Footprints in Faith
What God Has Done and Where He is Leading
This past year has been filled with new explorations and pioneering four bold, faith initiatives in discipling children to Jesus Christ! K.I.D. School, discipleship training for educators, was first launched in 2008 to the Southern Union then made available to other unions in 2009. The training equips school teams to grow as disciples and disciple-makers in church school classrooms and as partners in discipling every student to Christ. K.I.D. Plant, discipleship training for church plants, was first launched at the end of 2008 and further developed in 2009 to train church members and pastors who have started a new church to use the K.I.D. ministry resources and apply them to intergenerational worship and neighborhood evangelism. K.I.D. Camp, discipleship training for camp staff, launched this summer at Camp Kulaqua and Noscoa Pines Ranch, specifically equipping summer camp staff to grow as disciples and intentional disciple-makers of every camper. And, K.I.D. City launched March in Atlanta, GA equipping church members to use their homes as discipleship centers to reach every child and family in their neighborhood for Christ.
When I think of 2009 I praise God for the leaders He has across the world who are championing K.I.D. in their countries. Hundreds of leaders were trained from Africa, Europe, Korea, Hong Kong, Cuba, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Fiji and the Caribbean this past year. Leaders in each country have been prayerfully adapting K.I.D. to the culture of the children and families they are reaching. The people of the South Pacific Division are finding ways to use K.I.D. in some of the most remote places of the world, reaching families in the jungles of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
God has also blessed in the revision of our Footprints small group discipleship curriculum. Our revised lessons give a stronger leadership role to the parents and mentors who join their children each week in their discipleship journey. The revised lessons also include an addition of timely topics of family priorities, loving relationships and spiritual mentoring tips.
As we look towards 2010, we are planning the following:
#1 Disciple urban children and their families to Jesus Christ
We will continue to pioneer neighborhood, home-based discipleship centers and will create tools to equip families in our cities to reach their neighbors for Christ.
#2 Strengthen the spiritual impact and availability of K.I.D. University
We will heighten the effectiveness of K.I.D. University. We will further develop leaders in the East-Central Africa Division, Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division and the Inter-American Division to lead the Kids In Discipleship movement in these vast territories. In the North American Division we will partner with interested conferences in making K.I.D. University available to more church teams, by taking training to the conference. This will result in discipling more children and families to Jesus Christ.
#3 Partner with Church Schools and SDA Universities We will offer K.I.D. School to unions who wish to partner with the K.I.D. Center in equipping teacher/parent/pastor/principal teams. We will continue to pioneer this training at Southern Adventist University’s School of Education for every education major and will partner with any other sister university interested.
#4 Create global systems for increased leadership support, communication and for mobilizing donors of time, talent and treasure. We will seek simple solutions to support the leaders we have trained with updates on new break-throughs in discipling children. We seek wisdom from God for ways to create a global network of people who want to invest their lives in discipling every child everywhere.
Don MacLafferty
Founder/Executive Director of Kids In Discipleship (K.I.D.)
K.I.D. Launches new website
The K.I.D. ministry launched a new, revamped Web site this fall. Among many new features, the new site presents a clearer picture of what the ministry is and does, has faster, easier process for registration, offers past training attendees, church members, families, etc. the ability to write their own testimonies and ministry updates on the new blog, and gives donors the option to give online.
Check it out www.KidsInDiscipleship.org and let K.I.D. know what you think.
International Guests Explore K.I.D. University
This September the K.I.D. team welcomed visitors from the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division to their K.I.D. University training. Three countries were represented from the division, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. In addition, five U.S. teams from Texas, Illinois, and Massachusetts attended. The participants worked alongside each other as they learned how to make faith a priority for every home in their church.
“My greatest desire is to meet Jesus as a family. This is the first time I’ve come across a ministry and materials that support that vision,” said Becky Gomez from Burleson, TX.
Number one walk away for a majority of the participants was, “I must be a disciple, before making disciples of others.”
K.I.D. City-Atlanta invite local pastors to learn about neighbor evangelism
Atlanta area pastors gathered at the Tradebank Convention Center for a special K.I.D. City-Atlanta luncheon, Sept. 27. Pastor Sam and Rebecca Pomianowski, missionary couple for K.I.D. City-Atlanta project, informed pastors on the possibilities K.I.D. City-Atlanta could offer their churches and the tremendous things God is doing in the neighborhoods they are working in. Several churches show interest after the informative luncheon and are ready to start a small group in their local church.
