Pioneer Clubs eNewsletter-Get Off to a Good Start

August 2003

Dear Christian Leader,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Pioneer Clubs eNewsletter, where we provide resources to help you build your Pioneer Clubs ministry.

This month we want to focus on helping you get ready for your new club year. Here are eight things you can do now to get your club off to a good start.

8 Ways to Get Off to a Good Start

1. Find (or help find) leaders. For task-sharing, support, and safety, you’ll want at least two coleaders per club. Show Pioneer Clubs’ recruitment video (catalog #2775) in a church service, adult Sunday school class, or Bible study group. (A new three-minute recruitment video is now available and is ideal for coordinators to show during a church service. The video [#2781] and CD-ROM [#2782] also come with an insert that provides a sample presentation for coordinators.) Tell about available openings. Provide curriculum for people to look through. Join with interested people in praying about the decision.

If you’re a leader, recommend someone you would like to work with. Invite that person out for coffee or dessert and tell what you love about working in club and ask them to help you.

2. Pave the way for people to help occasionally. People who are unable to be regular volunteers may be pleased to help now and then. This will help club leaders and may even get these people interested in becoming leaders. Ideas:

Scout out church and community members with particular skills that match activity awards you will be working on.
Have each parent sign up to help lead one activity award or chaperone one special event during the year.
Ask senior citizens to take turns being club grandmas and grandpas, providing extra hands during club meetings and extra attention for the kids.

3. Plan a fun Kickoff meeting. Get coordinators and leaders together to brainstorm. Plan time to get kids registered, let kids know what to expect in club, and answer parents’ questions. Kickoff meetings can be used in two ways: Individual clubs may hold their own Kickoff. Or elements from several age levels may be combined to create an all-club Kickoff. Each leader plan book contains complete plans for a Kickoff Meeting. Or create your own. Theme ideas:

football (provide footballs for all the kids for a real kickoff)
carnival
“goodbye to summer”
campfire
community party

4. Give/get training. Training can make the difference between feeling successful in club and struggling to make it.

Use Pioneer Clubs’ online training sessions, located at http://www.pioneerclubs.org/lrc.htm, password kids.
Attend a Pioneer Clubs leader training workshop if one is available in your area. Go to http:// www.pioneerclubs.org/trainingwork.htm for workshop dates and locations.
If not, schedule a training session for your leaders. Show the “Bible Exploration Demonstration Video” or “Basic Training Video.” Training sessions can be found in the Leader Training Outlines book (catalog #2754).

5. Set up a club discipline policy. Create an overall plan for all age-groups, making sure it coordinates with any children’s ministry policy your church has in place. Then each set of coleaders can create a list of rules and logical consequences suitable for their club members. A new product available this year is the video Discipline: Guidance that Makes a Difference (catalog #2779).

6. Use mentors.

Find someone who has done the job you’re going to do in club and ask for advice.
Try to have experienced and nonexperienced people pair up as coleaders.

7. Try prayer partners. Establish a communication plan–phone, e-mail, letter, postcard, etc. Having a prayer partner for each leader and coordinator will provide support and boost their spirits. Put up a sign-up poster at church, listing all club workers’ names and club positions. Or club workers could recruit their own partners, such as:

friends
coleaders
church members they would like to get better acquainted with
people whose prayer life they admire and would like to learn from

8. Pray. Commit your planning to the Lord. Ask for guidance. Ask him to prepare you and the kids to learn and have fun together this year. Tell him your desires for club–and be sure to ask him about his.

Changed Lives
“Pioneer Clubs has had a lasting impact on my life through the fellowship of others my age and the strong emphasis of God’s Word. Every Wednesday night we would gather together in an opening session and sing our ‘We Are Pioneers for Jesus’ song. I can still remember all of the words to this day. Thank you for making a lasting impact in my life by training me in God’s Word and in practical life skills.” –Alison Wasser, former club member

We’d love to hear testimonies of how your club has seen God at work. Please e-mail hwilley@pioneerclubs.org with your name, church name, and how you’ve seen God at work in your club.

Today’s Kids...
...need to be loved and feel they belong. Prepare yourself to get to know kids’ names quickly, and plan get-acquainted activities so kids can bond as a group. Show interest in club members’ hobbies and activities. Show you’re really listening by stopping what you’re doing, making eye contact, and giving focused attention.

Pioneer Clubs Announcements

For U.S. Pioneer Clubs-

Autumn Kids for Kids Hike
Now clubs can participate in the Kids for Kids Hike in the spring or in the fall. Our official autumn hike date is October 18, 2003 (or whatever date best suits your club). An autumn hike provides a terrific kickoff for your club year and increases your club’s visibility. It’s also a great way to get unchurched kids involved in club early in the year. All the information you need is at Pioneer Clubs’ Web site at http://www.pioneerclubs.org/lrc/hikebook-index.asp#planning, or call 800-694-2582 and ask for the Development Department. Be sure to let us know your hike plans!

Keeping in Touch...
Representatives from Pioneer Clubs will be calling some of our friends during late September/early October to thank you for your past giving, let you know what’s going on in the ministry, and ask for your continued support. We look forward to chatting with you!

Reflections

“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – St. Francis of Assisi

Lighter Side

A teacher asked the children in the class, “If I sold my house and car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the church, would I get into heaven?”

“NO!” the children all shouted.

“If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would I get into heaven?”

Again, the answer was “NO!”

“Well,” the teacher continued, “then how can I get to heaven?”

A five-year-old boy shouted out, “You gotta be dead!”