I'm a big fan of using technology to reach and disciple kids and families.
It has been awesome seeing so many children's ministries go online during the pandemic we have been dealing with for the last year.
That being said...I still believe discipleship happens best when it is done in person. Face to face.
I don't believe there is any technology that can totally replace a caring volunteer sitting down in person with a small group of kids and interacting with them.
Let's get the Gospel out to kids and families by any means possible. But let's also remember the great value of a child hearing their name spoken, being prayed for and talking about God's Word with a volunteer face to face.
See...I believe discipleship happens through relationships. Looking back, I can write down the names of several volunteers who took time to disciple me in person. It was through these face to face interactions that I grew in my faith.
If you look back, that's probably your story as well. Who was the person or persons whom God used to disciple you?
I know it has been and still is challenging during this pandemic to hold onto and recruit volunteers. But as we head toward "Covid19 under control" days, I want to encourage you to continue to build and reinforce your volunteer team. In order to have life-changing relationships established, you must have good ratios. It's very hard to disciple kids when there are 30 kids for every adult volunteer.
We see this modeled by Jesus as He invested in the disciples. He had 12 followers with 3 of those being in His inner circle. He poured into them and prepared them for ministry. And through the disciples, Jesus transformed the world.
Screen to screen can't fully take the place of face to face. Do you agree? Disagree? Would love to hear your thoughts on this and what you are doing to engage kids and disciple them during the pandemic. Share with us on the comment section below.
If you need help with building your volunteer teams, my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams" is just what you are looking for." The principles shared in this book will work for any church no matter the size. It has been called the best book ever written on the subject. You can order it here.
