JAM Adventures

Jam Fun

2012-01-22T18:20:00.001-08:00

Faith... It's Fearless.

2012-01-22T18:20:00.000-08:00

Hi! I'm Hope, and this is my first post on here. I've been wanting to contribute to this blog since... wow... sixth grade I think. I am currently thirteen years old and in the eighth grade. One big thing about me is that I am fiercely in love with music--- my favorite Christian bands are Tenth Avenue North, Sanctus Real, Relient K, Fireflight, and Deas Vail. I always do the music categories in Fun/Fine Arts. I have a few blogs: my main one (YOUR BLOG...), a school one, a gymnastics/Olympics/cheerleading one, a 4-H one, and upcoming Beauty and pro-life blogs. You can check the blogs out by seeing my profile somewhere down the page, but for now, let's get this thing started!
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What does it mean to be FEARLESS?
Fearless can mean so many things. To me, it means taking that leap of faith (*winkwink* my name is Hope and I'm blogging about faith... oh, did I mention that's my sister's name? And I have another one named Charity, so... yeah. Wow I'm wasting time... half of you already know me!) no matter how afraid you are. It's being stronger in the end, getting yourself to do it even though you're scared out of your mind. This is essential for any faith, most importantly the Christian faith.

What is FEARLESS FAITH?
Fearless faith is standing up for what you believe. It's not being ashamed of the gospel. Not being afraid to worship God. Not just the singing kind of worship, but that's fine, too. Not being afraid to shine your light. In childrens' church and preschool, most of us have said "This little light of mine... I'm gonna let it shine..." The question is: How do you know if your little light is shining?

I was homeschooled my whole life until this year. When I entered my tiny two-year-old school of 300-something students, I thought I'd be afraid to show my faith. But then I realized there was no reason to be afraid. The eighth grade is divided in halves, and everyone in my half that travels to class together is Christian or raised the Christian way except for a few atheists, one Jehovah's Witness. So I'm not afraid to speak out about my faith because I know if anyone tried to tear me down, someone else would be able to help me defend my faith, not that I wouldn't do it on my own.

I'm not afraid to talk about God at school. Not at all. I bring Jesus into a conversation like fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Perfect combination, perfect timing. Not too "preachy". I invite people to church left and right. Do they come? No:(. People are shocked that I actually look forward to going to church on Wednesdays. They'll be like, "Today is terrible" and I'm like, "It is... wait, no--- I'M GOING TO CHURCH TONIGHT!" They look at me like I'm a crazy woman. I'm also one of the only kids in class that don't "cuss". And yes, I'm talking about EVERYBODY--- even the majority of the Christians. People literally have to trick me into saying a bad word, because they think I'm too... I don't know... good, I guess? I'm not, but alright.

Point is: I love God too much to put Him on a shelf. That would just be... weird-feeling. Something would be missing. People literally come up to me and ask me why I'm always happy and making personalized Christmas cards for all twenty-seven kids of our half of the eighth grade in the middle of November. I don't exactly know why I'm like that, but I think it's possible for me to find joy because I know my sins have been forgiven and I don't have to hold onto yesterday.

What can you do with FEARLESS FAITH?
You may wonder: How can I become fearless in my faith? Or, maybe you've used this excuse (I know I have): "I'm homeschooled, I'm surrounded by Christians... I ain't got no one to reach out to." FALSE!

Faith without action is DEAD. You need to have fearless faith. There are many easy ways to be fearless. Go buy yourself a shirt that has a Bible verse on it or make your own. Bring a fancy Bible to school (where people can see it, like a pocket in your bookbag... not buried under papers in your locker). Sing hymns while walking down the hallway... I've done it, it's not hard. Offer prayer to Christian friends when they need it to start out and maybe a non-Christian will hear... again, I've done it, it's not hard.

Christian Families and Halloween: A Student's Perspective

2012-01-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

Before I start, let me say a few things. My name is Hope and this will be my very first blog post on the JAM blog! Yay!!! It hasn't been long since I was a JAM kid myself, so I'm more than happy to finally be able to post on here! So, let's get it started! Yes, I know I am a little late on this. However, I'm glad that I waited until after Halloween to post this, and you'll see why in a little bit (yes, it involves candy).
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I have quite a few memories of Halloween. Some are good, others are bad. Mostly bad, though. Being raised by Christian parents, my mom and dad have been really strict on one thing: No "Trick-or-Treat"ing--- EVER.

I was born to a Military family, so we lived in Utah for quite some time. The good Halloween memories happened then--- hiding from Trick-or-Treaters in the basement, eating pizza (best part!), inviting friends over to escape the Trick-or-Treaters (hereafter: ToT-ers) with us. But after we moved to Ohio, I had to make new friends (not hard, I was four) and that meant:

All (well, most) of our friends were way down in the dangerous, ashy, risky, outrageous mountains of Utah (don't worry, it ain't that serious).
Hiding from ToT-ers was going to get old. Old, old, old.

I'm probably wasting time telling my life story, so let's get to the point.

As I got older, living in the MidWest, I started to wonder: What's wrong with Halloween? Why can't I get candy and dress up in costumes? I mean, sure, I dressed up for a few Harvest parties, but man were those costumes embarrassing... let's just say I would not wanna dress up as Bible Man again.

SO, ANYWAY (one thing you'll learn about me through my posts on here and my blogs: I have trouble staying on topic)! I just felt completely left out. It didn't seem fair that my friends (who at this point were ALL Christian kids from church and homeschool group because I wasn't involved in sports yet and was homeschooled) had this HUGE stash of candy come November that lasted until Spring (dude, I'm not even kidding) and all I had was a few Tootsie Rolls and Twizzlers because my mom is a total glutton when she has those candies with her. So as I'm stuck with bogus candy my mom devours, these kids have a six-month supply of it. Sickening, come to think of it.

I didn't understand why we couldn't Trick-or-Treat. Every Halloween it was the same discussion/arguement.

Finally, something clicked. My parents never told me the full story about Halloween until I was eight. After that, I stopped complaining about it because now I knew why it was called "the Devil's day". I haven't really thought about Halloween since, with the exception of Halloween 2011 and November 1st.

I am in eighth grade and just started attending public school this year. My school is fairly new and was just established in 2009 (my first blog is older than the school in itself), so we only have grades 7-11 and will add grades 6 and 12 next year. The school has always been really small with about 50 freshmen the first year, 180 eighth graders, freshmen and sophomores the second year, and 382 seventh and eighth grade, freshmen, sophomores and juniors this year. As you'd expect there's only 27 kids in my half of the eighth grade and we travel to every class except for Advisory together. Over-stimulating, especially when you and a certain girl are not friends... at all. And you keep. Getting. Put. In. The Same. Groups.

So, what does population have to do with this? It means that even though the majority of our class is Christian (many kids came here from Christian and Catholic schools), only three kids didn't celebrate Halloween. Three.

So, these kids are rolling in the deepness of candy in school on November 1st, talking about who they were for Halloween. My friend Steve was a banana. There are "Angry Birds" costumes out there. My friend Kailani was a celebrity, but that lady (the celeb, I mean) has some issues so I'm not saying the celebrity's name.

"Carson (fake name), who were you?"
"Omena (real name), who were you?"
"Hope (me), who were you?"

We all had the same response. Now, Carson just plain doesn't celebrate any holidays like Christmas, Halloween, or even birthdays because his religion has beliefs similar to Christianity but a lot of major differences that I will not talk about. However, we all weren't celebrating Halloween for the same reason--- "Devil's day". I was talking to Omena who goes to a church just down the street from me, and we were talking about this situation. "I gotta admit, I feel kinda left out about this thing," I admitted and Omena agreed.

Sometimes, being a Christian is hard and your faith will often be put to the test. Whenever I talk to this kid about my beliefs, which he's a strict athiest whose mom is Christian and he wrote an entire essay about how the US shouldn't be "one nation under God", he always comes up with a way for me to not know how to answer. It's hard, because I feel that no matter what I say, even going to church every Sunday hasn't changed his mind. He's nearly impossible to reach out to. Good to know our God can do the impossible, right?

