Those who have spent years in children’s ministry have felt at times that we were harvesting the ripe field all by themselves. Now, though, churches are waking up and seeing the white field before them — a field that is filled with children.
Houser is the author of
Building Children’s Ministry (Thomas Nelson, 2008), has been in children’s ministry for 28 years and is minister of children at
First Church of God, Kokomo, IN. She shared observations of children’s ministry with Church Executive:
Carrying the metaphor forward:The spirits of children are open and ready and anxious to give Christ a home. Remember watching a movie where a community came together to harvest a neighbor’s field? Everyone was involved and focused on that field, knowing that if they didn’t act immediately, the crop would be destroyed by the elements or rot on the vine.
Ministering to children is a life-changing, church-changing ministry. It brings life and hope to a body of believers when children are led to a relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the nuts and bolts of carrying out a program or creating a quality kid-friendly event and overlook some basics. You’d better wear your steel-toed shoes, because I’m likely to step on some toes.
Basic Number 1:What churches overlook when they want to increase their commitment to children’s ministry is the importance that the attitude of the pulpit plays. Having a senior pastor who is on board and has a heart for children’s ministry speaks volumes to the church.
What does a senior pastor’s support look like? It means that he goes to bat in financial meetings to make sure that children’s ministry gets the funds it needs to move forward. It means that he’s not threatened by children participating in corporate worship, and in fact encourages them to do so. It means that he speaks words of appreciation and respect for those involved in children’s ministry, not just to those people individually, but to the congregation.
Basic Number 2:Often overlooked is the price that has to be paid to create an effective children’s ministry. This price comes in several forms. It’s a financial price. It takes money to purchase good curriculum; buy the out-of-the-ordinary supplies that are needed for children; equip leaders to work with kids; provide an environment that welcomes children and fits their needs.
Even more important than the financial price is the attitude price that has to be paid. If the church is willing to have their attitude toward children transformed, the financial price will follow. When there is an attitude transformation, then the fingerprints on the walls, the sticky doorknobs, and the worn out carpet are blessings and not problems. The complaining about an adult classroom being decorated for children dies down, because there’s a new understanding. Instead of children’s ministry being a tagline on the ministry of the church, members mention it at the forefront of a conversation, because there has been an attitude adjustment.
Basic Number 3:To encourage someone and raise the bar on their commitment to children’s ministry is to train them for what you are asking them to do. Maybe that’s because we’ve viewed children’s ministry as basic nursery care for so long that we fail to recognize that there are many areas to understand in order to effectively lead children spiritually. When the church foots the bill and encourages its children’s workers to attend training, they are telling those workers that they have great value.
Basic Number 4:This last thing that churches overlook is what I call the “before and after.” Publicity is the “before” and follow-up is the “after.” It’s real easy to get wrapped up in the details of putting a large splashy event together and fail to adequately do the publicity. All the preparations in the world won’t do a whole lot of good if the kids aren’t there. Then when you think everything’s over you’ve really got the most important work ahead of you — follow-up.
Take an extra careful look now at these areas of children’s ministry. Then, utilize what may have been overlooked so that your church may harvest more of the fields that are white, fields full of children waiting to be introduced to Jesus.
