Parents Night Out will be September 30th from 5:30 - 9:00 PM.
Fees: One Child, $15; Multiple Children: $10 for each child.
Link to sign up: https://goo.gl/forms/eltaA2IMdOKkUaF33
1st Explorers Update
Last Monday, our 1st Explorers Ministry geared up for the school year! A hymn that came to mind as I prepared for work on Monday morning was Jesus Loves The Little Children. As I hummed it out of tune and off-key, I was reminded of the many ways our church loves all the little children. For countless years, First Baptist has provided a half-day preschool known as The Play Factory. Thousands of children and their families have been impacted by this ministry. This year, with a new name and new teachers, Wee Explorers began learning, sharing and growing together with 12 preschool-age children! For the past three years, our After School Ministry has become an integral part of who we are at First Baptist. This year we have close to 60 children enrolled in our After School Ministry. This past summer we provided a comprehensive day camp for close to 50 children. Our ministries to children and their families are growing in leaps and bounds and I’m grateful to be part of this congregation that is making a huge impact on our community and future generations.
Our church most certainly loves all the little children and I’m grateful for the ways in which we are able to provide space for children and their families in our church each day of the week. I invite you to find out how you can become involved with our 1st Explorers Ministries.
- Kelly Brown
Lights On Camp Celebration
As the end of Summer Explorers camp approaches, we would like to invite everyone to join us for a Lights On Camp Celebration! Celebrate camp with us on August 11th at 6:00 PM in our Mission and Fellowship Center. Dinner will be provided. Students will share about their summer and there will be a silent auction for art work and a raffle.
Our Summer Explorers Enjoyed Field and Water Day!
A HUGE "Thank You" to the Smithfield First Baptist Church and their awesome youth group for the love and involvement shared among our water themed field day with the campers. What an awesome, and extremely talented group!
Our 1st Explorers really enjoyed your visit, and look forward to seeing you again in the future!
1st Explorers Shutterfly Account
1st Explorers now has a Shutterfly account where we will be posting photos of our experiences in Summer Camp, After School, and more! You can access these pictures at this link: https://1stexplorers.shutterfly.com/
Introducing Our New Children's Ministry Interns
Hello! It is with great excitement that we officially introduce ourselves as the new ministry interns for the Preschool and Children’s Ministries for the 2016-2017 year here at First Baptist Church of Sylva.
My name is Hannah Harris, and I am a recent alumnus of Western Carolina University. I have a degree in Communication Science & Disorders with a minor in Special Education. However, I have recently decided to pursue an Associate’s degree in Respiratory Therapy at Southwestern Community College beginning this fall. Born and raised as a city girl, I quickly fell in love with Western North Carolina and the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and decided to become more involved in the local community. As a frequent visitor to the church, I was given an opportunity to work in the nursery where I enjoyed working with, and meeting new friends, within the church. I was pleased to extend my time and my efforts to the After School and Summer Camp ministries following that, where I eventually took on more responsibilities. I am currently serving alongside Kelly Brown as the Assistant Director. I am looking forward to devoting even more of myself to the church as the new Preschool Ministry intern.
My name is Megan Harris, and I am also a recent alumnus of Western Carolina University with a degree in Communication Science & Disorders. I first started my experience with First Baptist through the church nursery and immediately found that the church felt like a family and a second home. I was happy to work with Summer Explorers Camp and the After School Ministry last year, and I currently still work with both ministries. After living in Sylva, and having being a part of First Baptist, I have recently decided to pursue further education at a later time so that I can perform to the best of my ability as the Children’s Ministry Intern.
We know that you will want to join us in thanking our predecessor--Sarah Ogletree--for her time and her work with us this past year. We are sad to see her leave us, but we are excited for her next step in attending the Divinity School at Wake Forest University. Her last Sunday with us will be July 31st.
Beginning Sunday, August 6th, we are excited to start the new year with a Sunday School experience that emphasizes learning about the Bible. Our children will be using a new Sunday School curriculum called Heartshaper, which will provide us the opportunity to learn basic Bible knowledge, highlighting all of the major Bible stories beginning in Genesis and proceeding all the way to Revelation. By the end of your child's time in our children's ministry, we will have gone through the Bible five times!
So please join us on Sunday mornings beginning at 9:30 AM! Encourage your children to bring their Bible so that they can learn how to use it to find God's truth. Additionally, feel free to check out the link for the Heartshaper curriculum (http://heartshaper.com) as it provides a multitude of resources for parents and family to share devotions, memorize scripture and put faith into action.
