When you think of your recent F4 experience, what comes to
find. This is the time for those 1 or 2
things that have your attention and concern now. There will be some specific topics later.
This is a time for first thoughts and the beginning of
ideas. If you have a new idea or a new
spin on an old one, put a little meat on the bone but don’t plan an entire menu
(yes this is metaphorical. I’m not
talking about the F4 meal. Well not yet
anyway).
We have many voices to hear and this is not the time to get
fixed on a single course of action or eliminate other approaches this
early. Let’s see what everyone thinks.
Often, if people are open to new ideas, the first idea or
two will lead to other ideas, and eventually to something that many will agree
on. This is just the beginning of a
process.
We will have a get down to the nuts and bolts of this at a
meeting sometime in July. For now, let’s
see what’s on your mind. Please complete by 15 May 2023.
PLEASE USE THE REPLY ALL MODE
TO SHARE YOUR INPUT.
Please consider this past year’s F4 program (Sep-Apr) and
make one or two concise comments in these areas: PLUS, MINUS, INTERESTING.
Topic #1:
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs to be eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
Topic #2:
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs to be eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
Headliners.
The Meal.
The gathering. This is too
many people in one place at one time, at least in this age when children come
from chaos to what should be reverence and order. We are outnumbered when they are all here at
once. We are glad that they are here and
want to make the most of our time with them, but need to outsmart them into
order and reverence.
The mass gathering of sometimes 80+ children at once is
currently not manageable. Please think
on what we can do to bring order and reverence to our Wednesday evenings.
The meal itself. Even a simple meal can be taxing. Clean-up is hit-and-miss at best. Some groups are better than others. None read the checklist. Please think on options here.
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
Classroom size
The men’s group has sufficient room for the moment. The women have stopped meeting. The senior youth have atrophied as well. Junior high and below are bursting at the
seams most Wednesdays. The Junior high
has adapted by using the sanctuary.
Others can go outside when the weather is good. Any new facility is years down the road.
Please put your creative thoughts to work on this one.
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
Movement and Activity.
Children, especially young children, need some scheduled
movement and activities outside of the classroom. These students have been in class all day and
keeping them tuned in for a full hour has proved to be too much on some days.
Having a time for music for the elementary-age children was
good but we have not done that for a while and the sanctuary is currently in
use for the junior high. Energizers are good, but we use teachers from older
classes to lead them.
Please put your creative thoughts to work on this one as
well.
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs to be eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
The Chaos
Those whose parents are members or worship here bring their
children and those children have expectations of reverence and order. They still have fun.
Those who come from homes without God in the center often
have grown comfortable with chaos.
Parents that I have talked with just don’t want to
come. Some work but many just drop their
children off for the daycare.
Biblical teaching are not being reinforced in these homes.
This is a tough one, but we are smart enough to get on top
of this. We will likely need to be bold
here and might ruffle some feathers.
Please think and pray on how to address the chaos and how to address the
ambivalent parents.
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs to be eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
Some ideas already afloat. We have some
responses already, but need a full PMI.
Once a month F4.
On the first Wednesday of each month (10 out of 12) we would have an F4
in its current format. There would be a
fun meal (pizza, breakfast, etc.). It
would be followed by classes or worship.
The rest of the month, the men, women, and junior and senior
high could meet as desired with oru with0out a meal (each group would be
responsible for their own meal/snacks)
ALL WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND ON SUNDAY MORNINGS.
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs to be eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
F4 without a meal.
All adults and children would be asked to bring a Bible and
come hungry for the word of God. The
gathering area would be the sanctuary which would open at 5:45 for prayer. Children would sit aprart to promote
stillness and reverence.
Classes would begin at 6 pm and end at 7 pm.
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs to be eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
Half Class/Half Worship & energizers
Every Wednesday would be part in the classroom and part in
the sanctuary regardless of whether there was a meal or not.
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs to be eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
Wednesday Worship Only
There would be no meal.
There would be a worship service much like a Sunday morning
Service. This sets the expectation that
the sanctuary is a special place where God is worshiped.
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs to be eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
All Children must be accompanied by at least one Parent
This eliminates the daycare aspect and likely reduces our
numbers. Many parents won’t come and it
would seem to be all negative, except, we have set an expectation. This is a family gathering. We would take
some flak for this, but that’s not all bad.
In this model, a discussion of what ages would require the
presence of a parent would be required.
PLUS (The things that went well and we want to continue).
MINUS (The negative stuff that needs to be eliminated or fixed)
INTERESTING (The creative part of you that looks at both
problems and successes and says, “What if?”)
Thanks for sharing your input. Now please take some time to consider the
input and perspectives of other participants.
The F4 plannng meeting is tentatively scheduled for
Wednesday, 19 July 2023.
