Can I let you in on a secret? It’s called Milestones and it’s one of the “must have ingredients” if you want to see kids follow Jesus for a lifetime.
Think back with me to the story of Abraham and Isaac.
God tells Abraham: “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
Abraham takes Isaac to the mountain and prepares to sacrifice him. This had to have been an unimaginably hard thing for Abraham to do. One of the 10 commandments is “Do not kill.” And now God has asked Abraham to kill his own son. But, just as he is about to kill his son, an angel appears and says: “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me. I will greatly bless you and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Think about
it. It was a milestone moment that
Abraham and Isaac would never forget.
They would never be the same as they walked down the mountain. The faith of their family went to a whole new
level as they encountered God through this.
That’s what milestone moments do.
MILESTONE ONE - PARENT & CHILD DEDICATION
Parent and
Child Dedication is the first milestone.
It is for babies / preschoolers and their families. It is a huge opportunity to make a big impact. Have a class that parents go through to
prepare them for the dedication. But
also use the class to invest in and inspire the parents to raise their child to
love Jesus. It gives you the opportunity
to speak into their parental life early on.
MILESTONE TWO - BIBLE PRESENTATION
This milestone can take place when you are preparing to move your kindergartners into elementary school. It is for upcoming 1st graders and their parents. Have a combination of a class and celebration. No drop offs. Require parents and children to come together.
MILESTONE THREE - FAITH COMMITMENT
The most important decision a person will ever make is to enter a relationship with Jesus. All the milestones before this have led kids toward making the decision to invite Jesus into their life.
Again, make sure you have a class attached to this milestone. It is crucial that kids understand the Gospel and what it means in their life. When you are sharing your lessons in children’s Bible study (Sunday School) or children’s church, tell them about the class and invite them to come with their parents. Then connect with the parents of the children who are showing interest and let them know about the class. Ask if they would like to attend with their children. Let them know that the class is for kids and parents to attend together. No drop-offs. It is such an important time in their child’s life that parents must attend as well.
MILESTONE FOUR - BAPTISM
After a child has stepped across the line of faith and made Jesus their Forgiver, Leader and Friend, the next step is baptism. Baptism is a way to go public with your faith and let everyone know you now belong to Jesus.
Before a child is baptized, they should have been through the Starting Point class (or whatever you use) and accepted Jesus as their Forgiver, Leader and Friend. Follow up the salvation class with a class about baptism. I recommend having it the very next week after the salvation class. Children and their parents must have been through the baptism class as well before they are baptized.
Carefully explain what baptism is about and what it symbolizes. I have a solid curriculum for this class. It helps kids understand what it means. Thousands of kids have been baptized who went through this class.
MILESTONE FIVE - GRADUATION CELEBRATION
One of the most important transitions for kids (and their parents) is the transition from elementary ministry to student ministry. This is the last milestone in children’s ministry and it has the potential to make the biggest impact of all the milestones we have looked at. This milestone happens when the kids are promoting to middle school ministry.
This is a key time for kids and their parents as the kids are moving up into their teen years. Parents are looking for help in this new realm of parenting and through the Graduation Celebration you can invest in their lives.
All of the milestone curriculums are available at this link as an instant download.
Get started today. You'll be amazed at the fruit that will come from milestone moments.
