Do you want to have a thriving, growing church?
I believe the key to this is focusing on children.
When you focus on reaching children, you usher in the blessings of Jesus. Look what Matthew 19:14 says...
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
I believe when a church concentrates on reaching children, they usher in the blessings of God.
"A church that minimizes children's ministry will minimize God's blessings on their church. On the flip side, I believe a church that maximizes children's ministry, will maximize God's blessings on their church. "
When a church pours their time, resources and best volunteers into children's ministry, they will see God do miraculous things.
Want to reach entire families? Children's ministry is vital for this to happen.
Think about how many times in Scripture people came to Jesus for one reason...for their children. Their child was sick or had another issue that needed the healing that is only found in Christ. And so they came to Jesus looking for help.
I have seen this happen time after time after time. Parents bring their child to church and end up entering a relationship with Him through this.
The best way to reach entire families is through their children. No matter how far away a parent is from Jesus, when you do something nice for their child, you have their attention. Remember this...
When you take a child by the hand, you take their parent by the heart.
Here's an example of this.
At one of the churches where I led the children's ministry, we decided to put in a large indoor playground. After services, children could play in the park under the supervision of their parents. I hung out there after services to meet parents and to connect with potential volunteers.
One Sunday, I walked into the park area and noticed there was a lady standing off to the side She was crying. I walked over to see if she was okay. She told me the tears were tears of joy. She pointed to a little girl and a man playing in the park. Here's what she told me.
"See that man and that little girl playing together? That is my husband and daughter. My husband is not a believer and I have been asking him to come to church with us for over 7 years. But he always says 'no.' This week, our daughter told him that they had a new park / playground at church. She asked him to come to church with her and they could then play in the park after church."
She said she was crying because he said "yes" and was at church. She told us she could sense God was beginning to work in His life during the service. All because of his little daughter.
This is another example of how God will work through children to bring an entire family to Jesus.
I want to encourage you to pass this article along to your pastor and church leaders. Any church that wants to grow should read this and take action.
If you want a thriving church, then you should focus on reaching and discipling children. That's where it's at!
