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You are here: Home / Archives for Family

Family

Astoundingly Simple Tips for Your Best-Ever Backpack Blessing

Alissa Ellett Leave a Comment

Holding a backpack blessing during worship is a great way to encourage students preparing for the new school year.

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What’s a Backpack Blessing?

A backpack blessing is a moment set aside during your worship service to encourage students. Doing so celebrates with the excited, and soothes the anxious. No matter the age or how a student is feeling about the upcoming school year, a backpack blessing is a valuable ritual within a faith family.

Students bring their backpack with them to church on an assigned morning. Then, if the worship space is conducive, they head up front with their bag and receive a blessing. Often, students receive a tag to put on their backpack that reminds them of this special blessing.

Are you doing a backpack blessing at your church? We’d love to hear about it! Share in the comments down below.

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Why Do a Backpack Blessing?

Lots of feelings surround the start of a new school year. Some students are over the moon. Others are made nauseous by the thought of a new teacher, class, maybe even a new school. That was me. The thought of school starting would cause my stomach to turn immediately. And some kids don’t care all that much one way or another.

No matter where a kid is on that emotional continuum, ritual offers something for everyone. When we gather to reflect on such a moment of time, we find comfort, grounding and a sense of added significance.

Also, a chapter’s beginning is an important time to recognize God’s faithfulness and care. God walks with us always and sends the Holy Spirit to strengthen and equip us for all the steps we take in life. Don’t worry….God’s Got Your Back! 🙂

Seizing opportunities to highlight this informs our children’s and youth’s faith journeys.

Additionally, we highlight for students what a blessing education and access to it is. Gratitude is the basis for joy, so we offer our young ones a gift when we teach them to search for God’s provision.

Not only that, but we are blessed to be a blessing to others. Take the time to dream about how they might be a blessing in their school and community.

Searching for something concrete? Invest in girls’ education through The Revolutionary Underground Foundation, an organization and girls’ school started in 2006. Their mission is to provide girls and young women in Africa access to learning resources and technology, leadership training and emotional support, focusing on empowering them to become vessels for change.

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Helpful Tips for Your Backpack Blessing

  • Place backpacks up front when students arrive. As a result, they won’t have an issue in getting out of their row to go down front for the blessing during the service.
  • Ask that the students arrive a few minutes early to go over what they and their parents can expect.
  • Have the students leave their backpacks up front after the blessing. Once the service is over, invite families to retrieve their children’s backpacks.
  • Take a photo of all the students with their backpacks to share on social media. Also, it makes a significant impact to mail a print of the picture to the students with a card of encouragement.
  • Communicate with parents who may need financial assistance for purchasing their children’s backpacks. Coordinate acquiring them before the blessing so their children have a backpack there.

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Variations on the Backpack Blessing

  • Include all those connected to the education system and parents in the blessing.
  • Invite students of all ages to participate, not only children and youth.
  • If students aren’t often present in worship, meet for a backpack blessing at their schools one morning the week classes begin.
  • Host an end of summer all-church cookout and incorporate the backpack blessing there.
  • Gift teachers, administrator, janitors, bus drivers, crossing guards, etc. with a pair of scissors decorated with a tag that reads: “You’re a Cut Above the Rest!”

We hope this post has been helpful and that your backpack blessing is a wonderful time to celebrate the coming season and God’s faithfulness within it. Don’t forget to share with us what you’re doing to welcome the school year in the comments below!

And of course, if you’re still looking for a fun and creative new backpack tag to use, be sure to check out our newest “God’s Got Your Back” backpack tag! We also have last year’s tag still available, which says, “Blessed to Be a Blessing” (available in both English and Spanish). You can order your backpack tags below, and also browse through some photos from folks in our community who have used our tags!