While being a Christian, sometimes you have to give up the things you love. Sure, candy may be in our mouth and out the other end a couple days from now, but giving up the holiday can help you find new ways to reach out, using the only day of the year the whole neighborhood is outside.

Like in the previous post about Halloween, you can give children tiny devotional books, maybe sneak in a small Bible every now and then. Just remember to attach the candy! And hot glue it... don't tape it, glue it. You want the candy stuck so that the kids have no choice but to keep the book!:)

So what do you say??? We don't have to wait on the world to change, instead we have to act now now, because the world is waiting on us.

JAM Christmas 2011

2011-12-20T20:16:00.000-08:00

and our 2011 Singing Christmas Card that raised over $140 for BGMC!

Christian Families and Halloween

2011-10-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year for this topic to come up.

A time of year when parents make a decision about how their family is going to approach the subject of Halloween.

It is not an easy discussion nor is it something we can ignore.

We must go to God's Word. What does God think about Christians and this particular holiday?

Today, in our JAM lesson, we talked about Matthew 5:41 and the life principles surrounding Jesus' words in that passage.

It says, "If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles."

What did that mean?

Well, in that time in history, a soldier could by law make you carry his things for 1 mile. You didn't have a choice. You HAD to do it. Whether it was fair or not, whether you had time or not, whether you were strong enough or not, you had to carry his things for 1 mile.

Jesus was challenging them by saying, "Don't just do the 1 mile you HAVE to do, surprise him! Carry his things for 2 miles!"

What does that extra mile give you? An opportunity to share your faith, to show you are different and to be a light to the world.

Being different, called out, set apart is our ticket to the world around us noticing our story.

If we are just like them, how will they know we are different?

Being different takes action and commitment and a desire to follow Christ in every way.

What does that have to do with Halloween?

This holiday, that is very deeply founded in evil practices, is an opportunity to be different.

Don't choose to participate in something that will not only have you participating in a dangerous holiday, but will also cause you to be just like the world around you.

Instead, go the extra mile and choose not to celebrate this day like the world does.

Go even farther and challenge your family to be different and be visible.

On one of the only days a year when your whole neighborhood is out and about, be outside and share your faith in some way with the people who come to your home.

So, pray about what God has for your family during this holiday.

Will you be different?

Some other helpful resources:

Why we don't celebrate Halloween
Be Identified with Christ
Being Different
What do you do?
Celebration of Holidays
Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
Waking up the American Church

Life's Not Fair

2011-09-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

This morning, our JAM lesson was about how life is not always fair.

We can't expect everything to be fair. We can't expect that everything is always going to go our way.

Sometimes, we have to realize that life isn't fair and there isn't really anything we can do about it.

When life isn't fair, we have a choice.

It is our choice how we respond.

We can whine, complain and get an "I don't care!" attitude.

Or, we can decide to be respectful and allow God to help us keep a good attitude in the midst of the unfairness of the situation.

Pastor Jay shared about the life of Joseph. He was treated unfairly many times. He experienced the unfairness of being thrown in a pit, sold into slavery, unjustly accused and then put in prison. In all of that, he kept his eyes on God and continued to walk in a respectful way. He earned the favor of the guards and eventually all of Egypt, becoming a high ruler in the country! God was able to use him even though life was unfair because Joseph chose to respond in the right way.

We can learn alot from Joseph!

Because life's not fair!

And we can choose to respond God's way.

Welcome!

2011-09-22T16:07:00.002-07:00

Welcome to our new JAM blog!

We are now www.betheljamadventures.com

Check back often for new updates, event info, helpful tips and more!

And, you can now like us on facebook to stay connected.

RR Camporee

2011-09-20T17:49:00.002-07:00

Royal Ranger Camporee!

JAM this summer...

2011-08-13T05:59:00.003-07:00

The JAM kids have been busy!

Kids Camp and Missions Extreme, fun Wednesday night activities, a church picnic and more.

In our Sunday services, we have been talking about Worship. Learning to truly worship God with our lives.

In our Wednesday nights with Pastor Jay, we are learning about having God's Wisdom from the book of Proverbs.

Lots of crazy things going on with games, skits, contests, prizes and fun lessons.

Not to mention a pie in the face contest. Someone will be getting a pie in their face on August 24th!

We also have a new missions focus for our Missions Sundays (1st Sunday of the month). The kids are learning about being Kids of Courage. Check out that link for more information!

Just a few more weeks until Royal Rangers and Bethel Girls Ministries kick off a new season of classes. Be watching for details about those exciting Wednesday night opportunities for discipleship.

Great Lakes Regionals JBQ

2011-05-08T19:36:00.003-07:00

Bethel JBQ kids won 2 Place in Level 4! Which means, they took 17th place in a five state region! We are very proud of our Bethel team!

Excited for 2012!

Fun Arts 2011

2011-05-01T19:11:00.003-07:00

Bethel JAM Adventures kids did AMAZING at Fun Arts this year!

We are SO proud of them!!!

Can't wait for next year!!

Easter Egg Hunt 2011

2011-04-24T19:01:00.003-07:00

Bethel coming together to serve our community with an Easter Egg Hunt.

Kids receiving candy and the Book of Hope at the end of the outreach.

Fun Arts: Deploy

2011-04-23T18:48:00.003-07:00

Fun Arts is not just a one day experience that you practice for and receive a certificate.

Fun Arts is a time to explore the different gifts that God has given you, to develop those gifts and then use them for His glory.

Our Fun Arts kids had 3 different opportunities to be used in ministry

They did a Sunday night service at church and they did a children's church service.

But, they also had the opportunity to minister to our community.

Bethel Fun Arts kids performed their group events and a few of their preaching/gospel illusion events during the opening program of our Easter Egg Hunt.

It was an incredible time for our kids to be used by God for His glory as they shared their talents and abilities. And not only that, but they shared God's love with those around them.

Families from our local church neighborhood listening to the Fun Arts kids minister.

Our kids deployed into the lives of people in the city of Dayton. Will you?

Laser Tag!

2011-04-15T06:27:00.003-07:00

Fun Arts Human Video Song

2011-03-21T17:34:00.004-07:00

Please make sure you attend the practices!

Fun Arts Practice Schedule

2011-03-13T07:51:00.003-07:00

FUN ARTS 2011

PLEASE ATTEND ALL PRACTICES!

Here are the scheduled practice times:

March 20 @ 6PM during the evening service

March 27 @ following JAM for 1 hour - please bring a packed lunch!

April 3 @ 6PM during the evening service

April 10 @ following JAM for 1 hour - please bring a packed lunch!

April 17 @ 4:30PM for a sound check for that evening's FAF preview service in the main sanctuary. All events must be ready for this night!!!

April 25 @ 6:30PM in the JAM room for a final 1 hour practice before the event

April 29-30 FUN ARTS in Columbus, Ohio

This Is The Stuff - Fun Arts Clowns

2011-03-07T15:32:00.004-08:00

Fun Arts Girls!

Here is our clown video music. Make sure you listen to it and learn the words to this fun song!

Be watching your mail for practice details!

Toy Box Tales Winners!

2011-03-07T15:31:00.003-08:00

Our Toy Box Tales Winning Videos!

Kristin and Kara!

Great Job girls!!!!

JBQ

2011-03-05T18:42:00.003-08:00

GREAT JOB Bethel Junior Bible Quiz team!!

You all did so well this year!

We are excited about our State Meet coming up in March!

We All Fall Short

2011-02-04T07:42:00.003-08:00

On Sunday, we talked about the 4th point in our study of Faith Case.

The point is: Everyone has sinned. I can be a Christian because Jesus died for me.

What a powerful truth for these kids to learn!!

The verse was "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23

The kids played a game of trying to throw paper from their seats and get it into the bucket.

Many of them "fell short" of the goal.

