2009: Looking Ahead
Mon, 08 Dec 2008 - 3:00 PM CST
The close or end of something always brings the anticipation of something new and exciting. And once again, we are creeping up (or speeding toward - whichever your perspective may be) on another year. As Jason has already mentioned in his article, we here at CMA have had a great 2008; the journey has been phenomenal. And so, as we close out something really good, we only see great things on the horizon of 2009. Please take a few moments and look into the future with us and see what opportunities lay ahead.
One of the most exciting things we are working on is the CMA RE:gionals 2009; we are diligently working to have the absolute best conferences available to children's ministry leaders anywhere. Building on the success of the 2009 National Children's Ministries Leadership Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas in April of 2008, we believe with God's help we have a great plan for the Regional Conferences set to happen in San Antonio, Texas in March; Baltimore, Maryland in September; and St Louis, Missouri in October. Each of these is being specifically designed to refresh your spirit and excite and energize your ministry while connecting you with some of the greatest people in the country - each other! Check it out at www.CMAConferences.com. If you haven't been to one of our conferences in a while, come see for yourself-we are confident you won't be disappointed. Register today at the above website.
In 2008, we began to explore the possibility of offering great children's ministries training online so that anyone anywhere would have access. As we continue to explore this new frontier and offer more and more variety, we believe we will, in 2009, begin building a library of trainings presented by some of the best in the field that will easily give you tools to excite and further empower your children's ministry. We here at CMA believe that you guys that work with children are some of the brightest, most creative people in the world. We also believe that, when we can bring that talent together and build off each other's God-inspired ideas, there is no telling what doors God might open. So check the website ( www.shop.CMLeadership.com ) often, and watch for announcements about where this new expedition is going.
On the same vein as webinars, we are offering One Day Trainings as a way to get great training on a local level. We will be kicking this venture off in four locations in the district of New York in January. Each location will have the same basic training but will allow local leaders and volunteers to come to something close to them where, not only the leaders can get fired up, but their whole team can leave with a renewed and refreshed sense of what God may be doing in their specific ministry. In this instance, we are working in cooperation with Sharon Baldwin, the New York district Children's Ministries Director. We are also working with the West Texas district leadership to do the same thing there later in the year. If you might be interested in something like this in "your neck of the woods," whether it is a district or just a group of churches in an area, give Brandon Diehl here at CMA a call at (417) 862-2781 ext. 4092, or email him at BDiehl@ag.org. These will also be posted on the CMLeadership website under One Day Trainings, so check there often for trainings happening close to you.
Character Connex and KidzMax Live are both very successful programs that are on our radar. Both of these programs are solid and have provided a fantastic foundational framework to build upon. Just in case you're not sure what I am talking about, Character Connex is a character education program that emphasizes the strong character building traits that are already being taught in local schools. This program can be used by anyone in any school in the United States because it addresses and holds to the concern about the separation between church and state. For more detailed information about Character Connex, check out the website at www.CharacterConnex.com. KidzMax live is a four-night outreach event that has been created to reach communities in a powerful and evangelistic way. You can find more on KidzMax Live at www.KidzMaxLive.org. In 2009, we will be looking at creative ways to both expand and make these programs the very best that they can be.
Great resources are a continuous need. We as children's leaders are always on the lookout for the next great and wonderful tool that we can make use of in our ministry. Our goal for this in 2009 is two-pronged. First, we have continued and will continue to build on a strong relationship with Gospel Publishing House to create new and exciting product for you to take advantage of, so be on the lookout because you will begin to see some of the pieces birthed from our cooperation with GPH in 2009. The other prong comes by being your eyes and ears across the nation and picking up on great resources coming out from other sources. We can't create every piece for every program for every church in the nation; you, the churches that we serve, are far too complex an organism for that. But we can bring to you the best resources out there for you to use with confidence while collaboratively working with GPH to create even more.
And if all that wasn't enough-last but certainly not least, this is a council year. And, oh my, do we have some super things happening at Kids' Council this year! If you haven't checked it out yet, General Council is going to be in Orlando, Florida (www.GeneralCouncil.org). We here at CMA are planning on taking full advantage of this area that is rich with children's entertainment. If you are coming to council, come by and say hi.
For this great new year that God is about to bless us with, please know that we are committed first and foremost to your success. What we do is driven by what we hear from you; we are listening, and we are here to help. God is so absolutely in control, and He wants to do even greater things through you and your ministry than you ever thought possible. If we can do anything to help make that happen, please let us know.
Come on New Year!!! Opportunities are abounding!
