December 2002

Dear Christian Leader,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
From Pioneer Clubs Staff

This February 2-9, churches across the United States and Canada will be celebrating a special holiday–Pioneer Clubs Week. It’s a week for spotlighting Pioneer Clubs to your congregation and celebrating what God is doing. Good preparation will ensure a fun and meaningful time for your club members, parents, club leaders, and congregation (and even the community if you choose).

10 Tips for a Successful Pioneer Clubs Week

1. Choose celebration ideas from “Pioneer Clubs Week Plans 2003” at www.pioneerclubs.org. Click on “Perspective Online” in the Leader Resource Center (password: kids). You’ll find dozens of ideas to match any budget, time frame, and energy level, such as:

• decorating the church with posters made by the club members
• having the pastor pray, rededicating club workers and Pals and thanking God for each child and family touched by the club ministry
• helping the kids put on a “Truth Sleuths” skit for the congregation
• throwing a “Sleuth Party” for the kids

2. Collect stories ahead of time. Testimonies of how God is at work in the club members’ and club leaders’ lives will hit home for your congregation and church leadership and encourage them to support club through prayer, funding, and staffing. Poll your club leaders to find these stories. Ask club members to complete a sentence such as “Pioneer Clubs has helped me....” Ask parents to jot down changes they’ve seen in their child. (Do respect privacy by keeping stories anonymous, if needed.)

3. Advertise. Encourage kids to bring friends. Plan a special Bring a Friend meeting with an unusual theme or maybe unusual animals to meet (reptiles from a local zoo or pet shop, police dogs, etc.). You can find a complete Bring a Friend meeting plan plus customizable invitations under Creative Meeting Ideas in the Leader Resource Center (password: kids) at www.pioneerclubs.org.

4. Get the church involved. Don’t let the congregation be only passive listeners during your church presentation or event. They’ll be more interested and retain what they’re hearing better if they get involved. Ideas:

• Feed them. Hand out prayer cards and club helper sign-up sheets while they snack.
• Have them play the “Truth Sleuth Game” (see “Pioneer Clubs Week Plans 2003” online).
• Print the names of kids and leaders in the bulletin, and ask the congregation to pray for them. (See “Pioneer Clubs Week Plans 2003” online for other prayer ideas.)

• read Scripture
• perform special music
• lead the congregation in singing favorite songs or reciting memory verses
• perform the “Truth Sleuths” skit (see “Pioneer Clubs Week Plans 2003” online)
• be greeters or ushers

6. Bring in unchurched parents. Pioneer Clubs Week is a natural vehicle for outreach. If their children are performing in church or at a special club meeting, parents will want to come see them. Or plan a separate special event (open house, fun fair, etc.) for parents, the congregation, or even the whole community. Prepare church-member parents so they’ll be ready and willing to strike up friendly conversations with unchurched parents.

7. Thank the parents. Even if all that parents did to support club was let their child attend, they still deserve recognition. Appreciation will draw them closer to club and encourage more support from them in the future. Ideas:

• applause
• honorary membership pins (catalog #7777 or 7780)
• certificates (downloadable from the Clip Art section of the Leader Resource Center or available in the Canadian catalog)

• give service recognition certificates (catalog #2761)
• give pins to honor leaders’ years of service (catalog #2762-2766)

9. Encourage the congregation’s financial support. Ask people to help good things keep happening in Pioneer Clubs. Take a special offering for your church’s club ministry or for the national ministry. “Pioneer Clubs Week Plans 2003” online will give you a list of projects that an offering for the national ministry can help with.

10. Pray. Ask God to show you how to show the congregation and community the eternal value of ministry to kids.

Changed Lives

We are in our third year of Pioneer Clubs. When we started. we had five kids in our Wednesday night program. We now have 87! The goal of a Wednesday night program for us is not just to have an activity for our own church kids, but to have a community outreach to kids who don't know Christ. And Pioneer Clubs has been that outreach for us--over half of the children who come aren't from the church family. Slowly, those children are bringing their parents and coming on Sundays. Pioneer Clubs is one of the biggest ministries of our church. –Lou Duncan, The Heights Baptist Church, San Angelo, Texas

Today’s Kids...
...are aware of and have great concern for world problems. Help them see in Scripture that God cares about them and their world and that he can use them to make a difference. Pioneer Clubs Week would be a perfect opportunity to get club members involved in a community service project, a missions project, or a Pioneer Clubs Around the World fundraising effort.

Pioneer Clubs Announcements

• For U.S. Clubs. Coming Soon: A More Convenient Way to Give to Pioneer Clubs. Soon Pioneer Clubs will offer “Easy Give,” a new way to support the work of Pioneer Clubs through automatic monthly withdrawals from your bank account. With Easy Give you can rest assured that your support is being sent directly to Pioneer Clubs by your bank. It’s a secure, convenient, and easy way to partner with us in helping children and youth make Christ Lord in every aspect of life. For more information on Easy Give, contact Pioneer Clubs’ Development Department at 800-694-CLUB (2582).



• Kids for Kids Hike Countdown. Things to do this month:
• Determine the time of day to hold the hike.
• Select a hike location and length, and hike it yourself to make sure it is safe.
• Plan for rest areas with washrooms, if possible.
• Determine the number of adults needed (one adult for every six to eight hikers is recommended), and begin enlisting their help.
• Notify police, park district officials, or school administrators, if necessary. (Check local regulations.)


• If you haven’t yet sent in your Pioneer Clubs registration, please do so today. All clubs who are not fully registered will need to do so before placing their next order. If you need another registration form or have any questions about the registration process, please call a customer service representative at 800-694-2582 in the U.S. and 800-465-5437 in Canada.

  Reflections

“Respect for children is recognizing the incredible worth they have, just for who they are. What they do and say matters. They’re important people.” –The Rev. Michael Morse

Lighter Side

A little boy came home from church and told his mom that they had sung a new song about a boy named Andy. Mom couldn’t figure this out, until Johnny sang it for her: “Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me I am his own....”

Featured Product

Skits

Catalog #2726

More than 50 skits for club. Topics include Pioneer Clubs, holidays, Bible stories, missions read-aloud stories, and skits just for fun.

Order at>>>http://www.pioneerclubs.org/lrc/orderresources.asp