We had Tommie Harris (Chicago Bears #91 Defensive Tackle) and Keith Belton (Bears #44) at our Awana Club last Tuesday evening. Both are believers and Tommie was our guest to share his testimony with the clubbers and to answer their varied and random questions about football and whatever else was on their mind. He did a great job and the kids really loved meeting and hearing from these cool dudes, who are a part of the FIRST PLACE CHICAGO BEARS right now. (Do I hear Super Bowl??)
Tommie talked about his faith, his good upbringing, and how he tries to live his faith in a sport that often confronts him with situations that are not Christian. He said that a lot of players say they are a Christian but the evidence is in how they actually live off the field. Of course, the kids wanted to know about injuries and he shared again about his thumb bone poking out of the skin much to the delight of the kids.
But I decided we needed to shake things up a bit, and save Tommie from the same questions being asked over and over, so I came up at the end, and asked if he had heard about one of the fastest growing sports in America? Speed Stacks? or the World Sport Stacking Association?
Tommie, hadn’t, so I presented him with his own set of Orange Speed Stacks (plus instructional DVD) and taught him the basic cycle right there on the spot.
(to restart animation of cycle, simple reload the page)
Then I challenged him to a fun first match. I promised to stack the cycle three times while he tried to do it once. Obviously, he couldn’t complete the cycle having just learned it, but he was a great sport and hammed it up for the kids.
The kids were all cheering for him and trying to give him advice and pointers as he playfully stacked. It was a lot of fun. At the end, he promised to be ready for me next year! GO TOMMIE! I accept the challenge!
Today I got to visit TWO ‘three ring’ circuses! The first was Grove City Nazarene:
RING ONE: The Adult Worship Center
The adult service was amazing. This Sunday was the most moving baptism service I have ever been in. By the end I was crying… the lady next to me asked if I had family being baptized and I sputtered “I’m from out of town, I don’t even know any of these people.” I’ll definately be filling my church staff in on how they did the service!
RING TWO:Club 345 (Grades 3-5) That’s Kim Bobb!
Kim Bobb and the Band were bobbin’ to familiar tunes… before a powerpoint lesson and skit followed by small groups. Of course, in the free time before hand, I had a chance to teach the kids the finer art of speed stacking…
The Children’s Pastor is Pastor Kimborah Bobb. I had a great time talking with her about how Grove City integrates the family into the overall ministry of the church.
Kim Bobb and the Kids Matter logo.
It’s obvious at Grove City that kids DO matter!
Then it was off to the REAL three ring circus…
This guy could lead children’s church!!!!!
Clowning around in Ohio!!CIRCUS VIDEO:Spin Me Daddy older daughter – younger daughter (First clip: 4.4MB – Second clip: 3.2 MB) (This was the best act – a dad spinning his daughters on his feet… I can’t wait to try this back home the next time I’m horsin’ around with kids!!)
If you are in children’s ministry leadership, don’t skip the GROVE CITY PHOTO GALLERY, it is an amazing ministry, and the photos contain a ton of ideas… and stories for later.
My favorite thing about CPC has always been the exhibit hall! Where else can you buy a flying monkey!? (picture not available yet) But here are some of my favorite booths – NOT in order of favorite, so please, no hurt feeling by my exhibitor friends, they are in the order that I took them just to keep it random, and many favorites are not shown, because I missed taking a picture, or the booth was too packed due to be others’ favorite as well – so no hurt feelings if your booth is missing! (For many of them, click on the picture for their website)
My wife’s favorite booth… EVERY church needs one of these wonder machines!
This funny guy has had an effective ministry for years!
CEF, while one of the longest enduring ministies, has not always been known for being cutting edge (most known for their flannel graphs) so the flat screens and DVD players stopped me in my tracks! Looks like some good fresh things are happening.
Crosspoint / Centri-Kid is a ministry of Life Way, these guys also provided the eZone where the new INCM.org site Kidology built was launched and featured at CPC.
The Harvest guys (Joe shown here) are great friends and partners with Kidology.
This is the most amazing couple, and I’m not referring to their magic! Their love for each other and the Lord is so evident in everything they do. I got to film a testimony for their up-coming promo DVD and I couldn’t say enough good about them! If you ever can have them at your church, JUMP at the opportunity, and give them more than they ask – for they often serve for much less than they deserve or could charge. Their biggest trick is packing so much heart and message into their amazing program! (and that’s a bonus quote not on the DVD!)
Faithful for so many years (since 1974), One Way Street continues to be the #1 place for puppets and other creative tools for ministry. This is Liz VonSeggen, founder with her husband Dale.
Rob Biagi (also available at Kidology) is ‘da bom’ right now in new upbeat music especially for preteen kids! Oh, yeah, that’s Shelly again… stalking Rob too.
Of course, I HAD to visit Speed Stacks and do some racing. I skipped the big kid and raced the little guy… he still beat me, but only by .03 seconds!
I think the secret is to stick your tongue out while stacking!
Eric has been helping churches gather VBS supplies to enhance their programs for years! Great site! He gathers props for all the major VBS kits and saves you the hunting. Check it out!My Favorite Booth:
Was it the 252Basics curriculum? Nope, (though I am looking at that closely after some buzz on Kidology about it), it was the couch and candy!
But I decided we needed to shake things up a bit, and save Tommie from the same questions being asked over and over, so I came up at the end, and asked if he had heard about one of the fastest growing sports in America? Speed Stacks? or the World Sport Stacking Association?
Tommie, hadn’t, so I presented him with his own set of Orange Speed Stacks (plus instructional DVD) and taught him the basic cycle right there on the spot.
(to restart animation of cycle, simple reload the page)
WATCH THE VIDEO OF TOMMIE HARRIS:
The kids were all cheering for him and trying to give him advice and pointers as he playfully stacked. It was a lot of fun. At the end, he promised to be ready for me next year! GO TOMMIE! I accept the challenge!
