One out of every 5 people at our Sunday gatherings is a child. Common Ground is committed to calling people of all ages to be formed into the image of Jesus so that we can love our neighbors in Indianapolis and around the world.

 

We know that on Sundays our house church network takes on great responsibility for this vision as you regularly help facilitate formation in our children's ministry classes. Though it can be challenging at times to recruit the needed volunteers, we continue to believe in this method of sharing in the ministry to children. It is a practical way that we can participate in the family of God that expresses itself as Common Ground and we think that children can have an impact on the way that we see and know God. Jesus told the disciples that the kingdom of heaven belonged to children. In other words, they were as important in the kingdom as the adults. Thank you again for investing your time and energy in the ongoing formation of our children.

 

Check out the Q&A below for more details about house churches serving in our children’s ministry.

 

A. Schedules are posted on our website and in the weekly bulletin. Due to changes in our house church network, we create a new schedule each quarter. When viewing the online schedule, you can see when you are scheduled to serve through the end of the quarter.

 

A. Serving in the children’s ministry is a practical way that we can participate in the family of God that expresses itself as Common Ground. We believe this is an important value to continually reinforce and we think that children can have a profound impact on the way that we see and know God.

 

A. Ministry to children isn’t the only thing that happens during our Sunday gatherings. If you are scheduled to participate in another ministry (e.g. worship and tech) on the Sunday your house church is scheduled for children’s ministry, we realize that you can’t do both. When this occurs, please prayerfully discern which ministry area you should serve in and seek a replacement for the one where there will be a gap. Since we schedule a quarter at a time, we hope this gives you plenty of notice.

 

A. Regardless of whether you have children or like being around them, serving in children’s ministry is a great way to help you learn more about children, yourself and God. Jesus told the disciples that the kingdom of heaven belonged to children. In other words, they were as important in the kingdom as the adults.

 

Q. How do you decide who serves on holidays?

A. Given the number of house churches at CGCC, we strive to create an equitable rotation by cycling through the house church list. We take care to ensure a house church does not serve back-to-back holidays.

 

Q. Why do we serve so frequently?

A. Over the course of a year, each house church will theoretically serve the same number of times. This collective effort is needed as we have a very large population of children in our church family.

 

A. When a house church is lacking the needed volunteers, we encourage the house church leader to contact other leaders in the network or their shepherd leader to recruit additional helpers. Each house church leader has access to a leader contact list via a secure page on the church website. (Email Nate if you need login information.)

 

Q. Most of our house church does not attend Common Ground. What should we do?

A. We encourage all house church members to serve in children’s ministry per the schedule, regardless of where and when you typically attend Sunday worship gatherings. In the event that you are unable to do this, please contact your shepherd leader to discuss your situation.

 

A. If your house church consistently lacks the necessary volunteers to serve in children’s ministry or your house church plans to dissolve, please contact your shepherd leader to discuss your situation as soon as possible.

 

A. Those not in a house church may serve in the children’s ministry by contacting Martina Gaughan.

 

Have additional questions? Feel free to send Nate an email!

KidsGames 2010 wraps up this afternoon, Friday, June 18, with our closing ceremonies at Tarkington Park located at 40th & Illinois. We would love for you to join us from 12 pm until 3 pm to participate in outdoor activities, have lunch and celebrate the week of KidsGames. Feel free to just stop by!

This year’s KidsGames was a HUGE success! Monday through Friday of this week the church building was filled with over 75 kids, more than 30 local volunteers and 23 volunteers from Ohio, Illinois and Missouri. We had a great time playing street hockey, tennis, soccer and basketball. We also had a blast learning and doing scrapbooking, playing crazy card games, tie-dying, making friendship bracelets and custom stationary. Not only did we play, but we learned about Jesus and how much He loves us!

Thank you to all of our volunteers who donated their time, as well as the individuals and house churches who donated breakfast, snack and craft items. Finally, thank you to everyone who sponsored a child – we were able to provide scholarships for many children.

Check out some pictures from our busy week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intro to Common Ground

Intro to Common Ground is an opportunity for those who are new to Common Ground to learn about the vision, values and story of our community. The next gathering is Tuesday, July 6 at 6 pm. Attendance is limited and a light dinner and childcare are provided. To learn more about this gathering, including future dates and registration, please follow this link.

 

Nehemiah Night

Our next monthly prayer gathering, known as Nehemiah Night, is on Wednesday, July 7 at 6:30 pm at Midtown. Please join us as we engage in prayer and conversation about what God is doing among us and seek to grow relationships across our house church network. Volunteers are needed to provide limited childcare during Nehemiah Night. To sign up for your month(s) to serve, please click here. 

 

To learn more, please see the article above.