And, we all fall short of the goal of having a relationship with God. We need Jesus to make a way for us. He came to earth, died for us and rose again! If we believe in Him, we can once again be close to God and we can have His forgiveness for all those areas where we fall short.

Next week: BGMC Sunday! Don't forget your buddy barrels!

BGM - Mom and Me Event!

2011-02-02T09:08:00.003-08:00

Friday Date Night is optional and the cost is not included in the event price.

Saturday will include an opening session, activity, separate breakouts for moms/girls, conversation time, and lunch at Bethel in Hough Hall.

The cost is $5 per person or $15 per family. Due Feb 27th! You can sign up here or in the JAM room.

Breakout Speakers are Julie Wilcke (moms) and Patsy and Victoria Reeves (girls).

All Bethel Moms/Girls of school age children are welcome!

We would love for you to join us for this weekend of conversation building between mother's and their precious girls!

Lazer Tag Event

2011-01-23T19:07:00.003-08:00

Hey Kids,

Our LAZER TAG EVENT will be April 2, 2011!!!

The cost will be $17 per person. There is a sign-up sheet in the JAM room and all money is due by March 30th.

And don't forget! We will be giving away a FREE ticket to Lazer Tag to the 2 winners of our Toy Box Tales contest!

Get started on your Toy Box Tales videos early so Pastor Jay can help out if you need it.

Click here for the how to videos!

Faith Case

2011-01-23T19:01:00.003-08:00

We have been doing Faith Case for 3 weeks now.

So far, we have learned that:

The Bible is God's Word
God is the One True God
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit

Each week, the kids help Pastor Jay solve a portion of the case for Faith.

On week 2, Pastor Jay told the kids the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal from I Kings 18.

The prophets of Baal prayed to their gods to light their altar on fire. They prayed and cried out all day and nothing happened.

But, when Elijah called on our God, the ONE TRUE GOD, God sent fire down from heaven to consume Elijah's sacrifice.

In which case, Pastor Jay felt the need to demonstrate with a fire of his own.

Who knows what will be next as we continue on this Faith Case!

Upcoming JAM Events!

2011-01-21T13:33:00.003-08:00

Fun Arts Sign Ups/Practices - Feb/March/April 2011

Winter Blast - February 20-21, 2011

Toy Box Tales due in to Pastor Jay - March 1, 2011

Bethel Girls Ministries Mom and Me Weekend - "Conversation Hearts" - March 4-5, 2011

Fun Arts Festival - April 29-30, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio

And so much more! Please check back here often and in the JAM room for updated event lists!

Making Your Own Toy Box Tale!

2011-01-21T13:23:00.003-08:00

Hey JAM kids!

Remember Elayna's Toy Box Tale from JAM on Sunday?

Well, you can make your own at home.

Pastor Jay made these easy-to-follow videos to help you.

To see these videos in a larger format, click on the lower right corner of each video to view it on youtube or make the video screen size on your computer.

Remember to have fun!

Junior Bible Quiz!

2011-01-15T13:29:00.003-08:00

Love seeing kids hide God's Word in their hearts!

Twas the Night Before Christmas - Rehearsal!

2010-12-19T11:12:00.003-08:00

Singing Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-18T11:10:00.003-08:00

Thanks to all the kids, parents and leaders who traveled around with us to bring Christmas cheer and God's Love to others!

We look forward to next year!

JAM Christmas Lessons

2010-12-12T11:05:00.003-08:00

In the month of December, we have been learning from McGregor's Gift Shop. We have learned some valuable Christmas lessons!

The Gifts of Peace, Presence, Family and Home.

You can watch these lessons by visiting here.

Christmas is COMING SOON!

2010-10-10T11:39:00.003-07:00

Dear Parents!

We are beginning practices for our 2010 JAM Christmas Program!

Donna Bostwick is directing our play this year.

Our program is called "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

We will be practicing the music portion of the program during our weekly services in JAM. ALL kids are encouraged to be a part of this!

There will also be some speaking parts and we will be contacting families about this soon.

Our week night practices will begin in November: Tuesdays @ 6PM in the JAM Room

Our program is scheduled for Sunday Morning, December 19th!

Plan on caroling with us for the Singing Christmas Card on December 18th and then returning to the church for lunch and a program run-through before our Program on Sunday.

Email children@bethelchristian if you have any questions!

10/10/10 The Perfect Sunday!

2010-10-10T11:35:00.003-07:00

Today, for The Perfect Sunday, the JAM kids presented John 3:16!

Great job, JAM kids!

Scoundrels Series

2010-10-02T11:30:00.003-07:00

JAM Adventures has been in a month long series of learning about honesty, stealing, lying, cheating...

The kids have watched the Scoundrels learn these lessons. Feel free to check out these videos and talk with your kids about these very basic, but very important topics!

August JAM Services

2010-08-17T10:13:00.003-07:00

Summer Games Series!

Click here to view the videos the kids are seeing and take some time to talk to your kids about these important topics!

Hands on Bible

2010-08-17T10:00:00.003-07:00

We just wanted to tell you about a GREAT new FREE website for families!

My Hands On Bible offers 52 interactive Family devotions, reading through the Bible plans, scripture songs and much more!

Sign up is FREE!!

Check it out and use these tools to make your homes places where your kids can learn more about God!

Ranger Swim

2010-08-17T09:51:00.003-07:00

JAM - Dancing like David!

2010-08-08T14:24:00.003-07:00

This week, we learned about the story of King David dancing for God when Israel brought back the Arc of the Covenant.

We played a Dance Off game and the kids showed us their best moves!

David wasn't worried about being undignified before the people. He didn't care about what others were thinking of him. He wanted to praise God with his whole heart and give God everything in thanks and praise for helping them.

During the lesson, we learned that it is more important to worship God with our whole hearts than it is to worry about what everyone else is doing and thinking.

We need to give him everything we have and do our best to worship Him fully.

That doesn't mean we have to dance or sing loud or do things that make us stand out or distract others.

Sometimes worship includes those things but when we worship God with our hearts it will might look different and may be quiet, prayerful or even just being silent before God.

We want to worship God and he sees us when we worship. He wants us to worship Him with our hearts.

And, that is what David did.

Kids Camp 2010 was FUN!!!

2010-07-24T11:15:00.003-07:00

This was an unforgettable week!! We all had so much fun and we can't wait for next year!!!

Are you going to come with us??

Church Picnic!

2010-07-12T12:26:00.003-07:00

We had a great day at our 2010 All Church Picnic!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this event a success!

God is...

2010-07-12T12:20:00.003-07:00

This summer, we have been learning about who God is!

Click here to see the video series that is helping the kids learn important truths about knowing that God is real and he is everywhere and he is strong and he loves us all!

Ohio Girls Ministries Retreat!

2010-06-21T05:53:00.003-07:00

We just got back from OGM Retreat and it was awesome!

The theme was "Go Green!" and we learned how God can Reclaim, Recycle and Renew us in Him!

*Don't forget to pray for the team that just left for Missions Extreme Camp in Cleveland!

God is...

2010-06-20T17:47:00.003-07:00

We are starting a new study in JAM!

God is...

Today in JAM, we learned that God is REAL.

How do we know that God is REAL?

One way is through the beauty of His creation. The world that He made speaks of the realness of our God.

Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

We also talked about having faith and believing that God is REAL.

Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

We must have faith and believe that He exists.

We talked about the butterfly. The butterfly can taste things with its feet! Amazing! The trees, the birds, the sky, the rivers... they all teach us things about God and show us who He is and remind us that He is REAL!

Look outside your window today. What kinds of things can you see that will remind you that He exists?

Turkey Trip

2010-06-15T05:56:00.003-07:00

Thank you, Bethel kids, for collecting present for the MKs! The kids loved the things that you brought in and they had so much fun opening them and playing with everything. Great Job blessing these kids with things from "home"!

We taught the kids the "Get Down" clown skit

and they LOVED Kung Fu!

