our work is {only} the beginning
Friday, February 15, 2013 at 9:00AM 
a few years ago, i was at a conference listening to a speaker talk about her ministry. at the very end of her talk, she brought several of her graduates up to the front of the stage, and talked about how each of their lives had been radically turned around. she told fantastic stories of lives turned away from drugs and alcohol and crime, and i was so caught up in the moment – it was all so beautiful.
and then i had a thought, for those of us in children’s ministry, we may never get an opportunity like this. a special moment to line up our 4 year olds on a big stage and say, "look at the life change!" or, “here are all of the 8 year olds who have turned from their terrible sins.” i was envious of the speaker's work, and mostly, i was envious that she was able to see the fruit of her work.
because our work in children’s ministry is about the beginning. the very start of the child’s journey, we're helping build a faith that is yet to be fully seen. we're inspiring a foundation for a lifetime.
and, even though the fruit of our work is often unseen, we carry on. we serve because we are certain of what we do not see {a child's spiritual world being formed}, and we remain certain that our creative teaching, our small group leading, and our volunteer managing is all contributing towards the spiritual shaping of children. imagine what's yet to be seen!
carry on. this is only the beginning.
Reader Comments (1)
I'm not comfortable with the way The Church and thereby "Children's Church" (not sure what Greek work translates that concept) has taken on the responsibility for the children of parents. My Bible says parents are charged with the teaching and the fruit of children's souls. What we do in ministry, is really for PARENTS, not for children. The Bible states that the hearts of fathers should be turned toward children FIRST, then, the hearts of children will turn to their parents - oh, wow, children's ministry is very inconveniently left out of this equation. Hmmm...
I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but I am very concerned with what The Church has taken on from The State. It is a statist view of our mission, it is a statist method, and a statist mind set we have allowed into the flock like a ravenous wolf. We undercut parents, and then wonder why so many children leave the fold for the ways of the world.
My point is, we are NOT the beginning of children's ministry - their parents are! We are NOT the beginning of "their spiritual world" their parents should be! Why aren't we working on things more from that aspect? We should not be discouraged because God has not given us the responsibility of parents. We are encouragers. We are equippers. We are not saviors. We should be modeling for parents, coming alongside them, asking them what we can do to assist THEM in THEIR work. If there be no spiritual work in the home, then of course our "results" will be few.
We cannot and should not be false martyrs bemoaning our "results". The harvest is not ours. We are not just co-workers with Christ, but also parents. I am not seeing enough emphasis on this principle truth in "Children's Ministry" today.