What is Children’s Ministry?!?
A LOT of fun! That’s what it is!!! I fell in love with Children’s Ministry well over a decade ago because it’s just so exciting and so rewarding!
It has definitely changed and evolved over the years. Some of you reading this are before the generation where Children’s Church started. Or maybe, you have those Sunday School teachers who hold a special place in your heart when you think of church as a child.
I have Miss Norma, who knew my biggest passion in 1st grade was being the one to move the characters on the felt board. To this day, I vividly remember moving Moses through the parted waters (aka...two pieces of blue felt in the shape of an “L” turned upside down and outward to look like the water).
She probably remembers me for informing her that “my mama says when your forehead makes those lines when you’re thinking, it’s because you’re getting old.” From the mouths of babes!!!
Children are spoken of all throughout Scripture.
Psalm 127:3 says,
“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward/gift.”
When we receive a gift, we should appreciate and cherish both the gift and the giver. In my heart, if the Lord declares something to be a gift, then I should absolutely treat it as such. Even if sometimes I’m clueless on what to do with it (insert that moment the amazing labor and delivery nurse, who has been holding your hand the last few days, loads you in the car and sends you home with a newborn!!!).
Speaking of babies, which we have quite a few at Harbor, there’s not much sweeter than to show them they are loved during their time in the nursery on Sunday mornings. As a new parent, I can say, witnessing other people love your baby blesses your heart more than I could have ever imagined. What a beautiful way to minister to the parents with new babies!
Another time scripture speaks of children is a familiar verse in Matthew 19:14. Here Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
As vividly as I remember moving those felt pieces, I remember Miss Norma teaching on this verse through a Precious Moments picture Bible.
I saw it. I heard it. I got it. I worried about the men standing by with big bushy eyebrows mean-mugging. Then Miss Norma brought our attention to the image of Jesus. Sitting, surrounded by children, and he was SMILING!
I grew up surrounded by educators. My mom taught in the same Inner City Public School for 38 years. I remember her always saying, “Every moment is a teaching moment.” I see that in this story of Jesus. Jesus wanted the children, these gifts from the Father, around him because he wanted to teach them and love them.
By all means, if Jesus stops to invest in and love children, then shouldn’t I do the same?!?
Jesus says in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
If I had to pick a life verse, this would be one of them. I’ve had the opportunity to serve in various entities and ministries of all sizes over the last 15 years.
I will never forget the day that I was in an auditorium with a couple of hundred kids during a school chapel service teaching the story of Jonah.
The Lord (in His goodness, knowing I was growing a little weary) let me see a little boy probably seven years old a few rows back. At that moment, his eyes lit up, and he yelled, “FOR REAL???”
The Lord showed me something I was taking for granted. I had been given the opportunity to introduce the Bible, full of awe and wonder of our Creator, to children and with that came such a precious gift (there’s that word again) and opportunity to tell them about Jesus and the life that He gives and that it really is ABUNDANT!
Just like the excitement to introduce someone to Jesus is not limited to conversations with children, Children’s Ministry, of course, does not stop with the kids! It goes way beyond that to minister to the parents, the grandparents, the school teachers.
As we read from one of our pastors last month, Family Discipleship is one of the core beliefs of our church. Our goal is never just to have something for the kids to do, but to use that time to intentionally teach and invest in the children of our church, which will also invest in their families.
Last year, I’ll never forget when we could not have Children’s Church, our 2.5-year-old foster child was with us in service. She was sprawled out on the floor of the YMCA aerobics room, coloring. Ryan was preaching about the Fruit of the Spirit, and after about the 17th time of him saying the word “fruit,” she told us she needed her fruit bar out of her bag.
That may not seem like much, but she heard the words being said, she related it, and on the way home, we got to talk about the “fruit” he was talking about, in a way she could understand.
So now, since she has gone home, we pray every time she eats a fruit bar, she thinks about the “fruit of the Spirit.”
All that to say, I pray that whether our kids are in a designated Children’s Ministry room, in the service with the adults, or in the backyard playing with you, they hear it, they get it, and WE get to tell them of the goodness of the Lord!