Tween time helps 4th, 5th, and 6th graders be active in service and feel prepared to be part of the larger youth program.
Twelve programs cover such topics as:
- Courage
- Making a difference
- Coping with Stress
- Success and Competition
- God's presence
- Compassion
Twelve service projects include:
- Bearable Burdens--providing Teddy Bears for children in distress
- Healing Hearts--making healing hearts bags for a local hospital
- Sack Lunches--delivering free sack lunches to impoverished neighborhoods
- "Brief" Blessing--collecting packages of new underwear for a local agency (like a homeless shelter) to distribute
- Care Packages--preparing and sending care packages to college freshmen
- Neighbor to Neighbor--giving current newspapers and flowers to families in the neighborhood
- Food for the Hungry--collecting and delivering food to a local food bank
- Clean Generosity--delivering free laundry for homebound persons and others in need
- Saying Thanks--delivering snacks and drinks to a fire department or police station
- Baskets for Sharing--making gift baskets for homebound persons and others in need
- Hospitality Check--discovering ways to make the church more hospitable to visitors
- Ministry Fair--providing a "fair" where members of a congregation can see how preteens have been involved in ministry during the year
Mark Bushor is associate pastor of education and youth at St. Mark United Methodist Church in Cleburne, Texas. He is the author of Mission Mania (published by Abingdon Press) and several articles.
Leigh L. Gregg is director of children and family ministries at Sierra Vista United Methodist Church in San Angelo, Texas. In addition, she serves as a local pastor assigned to Veribest United Methodist Church (a small rural congregation east of San Angelo). She writes curriculum for preteens and has had published numerous articles on teacher enrichment.
Dr. James H. Ritchie, Jr., a clergy member of the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference. A native of Pittsburgh, PA Jim received his B.A. from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio; his M.Div. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio; and his Ed.D. in religious education from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Jim is a consultant and is called upon regularly to lead inter-generational experiences and to teach in various settings on the subjects of children and worship, music and education, curriculum and human sexuality education for children.
James Wrede has served as youth director and children's pastor in several churches and as director for communications and resources for the Northwest Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. He has written preteen curriculum and lives in Belleville, Illinois.
