Communication

To me, it seems like RAD Club involves a lot of communication.

First, there's the fundamental message: living our lives, not just to our utmost, but in comparison to the perfect life of Jesus when he was on earth, and as he still influences and guides us today.  Our small team structure makes it possible to nurture and support thoughtful behaviour, especially as members are encouraged by a great group of young leaders.



Communication ...

Second, there's the behind-the-scenes teamwork:

• the young team leaders who meet for a couple of hours every fortnight to plan their programme, and who have to coordinate their plan for a craft at each session;
  
• the catering team who have to try to judge how many sandwiches, veggies, and crisps they need when they shop earlier in the week, and then arrive at 3pm to start the preparations.
• the games leader (Mariella) who plans games in advance and brings the required materials so we can have a bit of a laugh, some exuberant activity, and maybe a prize-winner or two;
• the worship leader (Sue) who prepares her songs in the weeks beforehand, and has to get the words printed up and sent to Kat in time for creating the slide show for Friday's session;
• the art coordinators (Susan and Clare), who arrive early in order to prepare the craft materials and to support the team leaders as they set out their project for the day.

Communication ...

Third, there's the communication from RAD Club to the parents. That's why we started this blog, so there's always an easy way to find phone numbers and email address, not to mention dates and times, but we also like to drop notes to parents via email and text. We want to keep in touch because we think the club has a lot to offer kids in Charlbury -- not just the spiritual message, but the friendships and teamwork and games and all the fun stuff that is packed into a short 1 1/2 hours.

Communication ...

For all these reasons, we would very much like parents to communicate more often with us as well. 

• We need to know in a timely manner if children are coming or not so that we can cater appropriately (yes, the club is free for RAD Club members, but there are still costs involved which are being shouldered by the Baptist Church, Churches Together in Charlbury, and other private individuals).
• Team leaders need to know which of their team members are coming so that they don't over-prepare crafts. It's very disheartening for them to make five sets of materials, only to have none of their team members turn up.
• We need to know if there are things we can do better, to make the club more enjoyable for the children.  We are very good at implementing suggestions when they're made. (However, please don't tell us that our day and time is inconvenient -- we know that we can get over 30 young people as it's currently scheduled, far more than we could if we tried to meet at any other time).

Communication ...

Finally, we need to remember our communication with God.  We can feel overwhelmed, undervalued, frazzled, hassled, a victim of injustice, little more than a taxi service, and all the other things that go into our modern lifestyles when young children are involved, but God is waiting to hold us in the shadow of his wings and let us feel, even for a moment, how precious we are to the One who formed us as the unique person we are.