Trunk or Treat Update

We are just past Trunk or Treat and I am so excited by the way things turned out! At rough estimate we had about 2500 people join us this year for trunk or treat. This is more people than we had in attendance last year and we are so happy for the growth. It is my prayer that we are able to continue growing each year to accommodate the increase in visitors. God blessed us with wonderful weather, it was about 70 degrees outside with a light breeze. The weekend before it was cold and in the 50's and this coming weekend (the one following trunk or treat) it is predicted to snow. Our God is one who is in control of all things and cares about the little things in our life as well as the big. We prayed for good weather and God provided.

This was my first year doing Trunk or Treat at Liberty and I will absolutely admit that I was nervous. I was worried that I would mess things up and that the event would turn out to be a complete disaster. But God is faithful and He worked through me and others to make this event a success. There were many lessons learned this year, and I have multiple pages of notes to go over in considering next year's event. I feel that it is always good to take a look at anything you are doing and see if there are things that are working well, things that are not working at all, and things that you can make better. One of the things that I know we will be making a change in for next year is setting up a fence perimeter around our Trunk or Treat. We had cars lining the outer edges but people were still able to walk through and therefore missing the welcome booths with church information and tracts. A perimeter will also allow for better safety measures as we have cars arriving and leaving in a constant cycle just beyond our Trunk or Treat.

In my last post I listed things that I was not prepared for in college when it comes to real life ministry. And through my preparations I thought of another thing, something I never would have considered as a student sitting in a classroom. The arm and ab muscles used when mixing large amounts of candy. I am one that likes for each trunk to have a variety of candy to offer the children and so one morning a couple of us worked to mix and box over 50000 pieces of candy. My arms and abs were as sore as if I had just done a workout, and I guess in a way it was. Was this a life changing revelation? No, but it was definitely unexpected.

To give an update on one of the questions I posed in my last blog, I do not know exactly how long it takes to pop 100 lb of popcorn. I do however know that you can pop roughly 500 bags and 1 large trash bag full of pop corn in 6 hours. We only used 1 popcorn machine, and so therefore are considering either renting additional machines or planning an entire day to pop the popcorn prior to the event.

Though there were lessons learned this year and things to tweak for the coming years, overall this year was a success.

Learning and Growing at The Grove!

Miss Megan

I Need to Do What?! Trunk or Treat Edition

A while back I posted about things I do as a day to day children's minister that I just was not prepared for in my college classes. It is definitely one of those defining moments between theory and practice. Well as I have been preparing for our Trunk or Treat this year I have been reminded of more things that I honestly never thought I would have to know or consider. So here is my list for you. I hope you enjoy!

1. What is the condiment to hot dog ratio when buying in bulk?
2. How to get 50,000 pieces of candy for under $1500.00
3. The nacho chip to cheese ratio.
4. At what rate do you distribute candy to be able to stretch over a 3 hour time period?
5. How long will it take to pop 100 lb of popcorn?
6. How to estimate the growth of an event based on the weather patterns over the last few years and the forecast for this year.
7. Would this type of candy hurt if being hurled through the air from a candy cannon?
8. What songs should be chosen for a Trunk or Treat playlist?
9. How to properly block off a hallway so that there is no one wandering through the church building.
10. How to plan for anchoring a bounce item without drilling holes in the concrete.

I know this was a bit of a shorter post today, and for that I am sorry, but as you can tell I am deep in the midst of Trunk or Treat prep. If you are in the Grant County area on October 25th, come join us from 3-6 for our annual Trunk or Treat at Liberty Baptist! We would love to see you there.

Comment below and let me know about some of the things you have encountered that have caught you off guard.

Gratefully Growing at The Grove!

Miss Megan

Guest Blogger: Brad Merchant

Today I have asked Brad Merchant, our Intern and leader of our 3rd and 4th grade children's church to share with you. I enjoy serving alongside Brad and his wife Clarissa each week. I hope you will enjoy what Brad has to say! You can see more of Brad on his blog at libertyfamily.org.

 Children are not the future of the church

Children are not the future of the church.

That’s right. They aren’t. The reason they aren’t is because they are (huh?).

The children in our churches are in no way the ‘future’ of the church. They are the church. Jesus in no way declared that once you are redeemed that you must hit a certain age limit in order to be a part of the Messianic church. Instead the Scripture teaches that “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and ALL (emphasis mine) members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12). Children redeemed by Christ through repentance and faith in Him are the church.

So why don’t we treat them as such?

My prayer is that Liberty Baptist Church would be so fired up about what Jesus is doing in our church (saving the lost, sanctifying His own, and building His church) and what He is doing in the lives of our children, that we would be eager to serve. Let’s pray together for God to help us realize that the children are important because the redeemed are His own and He desires to save every child that is lost. May this lead us to greater service, passion, and vision for what He has in store in The Grove at Liberty Baptist Church!

Props (Almost) Everyone Has

 A few weeks ago while attending Idea Explosion 2014 at Kidzmatter I was reminded that there are so many household items that can be used to help you tell a story to kids. I will cover a few here for you.

Wooden Spoon
      Wooden spoons can be used in a variety of ways when telling a story. It can be a baton when there is marching going on in the story, such as the Israelites marching around the walls of Jericho. It can be used as a spoon stirring in a bowl when there is cooking going on, such as Mary cooking when Jesus came to teach. A wooden spoon can be used as a character in the story. Glue a bit of yarn for hair to the top and wrap the handle in some cloth and tada a person!

Toilet Paper Tube
          What may seem like trash is actually a great tool for not only story telling but also crafts, but we can get to the craft part another time. A TP tube can be used as a small mega phone or trumpet when telling the story. It doesn't increase the volume of your voice much but enough to add to the story. A tube can also be used as a spyglass or binoculars when taping two together. There are many stories of spies in the Bible in which you could use these to enhance the story.      

Blanket (Sheet)
        A blanket is the most versatile item I think there is when telling a story. A blanket can be used to transform you into one of the characters of the story. It can be put on the ground for water, a piece of land, or even the floor of a make believe house. You can roll up a blanket and hold it like a baby, use it to cover other story props, or even simply use it as a blanket in the story. Any old sheet or blanket will do, but if you have different colors, use them!

Bag
     I typically use a free standing bag that is not see through, because I like to put my story pictures or props inside to keep them hidden until I am ready. A normal paper sack from the grocery store is sufficient. You can even decorate a bag if it is something you want to use over and over. And the best part is storage is easy, just fold it up flat and its ready to be stuck somewhere.

These were just a few items that are just laying around the house that could be used to help you tell your Bible story to the children. Feel free to comment and let me know what your favorite household items are to use when teaching.

Creatively Growing at The Grove!

Miss Megan

I Can't Shut My Brain Off!

Hey all! Just a short video for you today, its my way of making it up to you that I didn't post last week! Please let me know your thoughts! I would LOVE to hear from you!