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Up-Coming Workshops |
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Evangelism 101- A Starting PlaceJune 14, 2008 · 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM Location: Congregational Church of Patchogue, 95 East Main Street, Patchogue Led by Rev. Bob Fritch, Senior Pastor of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Jamaica, Queens. Just as with anything, the hardest thing about Evangelism is “starting.” We know we should, but we don’t know where to begin and most evangelism programs seem overwhelming, especially to small churches in transitional neighborhoods. This workshop will give you the basic tools to begin evangelism right at your own front door, basic tools for outreach to cultural groups other than your own, and basic tools for beginning outreach almost anywhere. Starting at 9:00 AM Evangelism 100 led by the Rev. Albert Triolo, NEW this year - For congregations that need a little extra boost, we will be offering Evangelism 100 at both workshops. 100 will form some of the theological foundation for outreach. This event is sponsored by the Parish Resource Centers of Long Island; the Commission for Evangelical Outreach of the Metro NY Synod and Our Saviour Lutheran Church Registration is only $5.00 per person per workshop and includes all Materials
To register call the Parish Resource Center at 631-821-2255 or e-mail us at info@prcli.org. To hold your place mail in your registration with a check to Parish Resource Center, 89 Hallock Landing Rd., Rocky Point, NY 11778 (Call to find out if your church is a subscriber.) |
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Dear Pastor and Youth Leader, Hello! As you are enjoying the explosion of Summer you may think it is a bit early to think about…FALL! BUT we are already planning our Fall 2008 events here at the Parish Resource Center. During our workshops and roundtables in the past few months, it is evident that the opportunity to network is very important to you. Shared experiences, thoughts and brainstorming assist us in our ministry and bring renewed enthusiasm. Your knowledge, wisdom and passion for youth give great witness to the message of God’s love and help each of us to be better youth leaders! To keep that momentum going we are planning a retreat and/or networking day for new and experienced youth leaders and it is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, October 4th. In order to offer the best experience for you, would you complete the survey at the bottom of this letter? There are two ways to respond: you can e-mail me @ consultant@prcli.org and I will send you this survey to you so you can complete and e-mail it back. Or you may complete the survey and phone in your answers to 821-2255 or mail it back. If you phone the PRC, one of the consultants will record your answers to the survey (Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am – 3 pm). I am usually at the PRC Fridays and Saturdays. For those who are registered with us, this letter and survey will be sent to your e-mail. If you would like to be on our e-mail list, please e-mail me or register by calling the PRC. Thank you for taking the time to answer the survey questions/statements. Your answers will help us provide the best resources and experiences throughout the year. I look forward to hearing from you and possibly seeing you at the Parish Resource Center. In His Peace, Rita M. Dlug Consultant
To download the survey Youth leaders Survey |
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Take a look at our Family Ministry E-Newsletter
Greetings from the Parish Resource Center to all of you involved in children’s ministry! I hope you find this newsletter helpful. If you know of anyone else who would like to be included on this mailing list, please send me an e-mail at prcconsultant@yahoo.com Staying Connected with Families over the Summer Summer is a time when things usually slow down and attendance drops in Sunday school, so we need to look for different ways to nurture families in their spiritual lives. Here are some ideas which you might want to consider. *Provide resources for home worship and Christian education. You can offer suggestions for suitable books, music CDs and DVDs. Consider having a book/media fair where families can purchase resources. Check with your local Christian bookstore to see if they allow churches to take items on consignment. *Give each family a "Summer Treasure Box" filled with faith building activities. Some items to include might be family prayers, conversation starters, craft activities, and ideas for field trips and mission projects. *Offer one time intergenerational events such as a movie night, stargazing, storytelling event, arts festival, square dance, summer party, game night, or ice cream social. *Use the internet to stay in touch with families. Have an on-line "Bible study" for children or on-line contests where they research and answer Bible or faith questions. Provide families with a list of Christian websites for children. *Give each family a prayer bear and journal. Families can set a time each day to pray and write prayer requests