And we got to spend time with many missionaries from many different countries. This is Sharon McCammon, a children's M to Lithuania!

Dump the Sludge

2010-05-17T13:29:00.003-07:00

During our service yesterday, we had the opportunity to see all of our Fun Arts Kids perform their events for this weekend!

It was very exciting to see the kids show us what they have been learning.

Kids, you did a GREAT JOB! We are so PROUD of all of you! Thank you for working hard for the past few months. This is going to be a very fun weekend!

In between the kids events, we watched part 2 of our Road Trip series.

This video lesson fit perfectly in with the kids Fun Arts Events! Hope's song "Forgiven" reminded us that we are forgiven, Sam's Gospel Illusion was about how God takes away our sin, the girls' puppet skit is about God's Grace, Colin told us how God has changed his life, Izzy reminded us to stay charged up by staying close to God, Chloe showed us that Jesus's death on the cross paid the penalty for our sin... Such a wonderful message from our kids!

This video lesson was about forgiveness and asking God to take away our sin. Our sin is stinky to God and sin makes our hearts stink. The only way to get rid of the stink is to repent and ask God for forgiveness.

Colossians 3:8 says, "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."

Dump the Sludge!

You'll just have to skip over and watch the video here to better understand the whole "sludge" thing.

LifeChurch Videos

2010-05-17T13:21:00.003-07:00

Hey kids!

Do you want to show your parents what we are learning in JAM each week?

You can see ALL the videos from the Road Trip series by clicking here!

Don't watch ahead though... We'll be watching the next two lessons soon. Okay? Promise? No watching ahead???

Keep Your Eyes on the Road!

2010-05-11T12:50:00.003-07:00

Sunday we talked about keeping our eyes on Jesus. Keeping our eyes on Him so that we can stay on the path that He has for us.

The verse was Colossians 3:2 which says, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

Pastor Jay hooked up a Nintendo 64 and played a racing game showing the kids that you have to keep you eyes far out on the track. You can't just look at your car or you'll end up far off the course. To win, you must look ahead of the car, see where the road is going and make small adjustments to the car's direction as needed.

In the same way, we need to keep our eyes up on Jesus. We can't keep our eyes on what we are going through or on our circumstance or the people/things around us. We must keep looking ahead, setting our minds on things above, following the path that God sets before us and walking in obedience to Him.

Keep your eyes on the road! Click here to watch the video from this week's lesson.

Messy Games!

2010-05-01T18:15:00.003-07:00

Slime between your heads while running around the room.

Pastor Jay's idea

Poor Izzy found out that the game didn't work. The slime got stuck in her hair!

What kind of messy games do you like to play?

Pinewood Derby 2010!

2010-04-13T18:16:00.003-07:00

The Royal Rangers hosted an all-church pinewood derby this year. We had a great turn out and lots of boys and girls and adults enter derby cars!

We all had a great time!

Looking forward to next year!

Easter Games

2010-04-07T12:51:00.003-07:00

Fun Arts Practice 2010!!

2010-03-28T07:38:00.003-07:00

We are having...

all kinds of fun...

at our...

FUN ARTS 2010 practices!

Parents: Don't forget! Saturday's at 3PM!

Click here to listen to the Clown Group Song!

See you next week!

JBQ State Meet 2010

2010-03-21T13:26:00.003-07:00

The 3rd place team in the Discovery Division Level 1!

Great Job Bethel!

Cameron and Jacob both placed in the top ten quizzers of their division!!

Looking forward to next year!

BGMC Video with Bloopers!

2010-03-15T08:42:00.004-07:00

Fun Arts/Fine Arts 2010 Workshop!

2010-02-25T07:39:00.003-08:00

The Fun Arts workshop will begin at 9am on March 6th in the youth room. This meeting is for kids and parents! JAM will join with the youth as they share with us their talents! The meeting will also be informational: including costs, practice times and resources.

At 10am, we will bring the Fun Arts kids to the JAM room to explore the different events available to them this year! The workshop will be over at noon.

Fun Arts is May 21-22 at the Dayton Convention Center and includes all 3rd - 6th grade kids.

More details coming soon!

Click here to see JAM kids perform at Fun Arts 2008!

This event is also for our Fine Arts Students. The youth will remain in the Experience room for the duration of the workshop.

And, for further fellowship, please join us for lunch at Chickfila on N. Fairfield Rd for our kids camp fundraiser! 20% of all food purchases (with JAM coupon) will go towards our kids going to summer camp!
Fun things going on at Bethel!

Paul's Letters

2010-02-21T13:15:00.003-08:00

Pastor Jay has been teaching from the life of Paul for the past few weeks. We have learned about his testimony, his ability to lead other's to Christ, his passion for the gospel and the example that he is to us today.

This morning, we talked about the suffering of Paul. He was beaten, imprisoned, accused, and stoned for the sake of the message of Jesus. During his imprisonments, instead of having a bad attitude or giving up, he chose to continue the fight, and stay true to God by doing what he could in whatever circumstance he was in for the gospel to still be preached. He wrote letters, encouraged prisoners, witnessed to jailers, prayed and sang. His letters ministered to churches that he had started, convicted of sin and spoke to specific issues that they were going through at that time.

Paul says in I Timothy 6:6, "Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment." He encouraged believers everywhere to stay godly, to stay holy and hold fast to the teachings of Jesus. Paul knew that there was great gain in godliness if we could learn to be content where we are and do what we can with what we have been given.

For a snack, each child was given something. A piece of celery, a cooked worm (thanks, Elijah) or a pixie stick. Now, this sounds gross and unfair but sometimes, that is how life is. We may be in a season of good things, a time in our life that is going really well! We may be in an okay season where things are just normal. We may be in a really bad season that makes it hard to keep going and serving God. Whatever season we are in, we are called to be godly and content like Paul. To follow Paul's example of making the best of every opportunity to share the gospel with someone else. The kids prayed for their snack and asked God to help them be content in whatever season their life was in and then, they could eat their snack. Amazingly enough, quite a few kids tried the worms!

So, remember, be content and stay godly no matter what you are going through. God will bless you!

------------------------------------------------------

Some of our kids have become really great bloggers! Here is a post from Hope that you should hop over and read!

WinterBlast 10

2010-02-16T09:51:00.004-08:00

If you want to elevate your relationship with God then you have to evaluate where you are at."

- Kayla Lund

Smells and Shadows

2010-01-17T12:17:00.003-08:00

Perfume spreads everywhere. When a woman enters a room and she has perfume on, many times the perfume's scent can be detected throughout the room. There are many scents that are like perfume. Smells that stick with a person and can even make the people around that person smell the same way.

Smoke, Skunks, Fish...

When you walk in a room with one of those smells, you most generally will walk back out of the room smelling like that too!

We played a game with shadows. Pastor Jeremy made shadow pictures and the kids guessed what he was making with the shadow.

We learned today about smells and shadows.

"The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed." Acts 5:12-16

Pastor Jeremy talked about Peter. Peter was a man who served God and loved people. He wanted to see people believe in Jesus as the Son of God. He was so intent on serving God and being used by God that even his shadow showed the power of God. People were healed and changed just by being touched by Peter's shadow!

We need to be like that. We need our love for God and our desire to serve Him effect those around us. Like perfume, our strong desire to love God should permeate a room and make others "smell" like us! How amazing it would be to be so in love with God and so on fire for Him that even our shadow caused people to be changed for God!

Pastor Jeremy challenged the kids to ask God to help them love and serve Him like Peter. To be kids who have an effect on those around them.

First 2010 Sledding Day!

2010-01-10T13:14:00.003-08:00

Taking down the tree...

2010-01-08T08:53:00.003-08:00

Sledding today!!! Pictures and maybe a crazy video to come!

The story of Gladys Aylward

2010-01-03T12:32:00.003-08:00

Ms. Lee Ann came in to JAM today for our missions service. She told us an amazing story about a stubborn woman who gave her ALL for the call of God on her life. She felt called to go to China and nothing was going to get in her way of obeying that call and going to China to tell people about Jesus.