ORDER NOW

God’s Got Your Back

ORDER NOW

Blessed to Be a Blessing (available in Spanish as well)
Blessed to Be a Blessing (luggage tags)
Blessed to Be a Blessing (luggage tags)
Getting creative…
Blessed to Be a Blessing (luggage tags)
Blessed to Be a Blessing (luggage tags)
God’s Got Your Back (luggage tags)
Coloring a LOT of “God’s Got Your Back” backpack tags
God’s Got Your Back (luggage tags)

Intergenerational Ministry: 5 Reasons It’s Absolutely Essential for Church Health

Alissa Ellett Leave a Comment

An intergenerational ministry is essential to church health. Read on and find out why we think it’s a must for a thriving community of faith.

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Also, if you’re in the market for great ways to foster intergenerational ministry in your church, take a look at our post here. How are you living out intergenerational ministry in your church? We’d love to hear in the comments below!

Intergenerational Ministry Provides Varied Leadership Perspectives

When your group of leaders has a diverse range of background and context, the same will be true of the wider church. And, as a result, your church will meet the needs of more demographics by way of intergenerational ministry.

This means your church will be prepared to potentially serve more people. And this will lead to a better retention rate of those coming through your doors. Additionally, people’s theological perspectives will be challenged and ideologies will be examined. Though this can cause some discomfort, it also facilitates spiritual growth and humility.

When building the leadership of your church, consider the age make-up at each level. Those invited to serve in a leadership capacity are more often than not, older adults. Each generation brings to the table a unique perspective. So, include a wide range of ages on governing bodies and ministry teams. Children, even if accompanied by a parent, can make fantastic leaders with creative ideas.

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Intergenerational Ministry Offers Fresh Ideas

Intergenerational ministry gives space for members of all ages to share what they hope for and imagine. First, when one age group is privileged over all others, things remain relatively constant. This is lovely and comfortable and nostalgic for that group. However, what has always been done is often not best for progress and church growth.

Each generation’s struggles are both unique and universal. As a result, commonality and difference are discovered when young, old, and all in between share their ideas together.

This is wonderful for several reasons. First, each generation learns something new. Second, creativity is given life. Third, never-before-imagined events are tried. Fourth, more people in the congregation take ownership of what takes place.

So, encourage all ages to share their ideas and give outlets for expression. Include individuals from a wide range of age groups in brainstorming sessions, for example. Alternatively, create mixed small groups or host a coloring night for all ages.

Ask children, youth, young adults, families, retirees, the elderly what they would love to see happen in the church. Will any church be able to give breath to all the ideas? No, yet some will make the cut. As a result, more people will feel valued and served.

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Intergenerational Ministry Includes the Marginalized

Many times, those not catered to in ministry have lost their voices. As a result, they don’t have a platform for sharing their hopes and needs. Therefore, the church isn’t able to see and hear the marginalized. This means they likely won’t stick around. And who can blame them for leaving?

Often, we speak of marginalization in terms of sexuality, gender, ability or ethnicity. Yet, marginalization happens around age, too. Routinely, faith communities exclude children, the elderly, single parents, and young unmarried professionals.

When practicing intergenerational ministry, the church hears and sees the marginalized. As a result, ministries transform to include those often left out of programmatic decisions. Also, more people connect to what the church has to offer.

God calls each gathering of Jesus followers to watch out for and cater to those on the edges. Marginalization almost always happens thoughtlessly. So, pay close attention to who your church includes most obviously. Then, stretch the boundaries.

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Intergenerational Ministry Creates Connections

We are communal creatures who have spent almost our entire history living in multigenerational groups. We thrive in this environment as we hear stories of where we’ve come from and who we are. Especially as families spread around the country and globe we lose this connection.

Churches, particularly those in suburban and urban locales, are a bunch of people from varied pasts and presents all gathering together.  As a result, one has the opportunity to know people one would never otherwise encounter if they’re a part of a church family.

When intergenerational ministry is done with intention, people from different generations make connections that would likely never occur outside the church.

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Intergenerational Ministry Fosters Spiritual Formation

Throughout scripture, faith is an intergenerational reality. The young and old learn from and care for each other. They challenge one another to release their assumptions, think differently, and to practice compassion. Even today, thousands of years later, we read the scriptures told and retold by our spiritual ancestors. It turns out that Bible reading itself is intergenerational.

