Children and the Poor

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Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to the least of these members of my family, you did it to me." Matthew 25:40

Welcome to the Webpage for the "Children and the Poor Committee."

Nebraska conference-wide three year emphasis:
Children and the Poor, including support of the Millennium Development Goals

The focus of the Nebraska Conference Committee for "Children and the Poor" "...is on communicating and living the gospel of Jesus Christ with all children and intentionally reaching out to impoverished persons as recipients and means of God's grace in Jesus Christ." (from the closing words of the foundation document of the Bishop's Initiative for Children and Poverty.)

This ministry carries out the six signs of discipleship by:
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Promoting and providing resources for churches so that they can be intentional in offering programs to children and the poor. We are putting a strong emphasis for churches conference wide to become "A Church for All God's Children" while simultaneously encouraging a study of "Community with Children and the Poor".

Continuing to provide information and resources to encourage all churches conference wide to celebrate "Children's Sabbath".

Continuing to interpret issues and advocate for children and the poor on a local, national, and international level through support of organizations like "Voices for Children in Nebraska", the State Foster Care Program, Children's Defense Fund, and the Millennium Development Goals.

Awarding grants to churches in our conference that develop programs for children and the poor with an emphasis on a justice component.

Supporting an increased presence and inclusion of children at annual conference and throughout our churches by supporting "Children's Annual Conference."

Continuing to develop young adult leaders by supporting the Peace with Justice Intern Program and our newly developed Children and the Poor Intern Program.
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"A Church for All God's Children" and a "Community with Children and the Poor"


The Children and the Poor ministry team believes that we need to continue to respond to the crisis among children and the impoverished in our churches. We believe that we need to continue to equip disciples to serve children and the poor, the core constituents of Jesus. To that end, we are encouraging churches across our conference to become "A Church for All God's Children" while simultaneously encouraging a study of "Communities with Children and the Poor."

"A Church for All God's Children" was a Bishop's Initiative that was introduced in 1996 in response to issues confronting children and the poor. Congregations are invited to take specific actions to make their churches more responsive to the needs of children and their families in the church and community. You can download a packet of information with a checklist at umc.org and then going to the Council of Bishops page.

At the same time that congregations are implementing this program we are encouraging them to study "Community with Children and the Poor". This book can be purchased from Cokesbury.

Congregations that successfully complete the required activities on the checklist for: "A Church for All God's Children" while simultaneously completing the study of "Community with Children and the Poor" will receive a special designation and be recognized at annual conference.

We plan to have at least one church in every district to model being special advocates for children and the poor.
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Children's Sabbath


This ministry team believes it is important for all churches to celebrate a "Children's Sabbath". This is a program established by the Children's Defense Fund. These celebrations were begun to encourage prayer, education, and service to help Children and their families. Congregations are asked to hold special worship services; education programs, and other activities to help people of faith, learn more about problems facing children and poor families. The designated date for this celebration is in October; however, it can be celebrated any Sunday of the year.

On this day children of the church are invited to take a more active role in the worship service. We would like for you to be aware however, that even if there are no children in your church, it is still important to have this special Sabbath. Our purpose in celebrating this special day is to reinforce our obligation and opportunity as Christians to give each child a healthy start, a head start, a safe start, and a moral start, and to give you ideas about ways that you might be able to help with these issues.

You can find more information about celebrating Children's Sabbath at www.childrensdefensefund.org.
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Advocacy and Support of Children


"Voices for Children in Nebraska" - Voices is an independent, nonprofit, organization committed to serving Nebraska's children by:

Advocating for the best interests of children
Equipping parents, professionals and volunteers to effectively meet the deepest needs of Nebraska's children
Inspiring all Nebraskans to put the needs of children first
"Voices for Children in Nebraska" is recognized as the vital resource, trusted advisor, and influential leader advocating for Nebraska's children. Please look to this page for legislative alerts pertaining to children issued from "Voices".
For more information www.voicesforchildren.com