You can read her full story here.

So, remember to be stubborn in obeying God's call on your life! Obey what He is asking you to do and He will find a way for you.

Next week, announcing BGMC totals for 2009!

The Sunday before Christmas...

2009-12-20T18:21:00.003-08:00

Ms. Elaine's Sunday School Class

Ms. June's Sunday School Class

The JAM kids recording the youtube Christmas cards. Take 2.

We played a game with some extra large Iowa marshmallows. We had a contest to see who could eat their marshmallow the fastest.

The boys were very excited about the extra large marshmallows.

And, although most thought this guy would win since he won the last food eating contest in JAM.

And, although some thought Pastor Jay would win...

This pretty girl surprised us all and pulled off the win! She beat everyone and ate her marshmallow the fastest! Great Job!

That wasn't the only game the girls won. The girls also won a fun game of Christmas Carol Name That Tune! Go Girls!

We had a fun morning with the kids. We also watched the new Christmas Veggie Tale movie and made salvation bracelets. Pastor Jay encouraged the kids to wear their bracelets through the holiday season and remember to tell people about the true reason for Christmas: The birth of Jesus. He is the reason we celebrate and we can't forget about Him this Christmas. We must remember to tell others about Him and what He has done for us. The bracelet is a great way to remember Jesus this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

Singing Christmas Card Event

2009-12-19T17:38:00.003-08:00

The kids visited 3 homes, 3 nursing homes and 1 family Christmas party.

We sang, visited, wished them Merry Christmas and had a lot of fun!

And, it SNOWED!

We ate pizza for lunch.

Pastor Jay and Jenilee video taped the youtube Christmas cards. It was very cold outside but the kids were great sports!

Thank you for a great day, JAM kids!

Our youtube cards will be up soon!

A Battle in JAM

2009-12-13T19:51:00.003-08:00

It started out peacefully...

The Christmas program completed...

Then, Pastor Jay gave the kids straws and toothpicks...

Boys against Girls...

Crazy, Wild Mayhem

It all ended with a talk about the armor we must wear as we walk through the spiritual battles of everyday life.

Whew! What a morning!

(the girls won, by the way!)

Bethel Children's Ministry Christmas 2009

2009-12-13T19:46:00.003-08:00

What an amazing program! Thank you to everyone who helped make this day so special for the kids.

If you have video or pictures that you would like to add, please email us at children@bethelchristian.com!

Christmas Musical Rehearsal

2009-12-07T18:56:00.003-08:00

Well, our final rehearsal is done!

The kids practiced hard and in the midst of last minute craziness, the practice went VERY well!

Looking forward to a wonderful Christmas Sunday!

So, Miss Jenilee says, "Good job, JAM kids!"

Parents:

Please have your children at church at 9am this Sunday. ALL kids will meet in the sanctuary for a sound check and costumes.

Have children dressed in their Christmas best!

It is going to be a great morning as we sing about the birth of our Savior. Don't forget to invite family and friends.

Come celebrate with us!

A Singing Christmas Card

2009-12-06T10:50:00.003-08:00

Call 937-253-2161 to purchase your singing Christmas card!

We will be traveling around the Dayton area to your family and friends on December 19th. JAM Adventures will present a Singing Christmas Card (caroling) and a note from you to each giftee.

For those of you who have family outside the Dayton area, we will be making personalized youtube videos cards to send to your family!

All proceeds go to missions!

We have hit over $3000 so far for BGMC this year. Help us raise that even higher!!

Creation Museum

2009-11-11T12:53:00.003-08:00

UPDATED:

Creation Museum trip has been canceled. Will plan again next year!

ORIGINAL POST:

JAM Adventure families will be taking a trip to the Creation Museum on November 28th. We will leave the church at 8am and return around 5pm.

We will learn about...

Pet a Zorse...

and, see Pastor Jay ~~get attacked by a dinosaur~~ act really goofy.

Make plans to see the Creation Museum with us! To RSVP, please email jeanette@bethelchristian.com for more information.

Sign up deadline is November 18th!

Christmas Season...

2009-11-11T12:44:00.003-08:00

Bethel Children's Ministry Christmas Program

On the December 13th, Bethel Christian Children Department (Preschool and JAM) will be presenting “A Singing Christmas Card” during our AM service. This adorable short musical will be sure to bless you this Christmas season. Invite families and friends as we celebrate the birth of Jesus together.

Bethel Girls Ministries Christmas Party

December 16th during our regular class time we will have a fun party for the girls!

Friends - bring chips

Daisies/Prims - bring cookies

A Singing Christmas Card

December 19, 2009

We will be traveling around the Dayton area to present a Singing Christmas Card to family and friends of Bethel. We will divide into two choirs and spend the day singing Christmas carols and HAVING FUN!

Kids must arrive at the church at 8am and bring a packed lunch!!

We will be done at 5PM (we will call parents if we are finished earlier).

PARENTS or Bethel Family: If you would like to purchase a singing Christmas card, visit the table in the foyer on December 6th or 13th. Your giftee will receive a Christmas card from you and a caroling experience from the JAM choir. Each singing card can be purchased for $10 but larger donations are welcome! All proceeds will be given to BGMC! So, purchase a singing card for your friend, neighbor, family member, shut in or place of business. What a great gift for that someone who might not need anything or that someone who need a smile for Christmas!

Finally, for all our JAM Adventure kids...

No Wednesday Evening Services on December 23 or 30.

Merry Christmas!

2009 Annual Harvest Party

2009-10-30T17:59:00.003-07:00

118 kids

15 Games

2 Inflatables

1 Train Ride

A maze, some popcorn, balloon animals and a little bit of cotton candy...

And a WHOLE BUNCH of every other kind of candy...

we had FUN at our 2009 Harvest Party!

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helped out or donated candy. We reached 80 kids in the community through our Harvest Party, giving them candy and presenting the salvation message. You had a big part in giving each one of those kids a night to remember.

Thank you!

Fall Family Haride

2009-10-25T18:43:00.003-07:00

Sunday Fun

2009-10-21T19:18:00.003-07:00

The kids leaving the JAM room to play a game on Sunday morning. They were tied together with string and told to stay in their string as they looked for 9 pieces of paper around the upstairs classrooms.

What an adventure! We have a great number of strong leaders so it was very interesting...

The boys won though.

Good Job, guys!

Super Summer Explosions - flashback to summer

2009-10-21T19:14:00.003-07:00

Kids Camp 2010

2009-10-14T10:28:00.003-07:00

Your Speakers:

the guys

the girls

The Theme:

Keepers of the Cross

Watch for details... summer of 2010!

Fall/Winter 2009 Event Schedule

2009-10-05T09:08:00.003-07:00

October 24 - Family Hayride

This event will be held at the Parrott’s home! This year’s hayride includes a Chili Contest so watch the announcements for more information!

October 28 - Harvest Party

Our annual Harvest Party will start at 7PM and is filled with bounce-arounds, cotton candy, popcorn, games and face-painting! Please bring in your candy and, as part of a BGMC fundraiser, save your change to bring to this event! We will be playing games with coins and donating all coin raised on that night to BGMC! Invite friends and neighbors to this GREAT night!

Monday Nights in November and December – Christmas Practice

From 6:30-7:30PM in the JAM room, we will be practicing our Christmas music/Christmas readings with the kids. These practices will be a part of our Singing Christmas Card as well as our Sunday morning Christmas Program. All kids in grades 1st – 6th are welcome to practice with us!

November 6-7 – Synergy Leadership Conference

This conference is for all leadership in any student ministry from nursery through college. Breakouts will be offered to give further insight into how we can better raise kids for Christ at all ages! Cost is $10 for registration. Hotel/food is on your own if you would like to stay in Columbus on Friday night. Those who can attend for Saturday only, can travel to Columbus on their own or ride up in a church van. The vans will be leaving from the church at 7:15AM. Sign up today!

