Effective Children's Ministry

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Today, Catherine and I spent some time on our allotment garden, planting asparagus crowns. They don’t look like much now – in fact they resembled rather grubby giant spiders with big white eyes!  Yuk! However, since we are looking forward to a succulent harvest in due course, we followed instructions and over two sessions, have got the plants in the ground. On the way home it became clear that God had highlighted some wonderful lessons regarding children’s ministry.

1. Think long-term
The asparagus bed will start giving of its best in two to three years time, and will be productive for twenty years or so. Unlike other vegetables which must be sown every year, the asparagus grows and grows.

We want the children in our care to lead lives that remain fruitful – both in terms of the fruit of the Spirit and also in winning souls. In a previous post we mentioned what our kidmin friend Wanda wrote:

“As we pray, plan, develop and implement ministry for children do we ever stop and ask who we want that child to be when he is an adult? I believe asking this question will make a big difference in how we do ministry to children.”

In her thought-provoking blog post Wanda lists the goals she has for her kids, when they are forty.  Long-term goals are very valuable in shaping our current ministry.

2. Prepare deeply
Since Catherine and I hope it will be productive for twenty years, we prepared the place for the asparagus trench well. This meant deep digging, removing all the long rooted or perennial weeds, moving barrow loads of soil away to elsewhere on the plot and bringing in barrow loads of compost and well-rotted manure. It had to be good ground, ready with all the nourishment needed for strong growth of healthy plants. And all this was before the asparagus  plants were put in place.

Such a deep preparatory work is essential for effective children’s ministry, too.  Of course we should prepare by choosing curriculum, training volunteers, and nearer the time for the lesson, by preparing lesson plans and gathering visuals and other props. But in addition to all that, I mean the d…e…e…p  stuff! And that means in the depths of me, the teacher!

• I need to be broken up by God, bendable to his will, having yielded every area of my life to his Lordship.
• I need to be clean, living “as holy a life as a sinner saved by grace can live”.
• I need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, or else all my work is simply human effort.
• I need to be totally dependent on God and giving him all the glory.
  Wayne Stocks, guest blogging over at Ministry-to-Children.com has written a penetrating look at how we might prepare ourselves as teachers, by checking our attitudes and motivation. This article is a Must-Read for all children’s ministry workers.

3. Be prepared for someone else to reap the harvest that comes from your hard labour.
I hope that Catherine and I will live for many more years, to enjoy the luxurious seasonal treat of fresh asparagus. But we may not. We are aged 61 and 68 and perhaps in a few years we will no longer be able to work the plot. Who knows?
The chances are that someone else will enjoy the asparagus after we have gone. We did the hard labour and they get the crop!! But we are totally at ease with that, because we are taking the long view.

It’s just the same with children’s ministry. Paul gave us insight into the true picture:

We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers.
(1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NLT)

In children’s ministry we may do the long-term planning and the week-by-week preparation; we may dig deep into our own pockets to fund the work; we may sacrifice leisure time and work late into the night on occasions – only to find that some other worker or volunteer is the one to bring children to the point of receiving the Saviour.
Or, it could be that we move on to another place or another role, only to learn that the Lord blesses with a harvest that work which we established. How wonderful, then, that God tells us, “both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers.”

If you have lived a godly life and ministered to the children under the guidance and anointing of God, then you will have been a link in the chain that drew them to Christ.

Next spring, when the first shoots of the asparagus peep through, I will be reminded of these three vital lessons. Indeed, I hope I never forget them.

Catherine and I recently visited two wonderful museums.

Two museums

One was the site of the remains of a Roman fort in Northern England, near Hadrian’s Wall. Here, at Segedunum, North Shields, we saw outlines of the stony foundations of the soldier’ barracks, the stables, groom’ quarters, a granary and the central praetorium, or commander’s house.

We were guided round the ancient ruins by means of an audio explanation, which seemed to bring it all to life. We were also fortunate to see a reconstructed bath house and a mock up of a stable, so we got a glimpse of what life was like in the barracks for the weary soldiers returning from patrol.
Inside, the museum presented artefacts which the archaeologists had found on the site. Among them we saw pieces of cavalry tack and equipment, and religious items. One very interesting room was given over to medical instruments. We were told what operations they were used for and how various ailments were treated by the doctors. It all made us think of our lives today, and we compared our situation with the Romans of a thousand years ago. Somehow we felt connected with them.

In contrast, some months later we visited another eminent museum. It also housed Roman artefacts and some stunning medieval pieces, including jewellery. But this time, there was only a limited effort made to set the find in context. There was no audio guide and the labels on the cases were not sufficient to satisfy our curiosity about what we were seeing.

Wonderful as the displays were, that second museum seemed to miss what the first one had given us – a sense of connection, the ability to identify with some of the items and the people behind them. The Roman culture was very different from ours, yet we felt affection for these people.

Four questions:

1. How do we relate the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children we teach, and to their families?
2. How do we show that the message of the Bible is relevant for today, for their lives as well as for those of a people who lived over 2000 years ago?
3. Do we engender a sense of reality about the characters we talk about?
4. Do the children feel a connection, an affection even, for them?

We can make the connection between two cultures:

1. If we ensure that our teaching is not only “a Bible story” (good as it is to convey a true narrative) but something more.
2. If we explain the life-principles behind the narrative, not in a dry, legalistic way, but in a way that engages the children’s interest.
3. If we ask God to help us see situations and scenarios that the kids are familiar with, and use them to help the children connect the Bible principles with their own 21st century youth culture.