In God’s family, there is no hierarchy of power. Consequently, no matter one’s age, we are all teachers and learners. We are co-creators with the Divine and with one another. God calls us to guide one another in love and humility, holding fast to the love of God as our rule.

How much deeper is a faith that is rooted in the experience of those who have lived before and in the experience of one’s own life? And how much value is in the life and developing ideals of a culture that has grown up after your own identity and perspective has hardened some?

We each bear God’s image. So, of course, we discover our connection to the Divine as we encounter one another. It’s as though we plant seeds in each other’s hearts and minds that give way to growth, beauty and even more seeds we can then plant in the world.

For even more reading about the value of intergenerational ministry head over here to the Fuller Youth Institute.

Traveling with Kids: Turn Any Trek into a Monumental Art Road Trip

Alissa Ellett Leave a Comment

Traveling with kids can be…lots of things: tiring, intimidating, overwhelming, irritating. But, traveling with kids is also joyous, exciting, and awe-inspiring. Family travel coming up? Consider making it an art road trip, and you’ll be even more amazed at the trek’s richness.

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Seeing the world through children’s eyes gives us hope and revitalization that few things can. We’ve also talked about art’s powerful impact on children’s lives. What if you could bottle all that potential up and take it on a vacation with you? An art road trip is an amazing way of doing that.

DO YOU WANT FREE COLORING PAGES? Download some right now by clicking here.

Benefits of an Art Road Trip

So, why is an art road trip something we recommend? Let me explain.

Seeing Their World

When traveling with kids, we hear their reflections aloud. We witness their awe and are brightened by their playfulness. But, when we give them space to create, we see even more of their inner world. We notice what is important to them and who they are.

traveling with kids

Deepening Connection

When children are creating art along the way to document their journey, the trip offers us a new level of amazement and intrigue. For example, imagine the questions you can ask after reading their poem about the hike you took together. As a result, you have more opportunity for relationship-building. Win!

Creating Tangible Memories

More and more, children rarely touch what brings them joy. Our books, movies, music, games, relationships, photos are often digitized. Traveling with kids on an art road trip turns experiences into objects. Then, all their lives children can more easily recall the memories of your trip.

traveling with kids

Engaging the Mind and Heart

In a general way, traveling with kids demands that parents plan activities for the trip. Everyone is happier this way. An art road trip is a great way to incorporate fun activities into travel. Additionally, through the creative process, children learn to trust their perspective. They learn to tell the story of their life. And they engage even more in the experiences they’re documenting.

Art Road Trip Activities

When traveling with kids it’s important to keep them occupied. This makes for happy kids, which makes for happy parents. Car games, coloring, reading, word puzzles, Mad Libs are just a few. But we’ve put together some ideas for how to make any trip into an art road trip.

Create a photo journal. Invite your children to take photos on your trip. They can use their phone or take the opportunity to get more comfortable on an SLR camera. Encourage them to capture moments that are important to them, scenery they like, objects that stand out to them, etc. Then, once home, print a book of photos for them to keep.

art road trip

Keep a documentary sketchbook. Give your child a blank sketchbook and a set of fine tip markers or colored pencils. Invite them to create a page of drawings and description for each destination. There’s a great example of this practice over here.

Write poetry. Give your children the opportunity to write poetry throughout your trip. Give them options to choose from by explaining different forms of poetic expression.  Perhaps they write about the scenery they see, describe what an experience felt like to them, or create a rhyming narrative about the trip.

art road trip

Make collages. Use travel books, magazines, tourist information pamphlets and found objects to make collages. This can be done for each destination. This could be combined with the sketch and/or poetry book if your child wants to do all three.

Ponder the clouds. Just today my daughter invited me to look at the clouds with her. She wanted to show me the alligator on roller skates she saw in the sky. Take some time to do this with your kids, no matter their ages. It uses imagination and can result in some good laughs, too.

We want to hear what you’ll be up to this summer and how you’ll incorporate art. So, don’t forget to share in the comments below!

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