November 14 - JBQ Meet

Destiny Christian Center in Huber Heights

November 28 - Creation Museum

The 2 Sundays before Thanksgiving, Pastor Ron will be teaching in JAM on the subject of creation. To conclude this study in a fun, interactive way, we will be traveling to the Creation Museum as a group. Watch for more information on this event! Cost/Time TBA

December 13 - JAM Christmas Program

Our preschool department will be presenting the nativity scene as our JAM children sing Christmas carols and read the story of Christmas. We will run-through this program during Sunday School on the 13th, so PLEASE bring your child to the sanctuary at 9am that Sunday so we can get them in their costume and run-through where you will be walking for the program. JAM age children will all meet in the sanctuary and stand on the risers for the duration of the program.

December 19 - A Singing Christmas Card

To raise money for BGMC while celebrating the season of Christmas, JAM Adventures brings to you A Singing Christmas Card! On the Sundays prior to this date, we will have a table set up in the foyer to allow Bethel to purchase a singing Christmas card for someone else. Our children’s choir will travel around, sing Christmas carols and present that someone with a card from the one who purchased the singing card. All money raised by this event will be given to BGMC! Singing Christmas cards can be purchased for a business, a shut in, grandparents, aunts/uncles, friends or neighbors. Our base price per card is $10 but a donation of any amount will be a blessing to children around the world!

Parents – We have a GREAT fall planned for the kids of Bethel! Please make note of these events and feel free to contact us with any questions that you might have. We would love to have your family involved in each of these wonderful events.

Email Pastor Jay for more information!
children@bethelchristian.com

Geocaching

2009-10-04T19:31:00.003-07:00

Tonight, the kids went geocaching with Pastor Jay!

They were able to find one within walking distance of the church.

Lots of Fun!

Junior Bible Quiz

2009-10-03T13:41:00.003-07:00

Our Junior Bible Quiz kids had their first meet of the new season today.

They all did VERY well!

This is our C Team (the youngest kids in JBQ).

Our next meet will be in November so make sure you are praying for our kids as they learn God's Word!

Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

Contact Pastor Jay if you would like to be involved with JBQ!

Arise!

2009-09-27T13:30:00.003-07:00

In JAM, we talked about the moment when Jesus was raised from the dead.

Our "What did you learn?" today phrase was: Arise, Arise, ARISE!!!

(must be sung like the ending of this video)

We had visits from 3 different people today.

Our first visitor was one of the Roman Soldiers that witnessed the rolling back of the stone and the emptiness of the tomb after Jesus came back to life. He told us about seeing Peter cut of the ear of one of the soldiers and then seeing Jesus immediately heal the ear. He told us how sad he was when they killed Jesus. And, how he was scared of the mightly angel that rolled the stone away from the tomb as Jesus was rising from the dead.

Our second visitor was Mary Magdelene. She was telling us about how Jesus had healed her and she had followed him through his ministry on earth and how she was there when he died. She talked about how she wondered why Jesus didn't come down from the cross. She knew he could do it but he didn't. She told us how she cried and cried after Jesus' death and how sad it was to see him put in the tomb.

Our third visitor was Thomas, one of the disciples. He told us about how he didn't believe that Jesus was alive. Even though his friends were claiming that they had actually seen him, Thomas refused to believe. It wasn't until he felt the scars on Jesus' hands that he believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Through hearing the stories of these 3 people, the kids in JAM learned about how amazing that moment truly was when Jesus arose from the dead! And, how amazing it must have been for those close to Jesus to see him come back to life after such a horrible death.

But, we have not seen the things that they witnessed. We only have the Bible's account of the story and it is up to us whether or not we believe.

Luke 20:29 says, "Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

FAITH See You At The Pole

2009-09-23T18:54:00.003-07:00

God is on our side...

2009-09-13T17:32:00.003-07:00

God lost no time in anointing someone to take Saul’s place as king. He told Samuel to fill his horn and go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem. He had chosen one Jesse’s sons to be the new king. When Samuel saw the oldest boy Eliab he thought he would surely be God’s choice. But, God told Samuel not to judge a man by the way he looked and passed over Eliab.

After God had passed over six more of Jesse’s sons, the youngest boy David was brought in from the fields where he kept the sheep. “Arise, anoint him, for this the one!” the Lord told Samuel. Taking the horn of oil, he anointed David and that very day the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Now David was to be the king, but he went back to his father’s sheep until God was ready to carry out his plan.

Saul did not realize a new king had been anointed. He was till the ruler over Israel but he was a sad and broken man. Because of his sin the Spirit of the Lord had left him and he was often plagued by an evil spirit. He missed Samuel, too, the old prophet would not visit him anymore after he disobeyed God. Thinking music might cheer up their master, Saul’s servants persuaded him to send for the shepherd boy David to play the harp. David’s music did help; the king began sending for David every time the evil spirit came on him. Not only was David a good harp player, he was so fine in other ways that Saul asked Jesse to let him stay with the king’s company. How strange it all was!

Although Saul did not know it then, his new young friend was the one anointed to take his place.

Soon the Philistines came up to fight Israel again, this time led by a giant of a man from Gath called Goliath. Almost ten feet tall, Goliath was covered with heavy metal armor from his helmet to the greaves on his legs. He carried a great spear in his hand and a man went before him with a huge shield. The very sight of Goliath struck fear in the hearts of Israel’s soldiers. Every morning and every evening for forty days, he roared across the valley, “Why have you not come out to line up for battle?” Choose a man for yourselves...if he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I kill him, then you shall be our servants.”

David came to camp to visit his brothers and was horrified to see Israel flee each day in terror. What had the Lord’s people to fear from a heathen soldier? “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” he wanted to know. David told Saul he would take on the giant himself, he was not afraid! Saul refused, however. Goliath was too big and strong a man for a boy like David. But David kept urging with the king, telling him how he had killed both lion and bear when he kept the sheep. “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine,” David declared.

Finally Saul agreed to let David fight Goliath and put his own helmet and armor on the boy. But Saul’s armor was so heavy David couldn’t walk. So he took his staff and sling instead, stooping by a brook to put five smooth stones in his bag. When Goliath saw David coming, he cursed him and vowed to feed him to the birds and wild animals. “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?” he yelled. David shouted back, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel! This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand...that all the earth may know there is a God in Israel!”

Running to meet the giant, David took a stone from his bag and slung it with deadly aim. To the crowd’s great surprise, the stone caught Goliath on the forehead and fell on his face to the earth!So with just one stone David killed the mighty Goliath of Gath. Taking the giant’s own sword, he cut off his head for all to see.

And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they all began to run for their lives.

(this story can be found here)

We have to talk to our kids about remember that God is on our side and with Him we can accomplish many great things. God sees our hearts and knows the plans that he has for us. We can be sure that if we choose to be obedient, God will work through us in amazing ways. He is with us no matter how small, weak, young, or fearful we feel. God looks on the inside, not on the outside.

I Samuel 17:45 says, "You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord God!"

Remember that promise as you go to school, ride the bus or play with friends. God is with YOU!

See You at the Pole

2009-09-06T19:57:00.003-07:00

September 23, 2009

7am

Meet at your school's flag pole to pray.

This year's theme: Engage

Check with your school for details! Or, click here to find out more about See You At The Pole and how you can get it started at YOUR school this year!

Pastor Jay and Jenilee will be hosting a special FAITH homeschool SYATP at the church. Email Pastor Jay for details!

children@bethelchristian.com

God is with us!

2009-09-06T11:45:00.003-07:00

This morning in JAM, we learned about Thailand for our BGMC lesson.

We learned that the kids in Thailand love to play sports, eat rice and go to the market.

We learned about a little girl named Eed (pronounced EAT) who listened to God's voice in the market place one day and God saved her life from a runaway car. She was able to help others who were hurt and pray with them while they waited for help.