and answers to prayer in the journal. *Have a summer reading club for children with a focus on the Bible and Christian books. Feedback The May/June issue of Children’s Ministry magazine published an article which stated "feedback from parents is vital to your ministry’s growth, health, and longevity." Parents can provide you with valuable ideas and suggestions and asking for feedback shows that you value them, care about them, and see your ministry as a shared partnership with parents. Techniques for obtaining feedback included a suggestion box, open forums, online surveys, e-mail surveys, mail surveys, feedback cards, and focus groups. Teacher Training Whether you’re a brand new or a seasoned teacher, it’s important to get new information and ideas to inspire you to do even greater things for your students and for our Lord through your teaching ministry. We’ll be offering a workshop for teachers here at the Parish Resource Center in August, but we’re also flexible about offering workshops in churches. E-mail prcconsultant@yahoo.com or call us at 631-821-2255 for more information. If you’d like to do your own training, we have plenty of resources here and we can work with you to plan your training. Teachers are busy and it’s not always easy to get to traditional training so you might want to consider some alternatives. *Teachers from Presbyterian and Reformed churches have access to three free online courses: Teaching Skills, Bible Background, and Presbyterian/Reformed Faith. For more information, go to www.openingdoorstodiscipleship.com. (Those in charge of the program are still considering whether they will open the courses to teachers from other denominations.) *The book Teacher Training On the Go by Keith Johnson contains a year's worth of reproducible training handouts. The accompanying CD contains all the handouts as well as e-mail blasts and clip art and the reproducible audio CD can be used by volunteers as they drive. We have a copy of the book here at the center or you can order it through Amazon.com or directly from Group Publishing. Takeout Training for Teachers with CD by Sharon Carey has a similar format. *The Pennsylvania State Sunday School Teachers Association offers a variety of video and audio resources for both individual and group teacher training. Visit their website at www.SundaySchoolHelp.com for more information. Spanish VBS Several VBS curriculums are now available in Spanish versions including Cokesbury’s Beach Party and Group Publishing’s Avalanche Ranch. Concordia Publishing also offers Un Globo Sin Control, a Spanish VBS written by Hispanics for Hispanics. Memory Cross Have you heard of Memory Cross? It’s a fun teaching tool and helps children memorize Scripture verses. It’s hard to describe but each paper Memory Cross has four panels that are opened and closed to create a never ending loop. For a video demonstration go to www.MemoryCross.com. If you decide to make a purchase use the discount code MC428 to save $5 off your total order. Thanking Volunteers The best way to show appreciation to those who work with you in children’s ministry is through a hand-written note. For more specific tips on honoring Sunday School staff, go to www.mysundayschoolteacher.com. Heifer International Heifer International has created a new website to provide congregations with fundraising ideas and resources to help them end hunger and poverty. Visit them at www.heifer.org/ideas. Considering Changing Your Sunday School Curriculum? We’d be happy to set up a time to work with you and assist you with your decision to choose a new curriculum. We have complete sets or samples of thirty-seven of the most popular regular and Workshop Rotation Model curriculums for you to examine. In addition to the personal assistance of our consultants, we have numerous books, articles, and evaluation sheets to aid you through the process of selecting your curriculum. Many churches are writing their own curriculum or adapting a ready-made curriculum and we will work with you to come up with a curriculum that will meet the individual needs of your unique Sunday School. Family Ministry I can send you an article from Group Publishing’s website about family ministry. The article begins "Family is in. Marketers know it. Employers know it. But does the church know it? After talking to children's ministers across the country, the answer is a resounding yes. Whether churches have plunged into this thing called family ministry or held back for the right timing, the biggest trend in children's ministry today is a shift to family ministry."Send an e-mail if you would like a copy of this article. **************************************************************************************************** Please contact me if you’d like more information about anything mentioned in this newsletter. Thank you for the work you do with the children of our church. Debbie Kolacki PRC Consultant
Want to fill out our Sunday Survey? Click SSS to open the form and mail it back to the PRC, 89 Hallock Landing Rd., Rocky Point, NY 11778
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HOW TO REGISTER
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