I had the privilege of serving with a Pastor who was a great example of this.
Dr. Ronnie Floyd pastored Cross Church for over 32 years. Yes, you read that correctly. 32 years at the same church. It is highly unusual to see a pastor stay that long at the same church.
For 7 of those years, I served with Dr. Floyd as his children's pastor. Time and time again he showed that he deeply cared about reaching and discipling the next generation.
The finances he invested in reaching the next generation were above and beyond the norm. He led the church to invest significant resources for children's ministry including several building projects, a church-wide children's day each year, staffing, a significant yearly budget and more.
His heart for the next generation shone bright as he led the church to reach and disciple children and their families. I remember one year, we reached and baptized over 220 children. Our heart for reaching kids and families came from His leadership.
Recently, Pastor Floyd, stepped down as the senior pastor of the church. After 32 years of faithful service, God asked him to go on a new journey as president and chief executive officer of the SBC’s Executive Committee.
Pastor's Floyd's last service as Pastor of Cross Church was a few weeks ago. As part of the service, he called all the children to come to the front so he could speak with them. It was another statement that displayed his heart for the next generation.
Below is a video clip from that service that shows him sharing with the next generation that day. Watch it and be encouraged as you see a great example of being passionate about passing the faith to the next generation.
If your church is not passionate about reaching the next generation, I would encourage you to show them this video. It will challenge them to invest more of their time, talents and treasure into passing the baton to those who are following us.