We talked about Eed and how God spoke to her and helped her in a time when she could have been fearful. We do not have to be fearful because God is with us and God can do mighty things!

We all have things going on in our lives that could cause fear. Maybe a family member is sick or our parents are fighting. Maybe school is really hard or a teacher isn't nice to us. In all of these areas, we can pray and ask God to help us. We do not have to be afraid because God will help us as we walk through these hard times!

Jesus is Our Friend

2009-08-23T09:39:00.003-07:00

Today in JAM, we learned that Jesus is the best friend we could ever have.

You can never have a friend like JESUS!

Here on earth, we have lots of friends. Good friends, Best friends, School friends and Bad friends. Friends help us, teach us, encourage us, lead us and comfort us. When there is a problem with a friend, it hurts because we trust them and want to be with them. As we grow older, we learn that some friends are helpful to us and some friends only hurt us. Relationships on earth will always go through hard times and good times. We are all human. Even Jesus experienced hard times with his earthly friends.

Jesus wants us to know that it is important to be a good friend to others and have good friends in our lives while we are on this earth. But, HE is the most important friend we will EVER have and HE will NEVER leave us. We can trust Him with everything because we know that He cares for us and loves us so much that He died so that we could spent forever with Him in Heaven.

2009-08-22T19:22:00.003-07:00

Elayna raised $12.00 for BGMC by asking family members to save pop cans for her! And, Grandpa threw in an extra $8 to make that a total of $20 raised for BGMC!!

What ideas can you come up with?

Coming this fall...

2009-08-08T19:40:00.003-07:00

and

Welcome you to our FALL OPEN HOUSE!

Amazingly enough, fall is on it’s way and that means Royal Rangers and Bethel Girls Ministries will be hosting their kick-off open house on September 2, 2009 at 7PM. Boys will head over to the gym to meet their commanders and Girls will spend some time with their sponsors upstairs in the main building. Parents, please plan to visit your child’s classroom sometime that evening to fill out the paperwork needed to adequately minister to your child throughout the year. Get ready for an exciting year of change, fun and godly mentoring as your child grows in their relationship with Christ.

To learn more about Royal Rangers, click here.

To learn more about Girls Ministries, click here. Also, take 4 minutes and view the Girls Ministries 2009 Promo Video. It will minister to your heart and give you a passion for leading girls to Christ.

Pray with us as we begin this new season of ministry to the kids of Bethel!

You Choose!

2009-08-08T19:03:00.003-07:00

Kids!

There are so many ways that you can raise money for BGMC!

Here are just a few to choose from for the month of August...

Baking cookies or some other baked goods to sell to family and friends.
Helping with little brothers and sisters or cousins or neighbors for some babysitting BGMC money!

Fall is coming! Rake leaves for your mom and dad or grandma and grandpa!

Pick up trash in your neighborhood or offer to take the trash out at home for some extra cash!

Take care of pets!

You can walk a dog, pet sit, give a pet a bath... why not make money while you play with someone's pet?

Who knows? You might just have some fun while you raise money for BGMC!

Remember, we have a BIG GOAL and will need everyone's help so get creative.

What ways can you think of?

Super Summer Explosion - #1

2009-08-05T19:22:00.003-07:00

We were able to share the gospel tonight in a neighborhood in Dayton! We are so excited about what God is doing in JAM Adventures as the kids learn to share Jesus with their community. We will be having these water fun nights, called Super Summer Explosions, each Wednesday during the month of August. Different families are hosting them as we use fun, water and a snack to witness to kids and tell them about Jesus!

A Sunday Morning in JAM...

2009-07-24T16:19:00.003-07:00

A Crazy JAM moment...

2009-07-15T09:43:00.003-07:00

Starring: Elijah S.

Location: Pastor Jay's backyard

(Video recorded with his parents watching for the safety of all involved)

His mission: to knock over the plastic car with the Jeep

Can he do it?

Is it too dangerous?

You are what you eat...

2009-06-30T07:25:00.004-07:00

JAM science lesson...

the digestive system.

The kids watched this small clip about the digestive system. We played a food memory game and then ate a snack of apple slices wrapped in fruit rollups to resemble a small stomach.

We had a contest to see who could eat their "stomach" the fastest and Mr. Cameron won!

I've heard that this boy can eat an entire apple, seeds, core and all, in 5 bites. Amazingly talented.

We talked about how the teeth chew up the food, the saliva helps to break down the food and then the food travels to the stomach. The stomach has acids that further break down the food before it travels through the intestines. It is in the intestines that the body absorbs the vitamins and nutrients that it needs from the food we eat. They loved learning about this process. Especially the end of the process, if you know what I mean.

In our lesson, we read John 6. After feeding the five thousand, Jesus calls himself the "Bread of Life" two different times. Why is Jesus the Bread of Life?

How can we get "vitamins and nutrients" from God?

God gave us his son Jesus and we learn about his son in the Bible. The Bible is God's words to us and it is through God's Word that we are fed.

Matthew 4:4 says, "Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

We need our daily bread, but not just physical bread, but spiritual bread.

Like the digestive process, we need to read God's word slowly, think about it, try to understand it. We talked about learning how to digest God's word so that we can gain something from it.

It isn't just reading the Bible fast and then forgetting it. We need to take in God's Word, digest it, absorb it and then we will grow in God.

For a "homework" assignment, we gave the kids a paper that looked like this:

My Bible Reading Journal

Date: _________________

I Read: _____________________

It said: _____________________________________________

I think: _____________________________________________

I prayed: ____________________________________________

Over the next week, we want the kids to read something in the Bible, write down in their owns words what it said. Then, think about it and pray about it and then journal what they have thought and prayed. We encouraged the kids to get a notebook or a journal to keep for their Bible reading on a regular basis. What a great think for the kids to learn at a young age!

Jesus is my daily bread! And, the Daily Bread gives me life!

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Parents, keep helping your kids raise money for BGMC! Have a garage sale, give them special chores to do, small job around the house, babysitting a sibling... help them be creative as they help kids around the world learn about Jesus!

God's Love

2009-06-21T19:17:00.003-07:00

Our lesson in JAM today was about the love of God and how that love was expressed through Jesus while he was here on earth.

In Jesus' earthly ministry, he healed people of terrible diseases, calmed storms, fed multitudes and enjoyed spending time with friends.

The very last verse in John, reminds us that "...there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written."

Jesus led a full life of loving people. He did everything that he did out of love.

Our memory verse describes the awesomeness of God. Nothing is too difficult for Him!

"Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You!" Jeremiah 32:17

And, because of who He is and because nothing is too difficult for God, we can be sure that he still heals, calms, feeds and desires to spend time with us today.

All because of His great love for us.

Ohio Girls Ministries Retreat

2009-06-21T19:10:00.004-07:00

Mpact Crowning Ceremony - Transformation

2009-06-14T19:41:00.003-07:00

These girls are being transformed for God and were challenged to continue to be the catalyst that God can use to transform those around them!

Great Job! They worked incredibly hard and finished strong. We can't wait to see what God has in store for these faithful four!

Car Wash for CAMP!

2009-06-13T11:29:00.003-07:00

Our camp kids got together for a Car Wash to raise money for Kids Camp in July!

God provided one car after another to keep the kids busy and with some generous donations, each kid raised some money towards their camp cost.

They held signs...

my girls pitched in to help...

held more signs...

and washed a lot of cars, vans and even a big SUV!

We are so proud of our kids!

Bethel family, if you would like to help send these kids to camp, please contact Pastor Jay!

The One True God

2009-06-07T13:21:00.003-07:00

For BGMC Sunday, we talked about the country of Bangladesh. We talked about their culture, their food, their languages and their activities.

Pastor Jay told a story about the many religions in Bangladesh.

He had the kids act out this story.