Sam and Rebecca now have four active small groups across the Atlanta area. Groups are being led by lay members boldly stepping out into their neighborhoods and inviting children to trust, follow, and share Jesus.
Southern Adventist University Education students experience K.I.D. training
Southern Adventist University freshman and sophomore education majors encountered a weekend spiritual retreat with the K.I.D. staff, as part of a new venture to train future teachers to implement discipleship principles into their classrooms after graduation. The partnership will encompass philosophy and methodology for teachers in training throughout their four years in college.
On October 2-3, Pastor Don MacLafferty and Kathy Goddard took students from Introduction to Education courses and department faculty to the Howe farm to help them grow in their personal spiritual journey with Jesus Christ. Topics for the weekend included: 1) having the personal assurance of salvation, 2) experiential prayer, and 3) life application Bible study.
“I felt that the activities we participated in enhanced my relationship with God and bonded me to the leaders of our program in a unique way,” said OIivia Weber, a sophomore elementary education major.
With a focus on deepening a student’s own spiritual walk with God, the freshman year will be followed by methods instruction. Specific practical ideas for classroom teachers will include 1) how to lead your students to receive Jesus as their personal Savior, 2) how to bring discipleship intentionally into the Bible curriculum, 3) how to create worships that disciple, and 4) how to network the home, school, and church.
Pastor Don and Kathy followed up the retreat weekend with lab experiences during Introduction to Education classes on October 27 with both elementary and secondary education majors.
“We as teachers and as a church are facing the dilemma of our youth dropping out of church,” said Giselle Ramirez, a freshman elementary education major. “We need to start discipling our children from the beginning.”
Allowing the Holy Spirit to move
By DeVonne Fouche
DeVonne Fouche is a home-school parent and volunteer with the K.I.D. ministry and for the first time she went out to speak for the ministry. Below is her report of allowing the Holy Spirit to use her to spread the word during her first K.I.D. assignment.
I read aloud to my God from His word, “Sing to the Lord a new song,” so I sang out loud. For the first time in my adult life, I was totally alone for morning worship. It was just Jesus and me.
My prayer: Dear Lord, You know me. I don’t want to mess this up for You. Please fill me and the people You have specifically chosen to touch with K.I.D. with your Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit in me speak to the Holy Spirit in them…
My adventure began at the Southern Union’s Children’s Ministries Go Fish! Conference at Florida Hospital in Orlando in September and continued on to Camp Mivoden for the Upper Columbia Conference’s DiscipleShip in October. Determined to enjoy every minute, I took in workshops during my time off on actively developing kids into intercessors, (a new thought and now action for me) and brain research and learning (insights on how to be an effective communicator).
Also in worship, I read in Psalms, “Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.” Each time I left my room and as I whispered my last prayer before opening my mouth, I felt that the Lord had bound the devil and his plans. In my workshops on developing spiritual gifts, building Hebrews 11 children and sharing the K.I.D. vision, it was if I had an out-of-body experience. I watched the Lord remove barriers and teach. Intimate conversations with strangers, who for that moment were close friends, had us recounting the Lord’s victories in our lives, praying for each other and deciding to disciple our children. Indeed, He answered my prayer.
Women on edge for K.I.D.
More than 2,000 women filled the ballroom of the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas on Sabbath, September 26 for the first North American Division Women’s Convention in 11 years. With the help of generous donors, Kids In Discipleship sent Kathy Goddard to represent the ministry, the first time that K.I.D. has marketed discipleship training to women as a sector of the church.
Kathy had three breakout sessions of the 70 sessions offered during the three days of the convention. More than 130 women attended Kathy’s sessions. Many of them stayed behind to learn more and receive information about the K.I.D. Ministry.
During one of the general sessions, Carol Baker, organizer and NAD Women’s Ministries Director, told the participants that 70% of the membership of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church worldwide is female. Having access to the K.I.D. ministry can have an eternal impact on children, as women are more likely to be the spiritual nurturer in the home.
