Central Abbotsford

This weekend is the third of three summer long weekends, which means that for a final time this summer, our Children’s Ministry will be put on pause, and we will invite the people of the family of God – of all ages – into our weekend service!

Now, this is my chance to put on my Pastor Darcy hat and give you a “Did You Know?” segment, complete with some numbers!

Did you know that in the 2024-25 ministry year (July to June), we averaged 34 kids a week in Children’s Ministry, reaching our all-time record attendance of 44 on the first weekend of November? But that’s not all! Did you also know that we have since broken that record three of the past six weeks this summer?

OK, I’ll get rid of the Darcy hat now. It was uncomfortable anyway.

I don’t just give you these numbers for information’s sake. There are two takeaways that I want to leave you with.

First, for the families with kids in our preschool and grade school ministries, I want to encourage you to come out to church this weekend. It is a blessing to the church to have all people – babies to seniors and everyone in between – gathered together. It is a blessing to the children to see not only their parents, but all the gathered assembly, singing praises to their God. It is a blessing to all of us to muddle around the same space together, figuring out how we can love and serve one another, regardless of our age or station, all to God’s glory. So please! If you are in town this weekend, don’t let the lack of children’s-specific ministry or teaching keep you from coming together with your church family. We would love to have all of you here.

Second, and this one is for all of us, our Children’s Ministry is growing. With the start of a new school year, several of our young adult leaders have left or are leaving for university or Bible school, and we have an acute need for more people to serve in that role. If you are considering a place to get involved, might I encourage you to give Northview Kids some consideration? My first official volunteer role at Northview was serving as a substitute leader in children’s ministry at Downes Road back in 2015, and I can truly say that the Lord was using those experiences to shape and form me in ways that I neither appreciated nor even understood at the time. He blesses our service, especially to the children in our church, and so I encourage you (and maybe even especially encourage the men of Central Abby) to pray about whether this is an area of ministry through which you can bless and be blessed. If you’d like to get involved, email me at eheath@northview.org or Brittany at bvanherk@northview.org, fill out a Serve Card to get the process started right away, or just find one of us on a weekend to chat!

I’m looking forward to gathering again with all of you (kids included) for one final summer weekend in the gym – see you Saturday!