First, he had one child stand alone. Then, he chose other children to represent different sins or problems in life. Next, he chose 3 kids who were priests from other religions and then 1 kids to represent a Christian pastor. The one who was surrounded by sin was asking for help. How can I be set free from sin? As each priest walked by, they told the child something to do that would "save them" or "set them free" but none of the things the child tried would free her from the sin that surrounded her. Finally, the Christian pastor came and told her about God and prayed the sinner's prayer with her. When they prayed, the child was set free from sin! Praise God!

This story showed the kids that only the one true God has the power to free us from our sin!

We also learned that our God has the power to set us free and heal our bodies. Pastor Jay told us the story of a missionary in Bangladesh who witnessed God healing a man and then that man asking Jesus into his heart.

We asked the kids to pray for a little girl who has just been diagnosed with Leukemia. Her name is Ally. You can read her story on their blog All 4 Ally.

Please pray with us that God will heal her body and protect her through this time of treatment.

The kids also had many prayer needs and we ended our service praying for each other.

Because, our God is mighty and He is the one TRUE God who saves and heals!

Summer Sports and Activities!

2009-06-06T06:57:00.003-07:00

Hey Parents and Kids!

If you have an upcoming event, game or activity and would like us to be there, email or call Pastor Jay!

We would love to share that day with you and your family.

We have been able to go to plays, soccer games, football games, and ceremonies.

Send us the date and time and if we can be there, we will!

Thanks!

To think like a Navy SEAL

2009-05-31T15:33:00.003-07:00

What is it that makes a Navy SEAL?

Is it their physical strength, speed, fearlessness, abilities, training, or determination?

"From 1962 when the first SEAL teams were commissioned, to present day, Navy SEALs have distinguished themselves as an individually reliable, collectively disciplined and highly skilled maritime force. Because of the dangers inherent in NSW, prospective SEALs go through what is considered by many military experts to be the toughest training in the world." - Official Navy SEAL website

Why do they need the "toughest training in the world?"

They need the toughest training in the world because they have one of the toughest jobs in the world. They must be physically and mentally prepared for anything they might face in a war time situation. In their training, they must experience real challenges and struggles and prove that they can succeed. They have to know, going into war, that they are prepared to succeed anything that might come their way. no matter what.

Pastor Jay shared the journey of the SEALs with the kids because he wanted them to understand the kind of preparedness and training we must have as Christians to battle sin and walk with God daily.

We learned that Jesus prepared himself through prayer before and after he would minister to people. Jesus would find a place to be alone to pray. His first time being alone, he fasted and prayed in the wilderness for 40 days. In that time, he was tempted by Satan 3 times. This story is found in Luke 4:1-13. Jesus teaches us that even though he was physically weak from not eating or drinking, he was still mentally strong because he relied on God's Word to get him through the temptation of Satan. He knew God's Word and it was in his heart and mind so when he faced temptation, he was mentally strong enough to succeed.

The Navy SEALs are strong men. They are men who have trained and prepared for each mission. But, what makes a SEAL special, is that they are mentally strong to withstand the pressures of war and the challenges of each special operation they are involved with.

We need to be mentally strong in God's Word so that we can withstand the pressures of this world and the temptations of sin. We are faced with things everyday, decisions between right and wrong, and it is prayer and God's Word that will prepare us for resisting temptation and doing what is right even if it is hard.

Camp Fundraiser - Ice Cream Social

2009-05-28T05:40:00.003-07:00

To help our kids raise money for camp, we had an Ice Cream Social after our Wednesday night service.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for ice cream to support our kids!

Kids Camp is a LIFE CHANGING experience

and a VITAL part of every summer.

I say life changing and vital because kids camp gives our kids the opportunity to get away from the familiar things and have an experience with God.

Children are saved, baptised in the Holy Spirit, called into full time ministry, healed, blessed and strengthened in their walk with Christ and challenged in their faith at summer camps.

We are excited that we can help our kids get there!

Kids Camp info

Missions Extreme info

Some pictures from kids camp last year...

Having a heart for missions...

2009-05-26T06:17:00.003-07:00

Throughout the last year, we have been encouraging the JAM kids to have a heart for their community, their school and their world.

From the Backyard Bash last August to our Harvest Party to raising the bar for BGMC, the kids are learning to think big and give big.

I came across a blog post that I want our parents to read.

How do you encourage your children to have a vision for missions and reaching the lost?

Click here to read this amazing and inspiring post written by Joy Fourney, a missionary wife and mom to 5!

"Go and do likewise..."

2009-05-24T12:55:00.003-07:00

As the second part of our "Love Your Neighbor" series, we talked about the parable of the Good Samaritan. Our story is found in Luke 10:25-37 and reminds us to love God, love our neighbor and go and do as the Good Samaritan did.

The story starts with an expert in the law questioning Jesus about how to have eternal life. He asks and Jesus answers with another question about what the law says about having eternal life. The man says, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus says, "Do this and you will live."

The man, still trying to test Jesus, asks, "But who is my neighbor?"

This is where Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.

A man is beaten and left for dead.

A priest walks by and does nothing.

A Levite walks by and does nothing.

But a Samaritan, considered an enemy of the beaten man, stops to help and takes the man to safety. The Samaritan pays for the hurting man's care and even goes so far as to promise to come back and reimburse any extra expenses.

The question then is, who was the neighbor to the beaten man?

The expert of the law had no choice but to answer, "The one who had mercy."

Jesus says, "Go and do likewise."

We are told to go and be kind to others. We are asked to be a neighbor to anyone who needs us. When we love God and love others, we will be a neighbor to those around us.

As an example of this kind of neighborly love, we watched Max Lucado's Stanley the Stinkbug Goes to Camp.

Hermie and his friends learn to ask God for help and learn to get to know people even if no one else will. They got to know Stanley, prayed for him and learned more about why stink bugs stink! This fun story reminded us to be kind to others, to love one another and to ask God for help when we feel like we can't love someone.

So, go and do likewise!

Project DASH-E

2009-05-22T11:10:00.003-07:00

On May 16th, our JAM Adventures kids participated with our youth group to serve the communities of the greater Dayton, Ohio area.

Our job was to raise money for BGMC by asking people or businesses to financially sponsor our big work day.

The JAM kids specifically worked at a park in Beavercreek. We weeded existing flower beds, edged new beds and spread mulch through the flower beds and around trees. It was a long day but full of fun. It was exciting to see the kids working so hard to serve their community and helping children all over the world learn about Jesus.

Dirty hands...

Little helpers...

Working hard...

Group effort...

New friends...

Parents - thank you for supporting our kids and encouraging them to participate in Project DASH-E!

We will announce a new BGMC total soon!

June BGMC challenge: Lemonade Stand

All kids who have a lemonade stand (get creative with this!) in their yard or during a garage sale and give the profits to BGMC will be entered in a drawing for an amazing prize!

Let us love one another...

2009-05-17T09:20:00.003-07:00

Today in JAM, the kids learned about loving others.

Loving others isn't easy. Loving others all the time, every day isn't easy.

Love is something that must be developed.

Learning to love others takes making a deliberate decision to show Christ's love in a way that will benefit the kids around you.

Love helps others and seeks ways to show love in practical ways.

I John 4 encourages us to love one another.

Why?

Because...

God is love.
God loves us.
God's love can be seen in us.

As children of God, we must show God's love to others. All the time, everyday. Even when it is hard, love is something that can grow in us.

God is love and if God is in our hearts, we must be showing that love to others.

I John 4:7-12 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

Baptism

2009-05-14T18:10:00.003-07:00

Last Sunday in JAM, we talked about being baptised. How it is a way to tell your friends and family what has taken place in your heart without using words. Baptism is a symbol for dying to sin and coming alive in Christ.

To demonstrate this idea, the kids played a game. They were divided into teams of boys against girls and then asked to get in order of age without talking. Then, they were asked to get in order of height without talking. They had to figure out a way to express when their birthday was without using words. That is not easy to do.

Baptism service is this Sunday night. Talk to your kids. Do they understand what baptism is and why we are baptised? If so, let Pastor Jay know soon so they can be included in this great night of obedience to God!

BGMC Update coming soon!!!