s eyes light up like nothing else can.

I challenge you today to invite a Man to serve in Children’s Ministry with you, or encourage your husband to check things out in your child’s class—I know he will NOT be disappointed in what he will find there…..HUGE REWARDS!

Resources for Volunteers

If you are one of our regular Children's classroom volunteers, we want to give you as much training and resources as possible. We want your time with the children to be as effective and life-changing as possible.

If you desire some more education, please consider emailing your favorite Zone Staff member and letting them know that you'd like to "attend" an online class to help you in your particular ministry. Some examples of classes that are available online are:

• Teaching for the First Time
• Child Development (ages 0-4), (ages 5-7), or (ages 8-10)
• Discipline
• Leading a Child to Christ
• Eight Keys to How Kids Learn Best
• And much more!

Additionally, we have all sorts of handy resources in one of our Zone Offices. Ask at the Children's Desk and we'll show you where you can check stuff out.

Brentwood Volunteer Notes from Children's Magazine LIVE!

As many of you know we had a great event here on Saturday called Children's Magazine Live - a volunteer training event. As a part of the Brentwood Children's Team I was very interested to see what our volunteers took away from the day. Below are notes I was sent from one of our Brentwood servants...

Attending the "Children's Ministry Live" conference was a great example in how we should all be teaching our classes. Whether you are a volunteer in Children's Ministry, a teacher, or a home-schooling parent, it was a great reminder that our children were all created differently and they don't all learn in the same way. I was reminded that our goal for our students and children is the same: we desire for them to have an understanding of God's word, so that they will grow spiritually mature and live out their faith by reaching the world around them for Christ. So the question is, how do we do this when we only see these kids for, at most, 90 minutes a week?

Here are some great, easy to apply, tools to use in your home and class:

• Start with what kids know and work from there. Examine your lesson and look for words and concepts that may be unfamiliar to your age group. You may need to look for easier to understand translations of the scripture you are using.
• During your lesson, check for meaning. Rather than working for memorization, work toward understanding and application of the concept.
• Use different modes of learning - act out the message, use sound effects, hand motions, illustrations. Give children choices between different roles and jobs in your class. Children only remember 10% of what they hear or read and 90% of what they do!
• Avoid bribes like, "If you memorize your Bible verse, you get a piece of candy." Instead, surprise your class with rewards. For example, "You did such a great job with your memory verse this week, I've brought lifesavers for everyone. This reminds us that only Jesus can save our lives for eternity!" Research shows that bribes condition your students that the action you desire (memorizing the Bible verse) is not as good as the bribe (the candy).
• And remember that church is about relationships! Make your class a fun and inviting place where children want to be. Also, connect with the parents because you may be the only one they talk to at Cornerstone.

For more great ideas visit: childrensministry.com


We are all a TEAM - so know that we as the Zone Staff are very interested in what our volunteers are learning and ideas they might have. Please feel free to contact any of us and share your thoughts, stories, or anything about what God is doing in your life or especially in your classroom.

Notes from the Children’s Ministry Magazine LIVE Workshop today

Today we welcomed children’s ministers from Cornerstone and many other churches from around the Greater Bay Area. We also pulled together all the Zone Volunteers and Staff for lunch, right in the middle of the conference. Here are some of the things we talked about:

Zone Children’s Ministry exists to Reaching kids for Christ and growing them spiritually. And it is out goal that the hour the kids spend with us, to be the BEST hour of the week!

In the past few week our staff (but perhaps mostly me) has been talking a lot about what that vision about Reaching and Growing really means. Also, I feel great about quickly moving back to some of our Core Values, the foundation of our ministry: Relationships. Relationship with Jesus, relationships with others in our church family.

One of the changes we have been working on is to split our paid staff team into two separate teams. One team will be focusing on the People (the kids, parents and volunteers), while the rest of the staff focuses on the Program side of things (curriculum, classrooms, etc). We’re getting close to the end of our transition period, and it looking really exciting!

Here’s what we are asking our volunteers to focus on:

• Be committed to making connections on the weekend, with kids, with parents and with other volunteers.
• You might be only adult a parent connects with on the weekend, the only person that they have a (albeit short) conversation with.
• You might be the only other adult a fellow volunteer talks with. Make the conversation about something.
• Hebrews 13:1 says that we at brothers and sisters in Christ we should keep loving each other as much as possible. We should encourage, Lift up one another and help one another. I always hate it when I find out late that one of our Cornerstone regulars has been in need or sick or in crisis and they didn’t want to bother anyone. What?!

Goals
There are a ton of things we should do better as our staff serves Cornerstone families, but here are just some ways that we working on as a staff to grow our children’s ministry in the next 6 or so months:

• Recruit, recruit, recruit
• Follow up on people – MIA people, new people, new volunteers
• Moving volunteers into additional responsibilities. Perhaps some of you (our intrepid volunteers) will be stepping up in a “coach” role here at Cornerstone or serving in some other leadership role?
• Communicate better with parents, kids and volunteers:

Newsletter (did you get the September newsletter)
This blog
Handouts, etc.

• Curriculum enhancements (intentional development of the way we teach our kids, using the curriculum we use)
• Island improvements (do a better job hitting the educational potential for that 15-min. slot)
• Service opportunities for kids