what's laura up to - newsletter april 2013

me that I was ‘a bit

old’!!

Thank you for

reading this

newsletter - please

do get in touch, I

would love to hear

from you!

As I am writing this

the sun is shining,

hurrah! I hope that

you have been able

to enjoy some

sunshine too over the

past few days. It’s

been a slightly

quieter few months

work-wise but been

very busy with

wedding

preparations!

My sister has finally

moved house...well

sort of! They are

currently living with

her in-laws while the

new house is got

ready for them to

move in. It’s been a

very long process

and everyone has

coped brilliantly with

the upheaval! Billy is

loving nursery and

Maddie and Emi are

doing very well at

school. Lola is rolling

around and starting

to make her presence

known!

My brother and his

family are looking to

move back to Kent -

he has got a new job

there already and is

commuting back to

Yeovil for the

weekends. Chloe has

got a place at

grammar school

there and may be

starting in a couple of

weeks!

My Dad recently had

some injections in his

back to help with

pain management so

hopefully he will be

pain free and able to

walk me down the

aisle!

I celebrated my 25th

Birthday this week -

had a great day with

my family being

spoilt! Billy (3) told

Daniel James Keel On 12th April, Andy’s

nephew Daniel James

Keel was born at 6am

weighing 8lbs 7oz.

Everyone is doing

very well and Joshua

and Amelia are

enjoying having a

new little brother!

Hello!

Prayer Points Preparations for

our wedding and

married life.

Personal Finances.

Jon, Vicky, Joshua

and Amelia as they

adjust to life with

Daniel!

Sarah as they move

into their new

house.

Russell, Becci,

Chloe and Sam as

they prepare to

move.

Dad for continued

good health

especially that he

can easily walk me

down the aisle!

What’s Laura UpTo? Year 4, Issue 3

April 2013

Children and

Families

Ministry

Conference

2

Training with

Croxley Green

Baptist

2

In It Together? 2

Just a ‘child’? 3

ECG

Conference 3

The Rooftop 3

Upcoming Dates 4

Inside this issue:

What’s Laura UpTo?

We had a great

weekend exhibiting

in Eastbourne and Ed

led a few different

seminars. Andy came

along to help too

which was great! This

year there was an

interactive area

which allowed

people to try out

some of the resources

including parts of

ALF and ALF 2.

We had some

great

conversations and

a good chance to

catch up with some

friends too!

We had 53 people

from around London

and further afield and

there was a great

sense of unity and

culture of discussion

about the individual

situations people

came from.

The food and

refreshments

provided were

excellent which

This event on

9th March was

the first of its

kind -

working with

London

School of

Theology,

looking at

how we can

hear, release

and encourage the

voice of the children

amongst us - to see

them speak out and

speak into the life of

the church.

We were joined by

Robert and Ro

Willoughby who led

the main sessions

along with Ed and

also took a breakout

seminar each.

always makes a

big difference!

We looked at the

importance of

making children

feel part of the

church family,

how to use the

Bible with

children, ideas

for effective All

Age Worship and

practical ways of

seeking God’s vision

for children in our

churches.

We had many

positive comments

from the day and

hope it is something

we will be able to run

again!

Training with Croxley Green Baptist

Children and Families Ministry Conference

In It Together?

material with their

children’s workers

and also others from

the area. It’s been a

great opportunity to

develop relationships

with the church and

pilot different models

of equipping events.

We have been

working with Croxley

Green Baptist Church

over a series of

Tuesday evenings,

unpacking some of

the Just a ‘child’?


It was incredibly

exciting to know

how we can further

bring the whole

community

together.

It reinforced the

message of the

important roles

parents play and

the value everyone

brings to nurturing

faith in our children.

Been encouraged to

think more

creatively and

inclusively about

our church building

and what it says

about how we

include and engage

with children/

families in church.

It’s very important

to know what

children have to say

about things that go

on around them.

It’s a must for every

children’s teacher

in the church.

Feedback from

‘In It Together?’

Unfortunately we

have had to cancel a

couple of the planned

Just a ‘child’? Events,

but at the end of

March we travelled

up to Darlington to

stay and work with

Andrew

Stobart, one

of Ed’s

friends from

Bible

College. On

the Saturday

we had 22

people for a

‘Day 1’ Equipping

Event, including a

large proportion from

Chinese church

communities - it was

great to explore how

different cultures

relate to children.

On the Sunday we

took part in two

church services in the

Darlington area - one

an informal breakfast

gathering where we

led the older

children’s group and

the other an all age

service at Hurworth

Methodist Church

where we led

elements of the

service, including

making spoon

puppets - the older

generation loved it!

people in your

community. It involves

gathering on a rooftop

and asking God for a

fresh vision of His

heart for the people of

your community.

There are then

sessions to work

through looking at

practical steps to see

it happen. Viz-A-Viz

You may have heard

about this project

from Viz-A-Viz

Ministries which Den

has been working on

in the USA for a few

years and is now

being piloted in the

UK. ‘The Rooftop’ is

an easy to follow and

very flexible strategy

to help you reach the

have recently

appointed a National

Director for ’The

Rooftop’.

You can find more

details on the project

at:

vizaviz.org/therooftop

@therooftopmin

ECG Conference

Just a ‘child’? - Darlington

The Rooftop

Year 4, Issue 3

amongst

the 5-11

year olds

and the

daily All

Age

sessions.

They had lots of fun

and some powerful

times of prayer,

worship and

response with the

children.

I was unable to go to

ECG (Equipping

Calling Going)

Conference as I was

ill, but Ed headed up

to Scarborough and

led the team

(including Taste!)for

a great week. Arise

were working

How would you

describe the voice

of the children in

your local

expression of

church?

How do we guide

children in the right

direction without

putting words in

their mouths?

What practical,

creative ways can

we use to help

children share their

thoughts and

ideas?

How do we give

children space to

input into the

ministry we're

delivering amongst

them?

How accessible is

information about

children's and

families work on

your church

website?

How do we

encourage parents

to share their faith

with their children?

Thoughts from

‘In It Together?’

http://www.vizaviz.org/therooftop

About Arise Ministries

Arise Ministries wants to work with churches to pioneer new

outreach to children in your community. Working on a local,

regional and national level, Arise Ministries seeks to help

the Church reach the children with the gospel, so that they

have an opportunity to discover Jesus and become his

followers.

There are four key areas of ministry:

1. Equipping and Support

2. Events

3. Resources

4. ALF Clubs

Our vision is ‘Equipping the church to reach a generation’.

We believe children can become, be and make disciples of

Jesus, whilst children. We want to work in, through and with

the church to see this become a reality.

Phoenix Court

Christopher Martin Road

Basildon

Essex

SS14 3EZ

Laura Bayliss

Arise Ministries

01268 530531

[email protected]

www.ariseministries.org.uk

June

6th & 11th

Rooftop Leader’s

Training Days

13th

Viz-A-Viz Ministries

Team Retreat

15th

Just a ‘child’? -

Southampton

21st

Andy’s Birthday

22nd


Newbury

29th


Croxley Green

May

3rd-6th

Baptist Assembly in

Blackpool

8th

Children’s Ministry

Academy

15th

Junior Solid

Meeting

18th


Plymouth

July

1st

Portfolio Submission

5th-7th

Family Weekend with

Glebe Methodist,

Newcastle

14th

Junior Solid

17th

Junior Solid Debrief

17th-26th

Andy away in Italy

Upcoming Events

The dates above don’t take into account planning and preparation for events

and many of the meetings we have! If you would like more details on any of

the events, or what’s coming up in 2013, please do get in touch!
