It’s time for Kids Camp again! I am very much looking forward to this wonderful time. Not only is it a chance for your children to connect with God on a deeper level than ever before… it’s also my chance to get to know your children and speak into their lives.
I cannot overstate how important Kids Camp is for the spiritual life if your child. If you’ve ever been on a Missions Trip and had your whole life turned inside out… this is the kid equivilat to that experience. God meets with kids at camp. My hope is that every child entering 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade will come with us this year. Timid about sending your child? Come with us! You can attend right along with your child for only $60 (background screening required).
Kids Camp will be at Masterpiece Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida again this year. Wednesday, July 25th through Saturday, July 28th. Cost is $150. A $50 non-refundable deposit must accompany your child’s application.
We’ll be handing out info packets starting this Sunday… but you can also download it here.
Every Summer we like to give our hard-working Missionette and Royal Ranger leaders a month off. So we’re taking the four Wednesdays in June and having some fun! Mark your calendars!
June 6th – After School Kicks
7pm-9pm
Indoor soccer, video games and a bounce house.
Children ages 3 and up. Free event.
Transportation is not provided for this event.
June 13th – Pool Party at Fossil Park Pool
7pm-9pm
Swimming, slides, friends and fun! Parents welcome!
Children ages 3 and up. Parental supervision required for ages 5 and under.
Transportation provided from Suncoast or meet us there.
$3.50 per child 12 and under. 4.00 per person 13 and up.
June 20th – St. Petersburg Planetarium
7pm-9pm
Enjoy a night under the (virtual) stars.
Children ages 5 and up for this free event. Parents welcome!
Transportation provided from Suncoast or meet us there.
June 27th – Water Park on the Suncoast Soccer Field
7pm-9pm
Inflatable water slides and more at Suncoast.
Children ages 3 and up. Parents welcome!
$2 per person.
This morning we installed our brand new Parent Pager… pagers. These new text capable pagers will replace the older blue pagers as of Sunday, February 12th.
The main difference parents will want to note is that when you’re prompted to enter a pager, you will no longer manually enter a pager number. You will take a pager and touch it to the new Proximity Sensor (a dark grey plate near the finger scanner) and the pager will be automatically assigned to you.
During check-out it’s the same procedure. But instead of clicking the check-box to return your pager, you’ll simply touch it to the Proximity Sensor again to return it and complete check-out.
These new pagers will allow us to not only page you, but send you messages. Maybe you wanted us to contact you if your child wouldn’t calm. We can shoot you a page to let you know everything is just fine. Instead of calling you to the Nursery, we can now send you to a specific room via text paging.
We hope you’ll enjoy the added convenience of the new system. As always, if you have questions, please let us know!
Every fourth Sunday is BGMC Sunday in Kid City. BGMC stands for Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge and is the Missions education and giving program for children at Suncoast. For the past two years every month we award one boy and one girl who give the largest BGMC offering. Which was great… but it only awarded two children even if others had worked very hard to raise as much as they could.
Starting this month we’re starting a brand new system in Kid City. This system will award each and every child as they give and reach “micro-goals” along the way. We’ve always kept track of each student’s BGMC giving total. We’re simply adding little prizes that each child can get as they reach different grand totals.
Every Buddy Barrel with any amount given earns a Triple Prize Coupon every month.
First time givers will receive a Globe Pencil Sharpener.
When the child reaches $5 total, they’ll receive a BGMC Sticker.
$10 – BGMC Pencil
$20 – Buddy Pin & BGMC Wrist Band
$30 – BGMC Lanyard
$40 – BGMC Stadium Cup
$50 – $50 Buddy Pin
$70 – Mini BGMC Basketball
$100 – $100 Buddy Pin & Drawstring Backpack
Some of our students have already given over $100 total. Though we will keep track of everyone’s existing totals, we’re allowing everyone to start over at zero so they can join in the fun as well. That means that every child who brings a BGMC offering on Sunday, February 26th will be treated as a first time giver and awarded the corresponding prize.
Our goal is to “prime the pump” and get kids more excited about praying and giving to Missionaries all over the world. We trust that you will join with us as we strive to make missions giving just that much more rewarding and fun.
If you have any questions email me, Pastor James at pastorjk@gmail.com.
I wanted to update you on a recent improvement to our child security check-in system. We’ve replaced the laser printers with dual thermal label printers.
This means that there will be no more half-page check-in or check-out sheets. Check-in/out sheets will be printed on label-sized papers… and will now be referred to as “vouchers”. As in “do you have your check-out voucher”.
The only truly slow part of the system has been waiting for those half-sheets to print. So they’re gone!
You’ll note the new voucher image up above. All the same information, just 1/8 the size!
If you have any questions at all, email me pastorjk@gmail.com or call 757-522-2171 and ask for Pastor James.
Sunday, December 11th students Kindergarten through 8th grade (Kid City and Shift) will be joining their parents in the Main Sanctuary for a wonderful Christmas drama called “The Christmas Post”.
Nursery and Pre-School (Juniorville) services will still be provided.
