Mission Statement:

Realizing the diversity and challenges of our community, we strive to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to children in the simplest and most understandable form. Our goal is to reach every child in our community for Christ our Savior. In addition, we strive to nurture and support the spiritual growth of each child involved in this ministry, so that they may become mature believers and continue the mandate given to us to share the gospel of Christ. Our goals, our teachings and our lives are extracted from and patterned soley after the word of our Lord, the Holy Bible.

As a leader in this endeavor, we expect that your heart and mind are focused on the task at hand: reaching kids for Christ. It is essential that, as we minister to children, we are also being ministered to. Therefore, we ask that you commit yourself to the following challenges, so that you may be fed spiritually and thus be fit and ready to feed our children as well.

1. Of course, we require that all leaders profess Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and be baptized to proclaim that relationship with Christ. This is absolutely fundamental in our ministry’s endeavor. If you are not completely secure in the fact of your own salvation, please see the Children’s Minister or another member of our pastoral staff. Upon baptism, we urge each leader to participate in discipleship training (Classes 101 through 401) in order to better equip themselves and therefore better serve our children.
2. We strongly encourage that you also be a member of our congregation before taking on a teaching role on this leadership team. This contributes to the “one big family” environment that we seek to obtain within our ministry.
3. We request that all leaders be in attendance for all major church services. It can be easy to justify “skipping” for various reasons and some absences simply cannot be avoided. However, a faithful church attendee will inevitably be a faithful leader. In addition, we cannot lead our children if we are not being spiritually challenged on at least a weekly basis. Our goal is to nurture kids to be invincible and dedicated in their own faith, but we must also strive to do the same for ourselves as their leaders.
4. 4. Attend all meetings of the Leadership Team in which you are a part of. The Ministry Team will make their best attempt to schedule meetings in such a way that is accommodating to everyone and we realize that exceptions may have to be made occasionally. However, attending these important meetings will be your opportunity to touch base with the whole team, to understand the schedule of upcoming events and thus allow us to move forward as one unit.

Guidelines for EdGe Leaders:

1. Please be present whenever your responsibility as a leader calls you to be. If, for any reason, you cannot be present to fulfill your responsibilities, please call the Director of the ministry in which you are a leader or, if and only if you cannot reach the Director, call the church office. Contrary to popular opinion, we cannot always “find someone at the last minute,” so please let us know as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your cooperation here.
2. Physical punishment, verbal abuse, foul language of any kind, inappropriate gestures and/or speech, name-calling, and/or any other form of belittlement or abuse will not be tolerated. We do not expect this to be a problem, but any leader who participates in such behavior will be reviewed by the Ministry Team promptly. In a nutshell, “oh be careful little mouth what you say!”
3. Do not, under any circumstances, be alone with any child anywhere on church property, including vans and offsite events sponsored by EdGe Children’s Ministries, without being with or at the very least in plain sight of another leader or responsible adult. This mandate exists simply for your own protection and responds to another sad indication of the world in which we live. You cannot be too careful.
4. When a child becomes intolerably distractive or unruly, destructive to himself and/or other students and/or poses a threat to anyone’s safety, report that child to the Director of the ministry in which you are a leader (preferably by sending an assistant or a trustworthy student). Do not respond with the same attitude or violence that is demonstrated by the student, but take any and all measures to protect the other students. We must, however, be above simply reflecting their behavior.
5. If a child in your care asks a question about salvation of any other spiritual matter and you are not sure how to answer it, please relay that question to the Director of the ministry in which you are a leader. We are in the quest of leading children to the Lord; we must take their spiritual questions seriously and answer them with solid, Biblical knowledge. If you aren’t sure you know the answer, make sure they are directed to someone who does.
6. We are here as servants of God and messengers of the love that Christ gave to us. Please be patient, loving and kind with our children. Sometimes we are the only positive influence in their lives and we must strive to meet the standards that Jesus set for us with His own life. We cannot become easily frustrated, aggravated or intolerant of them or their behavior. They need love…you be the one to give it to them unconditionally!
7. Please show respect to the Children’s Minister, the Ministry Team and all other members of the Leadership Team at all times. There will inevitably be times when you do not agree with decisions made by the Children’s Minister or Ministry Team concerning programs, scheduling, etc. If you have issue with any such decision, it is your responsibility to raise that issue at a Leadership Team meeting or Ministry Team meeting. We cannot solve a problem that we are not aware of. Furthermore, discussing your opinion about such decisions with anyone else is inappropriate and destructive to the unity of our ministry and our church. Don’t inadvertently volunteer to help Satan work against this ministry. Finally, please show respect to all other ministries within our church, whether or not you personally agree with the way in which the ministry is conducted. We must strive to maintain unity throughout our church. After all, we are all in it for the same reason: making disciples for Christ.