RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Have you heard the statement, "kids are wet cement?"  It’s so true.  Childhood is the most impressionable time of a person's life.  

Here are 4 key things we must write on the hearts of children during the short time frame they are wet cement. 

 

• Read leadership books written by people that are great at leading adults. 

• Watch people who are great at leading adults.  See how they respond in "real time" leadership situations. 

• Ask someone who is good at leading adults to mentor you. 

• Spend just as much time with adults as you do kids. 

• Ask trusted friends to help identify your blind spots and areas you need to grow in.

Show me someone who is successful in Children's Ministry and I'll show you someone who has learned to lead adults well.

Did you know everything we own is headed for the junkyard.  Eventually that's where it all ends up.

My youngest son wants to be a master mechanic.  He likes to go to the car junkyard and look at the old motors, bodystyles, etc.  I go with him since it's a way to spend time with him.  As we look at old, rusting BMW's, Porsches, Benzs, and other junk cars that used to be brand new "luxury" vehicles sitting in someone's garage, I am reminded of how temporary our possessions are. 

The new TV will soon be outdated and be moved from the living room to a bedroom to the garage to the yard sale.  The washer and dryer will go out.  Even the house we live in will one day be leveled.

Why are we consumed with things that will soon be "junk?"  Why do we give so much time, effort, and affection to things that are temporary?

But there is something that is eternal.

John 3:36 says "The person who believes in the Son has ETERNAL life.  The person who does not believe in the Son will not have eternal life."

People are eternal.  The boys, girls, moms, and dads in your community will live forever in one of two places.  Now that's something worth being committed to.  That's something worth investing your life in.  That's something that really matters.

Don't live for the junkyard...live for the eternal.

I took this picture this past weekend.  I was helping set up at one of our campuses that meets in a school.  It had been written on the wall by kids during the week.

The first thing I noticed was the left side. The child has been deceived into thinking a life of sin is better than following God.

The second thing I noticed was the statement on the right that says "like father, like son."  It reminded me that many families are entrapped in a generational curse.  Their only hope is to open their hearts to God and see the curse broken.

I am thankful that God stepped in and broke the generational curse that plagued my family.  We had a long history of substance abuse and violence.  In fact, my great grandfather was sent to prison for murder.   

No one in our family knew Jesus in those days.  But then one day all that changed.  A man in our neighborhood saw how messed up our family was and begin to pray for us.  He came to our house and invited us to come to church.

We said no at first, but he wouldn’t give up and eventually my grandmother and father walked into the doors of a church for the very first time.  They heard about someone named Jesus who could make our home a better place.   

My grandmother and father accepted Jesus into their lives and soon the rest of the family followed.  Jesus took the fighting, abuse, and dysfunction and replaced it with His forgiveness, peace and love. 

Let's be passionate about reaching kids and families who are trapped in hopelessness.  Then "like father, like son" can mean a generational blessing instead of a generational curse for them.