CLAMcentral Ministries Statement of Faith
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen.
This statement of faith is the Nicene Creed, dating back to the early years of the church. To this we add that we uphold the Bible as God’s eternal truth written down for all. If you are not familiar with the Nicene Creed, you may be wondering about the word “catholic” in the last paragraph. That is referring to the universal worldwide body of believers down through history; that is, all people who have been saved by God’s grace and the sacrifice of Christ.
Tom Finley • Children’s Pastor, Author
It happened in my early teens. The first time I heard the term “Sunday School.” I was horrified. Who in their right mind would use the two worse words in the English language to label something as important as a group study of God’s Word? You see, Sunday was always anathema for me as a child because it meant two and a half hours sitting upright and silent in a hard wooden pew. And School, well forget it. Junior High destroyed my life, or so I believed at the time.
Not only that, but the very first time I attended a Sunday School class, I was the teacher! “So, what is it you guys do here,” I remember asking. The Christian Education Director fired me a few weeks later.
But God works in mysterious ways, and it was His plan to get me involved in Sunday School and Children’s Ministry in a big way. Happily, no pews have been involved.
My first job with a publishing company was at Youth Specialties, working with two of my heroes, Wayne Rice and Mike Yaconelli. From them I learned the value of lighthearted fun and humor in everything we published. I became a Zondervan author of resources for youth leaders (long out of print, so don’t look) and ended up at Gospel Light Publications, where I became the Managing Editor of the Youth Department, volunteering at churches along the way. My chief claim to fame came at GL. In those days churches were starting to buy photocopiers. They used them to illegally copy Sunday School curriculum! It was having a major negative impact on Christian publishing companies. I had the idea to publish curriculum that was SUPPOSED to be copied, and the rest is history. GL made a mint and within a year all the other publishers followed suit and still do. Yes, my friends, I invented the Teacher Manual you slap on a copy machine. Oh, well. Kinda takes the wind out of my sails when I realize that after all this I STILL can’t think of a better title than “Sunday School.”
Moved to Kauai. Started a church. Created a Friday night event for kids called KIDS PARTY. They loved it and even hung on the Bible stories because they would earn points for answering questions on those stories. But then someone asked me to fill in at Sunday School. Same kids, same Bible, same Lord. But the kids were bored and listless, radically different from KIDS PARTY. “Must do something,” I said to myself and that, through many years, twists and turns, is how we arrive now with a fun, lighthearted yet biblically profound and life-changing discipleship ministry we call CLAMcentral.
What happens next is up to you. Thank you for your service to God in Children’s Ministry if that is what you are up to, and thank you for your interest in CLAMcentral! We are here to provide our very best resources to help equip you to fulfill your part in Christ’s Great Commission.
The photo above is where we stay: Kauai Christian Fellowship on the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii. Come visit sometime! I’m usually at the 8:30 service. Visit KCF’s website HERE.