Apart from covering everything in prayer and trusting God to anoint our ministry with the power of the Holy Spirit, is there anything else you would suggest which would help us to put Scripture into today’s context for kids?

Abraham Lincoln was supposed to have said something like:

If you gave me six hours to cut down a tree I’d spend four hours sharpening the axe.

In other words, he planned to take twice as long preparing for a task than actually doing it. So, what constitutes preparation for a Bible lesson or task in a class or meeting? 

• Gathering together all equipment – visual aids, demonstration items, snacks, whatever you are going to need to fulfil your responsibility. If your memory is as bad as mine make a list and check it off physically as each item is bagged and taken to your transport.
• Becoming thoroughly familiar with what you will be doing – how you will teach the lesson, how the skit will run, or the sketch-board item, how the song visuals and actions will work, etc.
  I find it very helpful to “run a video” through my mind of how the meeting/class will progress. Ever seen the downhill ski competitions? The cameras often pick up an athlete waiting for his or her start, eyes closed, hand in front of them dipping and swooping, bending and stretching, as they replicate in their mind the run they are about to do, with all its turns, dips and leaps.
  By “running the video” of your club meeting ahead of time, you may realize that you have not planned for an important element. You might, for example, imagine yourselve organizing the pre-schoolers hand painting project. Then, as you “fast-forward” to the end of that session, you realize you have not planned a vital ingredient… and you would really regret it if you didn’t take the wet-wipes and paper towels for use after the hand-painting!
• Relying on Christ  – At the end of the day, all your planning, list-making and forward thinking will be of little value if God is not in what you do.
  I realized at one point in my ministry that I was, in reality, relying on my familiarity with the lessons and visuals, human personality and even past spiritual successes. But “without Christ we can do nothing”. Breakthrough in kids’ understanding of spiritual matters can come only as the Holy Spirit does his work. I need to always rely on Christ to anoint me, flow through me and open young eyes and hearts to Bible truth. And that is essential preparation.

Among a list of prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1) is mentioned Manaen.

I have read this book many times over the years, but this year, for the first time, I am reading from the New Living Translation. Here I saw what I had never registered before, that Manaen was a “childhood companion of King Herod Antipas”.

This man had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch , the one who had John the Baptist executed.

The thought occurred to me: “What was it that made the difference in those two men’s response to God?” According to James Orr, the Greek in Acts 13:1 suggests they were “foster-brothers”, brought up in the same environment. Yet Herod became so evil and Manaen evidently trusted God for salvation and later became a trusted and esteemed leader in the church. Even his name is gracious; it means “consoler”.

That made me sit up with a jolt – something made a difference to the outcome in the two men’s lives. With God’s help, we must make a positive difference in the lives of the kids we reach and teach.

It is an awesome responsibility – because we might just as easily make a difference the other way. What if we allowed ourselves:

• A dismissive response to a child’s interruption (“Later!”)  
• A sullen expression (“Why can’t we organize the activity the way I wanted?”)
• An over-competitive edge in the group games (“My team’s going to win this one, come what may!”)
• A careless attitude to preparation (It’s 11.30pm Saturday night. I’ve just got time to read over the curriculum for tomorrow.”)
• An angry response to difficult behaviour from a child. (“That’s it! I’ve had enough of you! Out!”)

Catherine and I knew and respected an old Christian leader. We still often quote one of his favourite comments: “You can be a blessing or you can be a blot. But you can never be a blank.”
What impact am I making on the children in my care? Am I turning them off from Christianity and Christ, or am I making it easier for them to see the beauty of Christ and the delight of the Christian life?

It might be through: 

• One fun day, with kid-friendly wholesome activities and a chance for the kids to see us as “real ordinary” people.
• One VBS, where the gospel message is consistently taught in such a way that kids are immersed in the message yet don’t feel spiritual indigestion!
• One smile, one look in the eyes that says: “I’m so glad you are here today. I do appreciate you.”
• One Sunday school lesson, well-prepared and clearly applied to young lives. (Come to think of it – maybe it will be through the lesson that, though well-prepared, was diverted by the Holy Spirit along an unexpected line, but the teacher was in touch with God and knew to go with the flow and respond to the child who asked a vital question or expressed a need.)

Any one or all of these might make that difference in drawing a child nearer to Christ. One connection we make with a child, by whatever means, might be the moment that tips the balance and sets them off on a personal pursuit of God that leads them to the Saviour.

With the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can make that difference that turns a young life towards God and points that kid to the One who can change him or her from the inside out. We may never see the type of adult they become. But we can trust God to save them, keep them and help them to live for him.

This post does not really highlight a children’s evangelism resource, but I am flagging up a page you may be glad to bookmark.

The blog post  I am referring to is  seminar notes and a wealth of resources from Steven Kryger at communic8jesus.com.

We need to hear again the 13 key points that Steven lists.

Identify and communicate your values

Model these values

Introduce your children to technology

Understand the mediums

Use anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-malware software

Use accountability software and filters

Know what your children are doing

Keep communication lines open

Be proactive in teaching your children

Develop a set of family rules

Encourage them to visit safe places online

Pray for your children, and children everywhere

Be gracious when they stuff up

After these very practical guidelines Steven offers tested solutions which may be of help to you or parents you know.

There are links to online resources for parents, also for those who teach children and teens. There are also links to accountability and filtering software. A section on pornography rounds off a thorough and thoughtful post. That link once again…

How To Protect Our Children Online