Last, but not least, Graduation Sunday is around the corner – August 21st. The Sunday School classes will break down as follows: babies (ages birth through 12 months), toddlers (ages 1 to 2), preschool (ages 3-Kindergarten), and school-aged children (grades 1 to 5). All of our rising 1st graders who attend on Sunday, August 21st in worship will receive a Bible. This rite of passage signifies a shift in these rising 1st grader's lives at church. These 1st graders are old enough to be able to participate with our church family throughout worship. Our preschoolers will continue to attend the first half of worship before leaving for Wee Praise following the children’s message. Additionally, we will be developing new activity sheets and exercises for our children to participate in during worship.
Thank you for entrusting us with the Biblical education, activities, and overall care of your children! We look forward to further developing our relationship with your families. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us via email or text message.
Best Regards,
Hannah Harris & Megan Harris
1st Explorers Wish List
If you would like to support our 1st Explorers Ministry, we now have a wish list on Amazon.com. If you purchase an item from our wish list, it will be used by our After School, Summer Explorers, and Wee Explorers camps. To access the wish list, follow this link: http://amzn.com/w/LKIDY053QS5O
Summer Camp Update
As I sit on my porch and reflect on the past 3 weeks of camp. I can’t help but smile and laugh. It has been great to see close to 50 children in our building at First Baptist each day of the week as campers are actively learning and growing together!
I have seen campers grow as they have learned the Lord’s Prayer in their camp groups and in chapel each day. Our oldest group, led by Landon Smith and Caleb Bonner, has done a phenomenal job of being an example for our youngest as they have coordinated and led our daily chapel services as well as donated over 60 books to Sylva Linings. Our 2nd through 4th grade group has done a great job of learning how to be community and share with one another and have even adopted a Ugandan child and are hoping to create a garden out of kiddie pools. Our Kindergarten through 1st grade group has been the most fun and caring group as they took thank you cards to the Sylva Police Department and have helped with offering during our chapel services. Our Pre-School age group has been fun to see as they have a weekly water day on the playground and walk to the library to participate in their weekly events. Jose has taught students how to build really cool solar-powered robots. The heart for service and willingness to learn about God has been a gift to witness!
Our Camp Counselors have amazed me with their willingness to serve, love and lead. They show up every day prepared to engage our children and share God's love with them! I’m overly grateful to serve alongside each of them every day. Please say thank you to them as they lead among us!
Over the next four weeks we will begin preparing for our Lights On Camp Program that will happen on August 11th at 6:00 PM in our Mission and Fellowship Center. This program will be a time that we will share with you about our summer and have a silent auction to benefit our program. I hope you will invite family and friends to join us as we celebrate our summer together!
I am honored to serve as the leader of such an awesome program with staff, children and families that are willing to learn about God and follow him as we journey together. May the next 4 weeks be as amazing as the first 3 weeks.
May we continue to grow, learn and share together!
Kelly
Supporting Our 1st Explorers Ministry
Our 1st Explorers Ministry continues to grow at First Baptist Church and many have asked how to support this ministry. There are several ways to support this ministry.
1) With your prayers! Pray for our staff that care for children daily. Pray for the children and their families. Pray that our programs leadership continues to listen to God and hear where he is calling us.
2) With your time! Come volunteer in the program. You could read with a child, assist in a classroom or provide a special program! Contact Kelly Brown our Director about volunteer opportunities!
3) With supplies! We are always in need to crayons, paint, pencils and more! Check with Kelly Brown our Director to find out what specific needs are.
4) Financially. The money that funds our 1st Explorers Ministry is mostly through tuition and contributions.
a. While the tuition assists in the overall costs of the ministry we know that it takes more than that to support the good work our staff is doing as the minister to children and their families. You can donate directly to the 1st Explorers Ministry which in turn will assist the annual budget of the program.
b. You may donate to the Lou Bryson Memorial Fund which is overseen by our Children’s Advisory Board. Currently this fund has $4,015.16. This fund was created by Lou Bryson’s family as a way to honor her love for children and our community. This fund is used to provide scholarships for families and provide supplies for the 1st Explorers Ministry.
1st Explorers Newsletter!
Our 1st Explorers have their own newsletter now! If you would like to receive emails about what our 1st Explorers campers and staff are up to, make sure to subscribe to the newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/b4h7nr. You can also subscribe at the bottom of the 1st Explorers page of our website.