Foster Care in Nebraska - Foster care is a safety service for children when they are unable to remain safely at home. The Department provides the child with a substitute family that is approved or licensed. The child's stay is temporary while the parents of these children get support in working toward the safe return of their child. Foster parents participate as a team member for the child. Their goal is to work with the child, family and caseworker toward achieving the child's goals.
For more information www.hhs.state.ne.us/chs/foc/NEfc.htm

Children's Defense Fund - The CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. They pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. The CDF established the celebration of Children's Sabbath. For more information www.childrensdefensefund.org

Millennium Development Goals-The eight Millennium Development Goals which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015-form a blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries and all the world's leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world's poorest.
For more information www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
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2007 Grant Awards


The churches who were awarded grants in 2007 for creating projects for children and the poor with an emphasis on a justice component were:

* Rainbow Promise Preschool at First United Methodist Church in Imperial, NE.
The main goal of Rainbow Promise Preschool is to provide a high equality non-denominational Christian preschool program to any child in the Imperial area whose parents wish to have him/her attend. They plan to use this grant money to educate their community about the problems of those who are minorities and/or who live in poverty. They feel like if their community can realize how important it is that they help our minority children and children in poverty during their early years, they will realize how these children can be better prepared to be students in their schools.

* La Casa Del Pueblo- "Dar la Mano: Empowering Tomorrow's Latino Leaders
The grant awarded to this program is helping to fund a Latino/Hispanic child and youth mentoring/tutoring program to promote healthy alternatives for the youngest of the newly arrived immigrants and counter the high prevalence of drop out rates among Latino students.

* Pearl Community Center-Omaha, NE.
The goal for this center is to equip the children in the Pearl Community Center with the skills that will help them settle disputes without resulting to verbal or physical violence. This grant was awarded to help put a program in place to stop the violence in North Omaha by working with the children and youth they have in their neighborhood and help them grow up into people who know how to handle conflict and are committed to live non-violently in this society.

* Outreach, Nurture, and Evangelism (ONE) Committee First United Methodist Church, Walthill, NE.
The ONE Committee serves as a vital link between the church and their ethnically diverse and economically challenged community, often spearheading efforts to unite the community through non-threatening activities that celebrate, educate, support, and uplift. The grant was awarded to continue educating church members, pastors, people in positions of service, and the community in general to the dynamics of generational poverty -- and finding mutually consensual ways to bridge, and hopefully begin to change, this crippling mindset. This grant will help provide materials which promote healthy choices and leadership development and to provide for food for Kids Care Club meetings.
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Grant Application Process


Coming Soon!
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Become an Advocate


You've taken the first step in Christian faith by using you're head and educating yourself. Hopefully by now you feel compassionate and are therefore in the second stage of faith and Christian discipleship by using your heart. Now it's time to take the third step and put your hands and feet into action. The following information is a jump start on what you can do to make a positive influence on the world and touch lives.
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Legislative Updates


Another legislative year has come to a close in Nebraska. The Committee for Children and the Poor would like to inform you of the bills we monitored this year. There were many successes. Among them were; LB 171 - Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to Apply for Food Stamp Options and Waivers, LB 245 - Changes Provisions Relating to the Fluoridation of Drinking Water, LB 782 - Allow Disclosure of Child Abuse and Neglect Information, LB 1176 - Change Provisions Relating to Medicaid Benefits and Departmental Reports. The end of a legislative term does not mean it's time to take a break. The summer is a perfect time to write your State Senator and legislative candidates. Please help to make the next legislative year a success by taking action now. To find out more information so you can write a stronger letter and discover what topics need attention, visit voicesforchildren.com. Voices also has a list of State Senator Contact Information. You can make a difference!
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Develop Young Adult Leaders


Tyler Kaufmann is our first intern for the Children and the Poor committee of Nebraska. He is a sophomore at The University of Nebraska at Kearney. Tyler's church home is Elkhorn Hills United Methodist Church in Elkhorn, NE.

Tyler's main focus will be on improving our communications throughout the conference. He will specifically focus on our webpage by updating information as necessary. Tyler will also be sending out legislative alerts and other important information through the conference's e-publication called "UMConnect."

Tyler was the recipient of a scholarship awarded by this committee to attend the "Living Faith: Seeking Justice" global conference in Forth Worth this past fall.
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