{"id":3476,"date":"2011-09-22T01:00:21","date_gmt":"2011-09-22T09:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/?p=3476"},"modified":"2012-11-26T20:59:11","modified_gmt":"2012-11-27T04:59:11","slug":"its-thanksgiving-already-in-sonlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/2011\/09\/22\/its-thanksgiving-already-in-sonlight\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Thanksgiving Already in Sonlight!"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ryan and Stephanie McAdams<\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry; we don\u2019t have our months confused. The American Thanksgiving holiday is still a while away. But for us, there is always much to be thankful to God for – in particular, the Sonlight Ministry! The 2011-2012 school year started off a few weeks ago, and we love being back in our \u201csecond home\u201d – the Sonlight room – once again. We wanted to share specifically what it is about this elementary school ministry that we appreciate so much!<\/p>\n

We are thankful to God for…<\/p>\n

The Sonlight Kiddos<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There is so much we could share about these precious children. First of all, these five to eleven year olds have quite the imagination; they can and will play with anything they find in our room! A few chairs become a castle. Swimming pool noodles become swords. Also, we value the conversations we get to have with them, not only during official Sunday school time but anytime we see them. Already this year, one kid has admitted he does not think he\u2019s a Christian, allowing for further conversation about what makes a true believer. Another kid answered the question \u201cWhat is God\u2019s gift to those who believe in Jesus?\u201d with \u201cruternal life!\u201d, revealing her lack of understanding of \u201ceternal life\u201d and providing an opportunity to explain what \u201ceternal life\u201d means. Even the inappropriate and flippant things they say about God, the gospel, and each other we can use those moments to talk with them and help them see their depravity.<\/p>\n

Fireflies Nursery and Sparklers Preschool Ministries<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We see the fruit of these two ministries as they have helped lay a good foundation of God and His Word. Though they\u2019ve only been with us for no more than a month, the youngest batch of kids (kindergarteners) are quite knowledgeable and show an enthusiasm for learning and listening to God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n

Newer Families and Visiting Families<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In the past year or so, we have seen a significant number of families check out Lighthouse, and quite a few end up staying! It\u2019s encouraging to see their desire for a church that will love and teach God\u2019s Word accurately and with care to their children.<\/p>\n

The Parents<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

They allow us to come alongside them as they strive to teach, train, discipline, and love their children with the gospel and God\u2019s Word. They are exemplary role models for us as we look forward to having our own little disciple soon!<\/p>\n

The Staffers<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Though only eight of us currently (but many prospective staff!), we see such love and investment these staffers have for the kids. The male staff is required to teach on a rotating schedule. It is neat to watch these men grow in their abilities to clearly and accurately speak God\u2019s Truth to the kids in a way that they will understand. Something new implemented this school year is a weekly staff meeting at 8:30am before service starts to hear an overview of that day\u2019s lesson and to pray together for the Sunday school time. We enjoy this time to physically see all the staff around one table and entrust this ministry to God.<\/p>\n

The Curriculum<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As two people who grew up in the church and became very familiar with the gospel and Bible stories, we know the danger of claiming to be a Christian without having true faith with a life that backs it up. We constantly pray that this curriculum, To Be Like Jesus<\/a>, will challenge the kids\u2019 minds and hearts to consider God\u2019s Truths and see if their lives reflect a genuine love for Him or not.<\/p>\n

A Classroom<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

They all fit in there (for now)! We love that they love and feel so comfortable in this room – it\u2019s like their \u201csecond home\u201d as well. Come peek in our neck of the woods after service sometime, though you may not be noticed since the kids are so engrossed in playing. Many times, they don\u2019t even see their parents, who have to literally drag them out of the room to go home or eat lunch!<\/p>\n

Serving as a Married Couple<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Sonlight was the first ministry we starting serving in together after marriage. These children and this ministry are a big part of our lives. We talk about the kids constantly – trading funny stories\/moments from Sunday school since we lead different small groups within Sonlight, praying for them, and tossing ideas back and forth of how to better talk to and shepherd each child\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

We hope our short list provides encouragement and thankfulness in your heart this day for God\u2019s love and care for LBC\u2019s next generation!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ryan and Stephanie McAdams Don\u2019t worry; we don\u2019t have our months confused. The American Thanksgiving holiday is still a while away. But for us, there is always much to be thankful to God for – in particular, the Sonlight Ministry! The 2011-2012 school year started off a few weeks ago, and we love being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-affinity-groups","category-childrens"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/469"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3476"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6681,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3476\/revisions\/6681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}