The Key to Moving Your Children's Ministry Forward


Do you want to move your children's ministry forward?

One big key is this.

FORGET THE PAST.

Paul said it like this.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 3

There is a natural bent toward looking back, isn't there?  We find security in past accomplishments and accolades.  Our confidence is closely tied to our past successes.

The problem is this.  Dwelling on the past...relying on the past...focusing on the past...is a slippery slope to contentment.  And from contentment comes plateau or even decline.

What brought your children's ministry to where it is now won't take it to where it needs to go tomorrow.  Yesterday is not tomorrow.  Things are changing and so must you if you want to move forward.

All across the country, you will find children's ministries that are in decline.  In most cases, it can be traced back to one thing.  They haven't been willing to forget the past and look to the future.  For them, protecting the past is more important than pressing forward.  And it's glaringly obvious.

Do you want to move your children's ministry forward?  A better question is this.  Are you willing to do what it takes to move your children's ministry forward?  Are you willing to lay everything on the table and take a hard look at what is stopping you from moving forward?  Are you willing to let go of the past and look to the future?

Are you willing to...

1.  Hold everything with open hands?  The message is sacred...the methods are not.

2.  Examine everything you are doing every year?  Is it still effective?  Is there a better way?  What should we do differently?

3.  Take a risk?  Jump out of the comfort zone of the past and into the risk of change.  Change is where forward movement is found.

Don't let dwelling on the glory days of the past keep you from discovering the story God wants to continue writing through you tomorrow.