THRIVE!

THRIVE! started last night for the kids. It was awesome to be able to finally get Justice (AND Kayden, which is new) involved deeper in the church, and into scripture. The Bear Creek THRIVE! program is similar to the Awana program. Only different. (lol). It runs Sept 16th - March 31st. It was considerably cheaper than Awanas, at only $25 per child. Justice got a cool t-shirt to wear, and an adorable little tote bag to bring home all her goodies in. The t-shirts are color coordinated by age group, which makes it safer and easier for leaders to keep track of their kids. Class sizes are kept low, for safety and so that leaders can spend one-on-one time with each child to help them with their memory verse, or the craft, or really anything a child might need help with. Kevin sat in last night, because it was the first meeting of the year, to observe. He bounced back and forth (just across the hallway) between Justice's and Kayden's room. What was also terrific was that I was meeting for Bible Study right around the corner from where the kids are (Bait of Satan - LOVE IT!) . Because I still am hesitant to leave my children in the care of the church, this eased my anxieties. Thanks, in part, to Zoe Blue, the nursery director, who has made it a point to know my children -by name- and check on them during services. (Justice is still in the Bear Cubs room for kids aged 2-3, right across the hall from where Kayden is in the 1-2 year olds room. That is one slight difference from where we were going to church, where we had Justice in with the 4 year olds. The pace seemed to match her a little better with kids older.)

Bear Creek has been a good place for us to go these past few months, and we are taking the member's class 101A this Sunday. It seems to be a good fit for our family and we are happy to call it home. One thing that really sets the tone for Sunday worship is the greeters, and the morning fellowship time. People seem to genuinely want to say hello. It is contagious, I am afraid. I am not one to jump out of my seat and seek strangers out at church (or anywhere, for that matter), and I dont think that I have the personality of a 'people-person' but it is refreshing to take 3 minutes out of your Sunday morning and say hello to people who have jumped out of their seats just to shake your hand.

Another thing that I prefer about this church to others that we have been to, is the prayer connection. During the times of worship, there are leaders at the front of the sanctuary , eager to pray with you. There is also a place, near the 'altar' (if you can call it that?) that you can go and take your prayers to God by yourself. They have an on-site bookstore which has already proven helpful, and the BCCC family has very strong 'One Church' principles.