RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

You often hear the term "childcare" or "baby-sitting" when it comes to ministry in the early years.  

But nothing could be farther from the truth.  It is not childcare or babysitting. It is ministry at one of the most critical times in a person's life. 

The early years are extremely important when it comes to teaching people about God. So many brain connections and growth takes place in the first three years of a person's life. 

We can't afford to not have a plan to pour into the hearts of the little ones.

The Bible is very clear that we should teach little ones about Him. Look what it says about this in 2 Timothy 3:15.

and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

 Check out this verse as well.  

And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” (Matthew 21:16).

That's our command and here are some ways you can teach babies about God.

Pray over them. 

In each nursery room have a prayer promise verse on the wall. Encourage your nursery volunteers to pray that verse over the babies each week while they are holding them. 

Sing to them. 

Have one or more Bible songs to sing to the babies. 

Show them a picture of Jesus. 

Put a picture of Jesus inside a Bible. Open the Bible and show the babies the picture. Tell them that this is a picture of Jesus and He loves them. 

Share a Bible story with them.

Communicate a simple, short Bible story.  Use pictures to go along with the story.

Partner with parents. 

Encourage young parents to teach their little ones about God. Provide them with tools and resources to do this. 

Remember...when you serve in the nursery, you are holding the next generation of church leaders. 

You are planting seeds of faith that will blossom into spiritual fruit in the years to come. 

Think about this quote by George Barna. 

In the race to a child's heart, the first one there wins.  

We must get there first and teach children about the way of salvation. 

We must teach them about the Word of God.

We must teach them about the wisdom of God.

This starts in the nursery.  

I want to give a big shout out to the people who serve in the nursery.  

Nursery ministry is not babysitting.  I believe it is ministry at the most critical time in a person's life. Babies can learn about God.

In fact, infants and toddlers learn more during those early years than at any other time in life.  

Don't make the mistake of thinking that those early years are a waste of time.  Yes. The little ones do have a memory.  Yes. They can retain what you are teaching them.  Yes. You can make an impact in their life.

Nursery ministry is not babysitting.  You can get down on the floor with the little ones and help them visualize the love that Jesus has for them by using a picture of a heart or other item.

Nursery ministry is not babysitting.  You can sing age-appropriate songs with them. Yes, they will sit or lie down and listen to the songs.  They may even get excited and move with the song.

Nursery ministry is not babysitting.  You can hold the Bible in front of them, let them pat it and then share with them that it is the Word of God.

Nursery ministry is not babysitting.  From the earliest age, you are helping children build positive memories about God and the Bible.

Nursery ministry is not babysitting.  This means we should have volunteers on board who see this and are passionate about investing in little ones.  

Nursery ministry is not babysitting.  It's about investing in the future leaders of the church.

Nursery ministry is not babysitting.  It's looking by faith into the future and imagining how God is going to use the little one you are holding.

Nursery ministry is not babysitting. It's about praying over each little one by name and asking God to use them to change the world for Christ.

Nursery ministry is not about babysitting.  It's about investing in the life of new parents.

Nursery ministry is not about babysitting.  It's about equipping parents to be the spiritual leader of their children.  

Nursery ministry is not about babysitting. It's about partnering with parents to see their children love and serve Jesus for a lifetime.

George Barna said this.

"In the race to a child's heart the first one there wins."

Nursery ministry is not babysitting.  It's about engaging the hearts of children from the time they breathe their first breath. Nursery ministry matters!  Nursery ministry is about the future of your church!  Nursery ministry is where it's at!

Many churches don't have a vision or strategy for ministering to babies, toddlers, crawlers, walkers, etc.

This is a tragic miss.  Look what it says about Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15.

...and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul says that Timothy was invested in spiritually from the time he was an infant.

The youngest generation is being called Generation Alpha.  These are children born between 2010 and 2024.  There are 2,740,000 Gen Alphas born each week.  

According to Mark McCrindle, a social analyst, some words that describe Gen Alpha are global, digital, social, mobile and visual.  

Global -  Gen Alpha is being raised as a global community.  With access to the internet from an early age, they are being raised with shared customs, values, and experiences.

Digital - Gen Alpha is being born with information at their fingertips.  They have high expectations for on-demand content, products and services.

Social - with social media at their fingertips, they will be more socially connected than any previous generation.

Mobile - they are always on the go with mobile.

Visual - Gen Alpha is being raised in front of screens and the beginnings of the Metaverse.  They are more visual than any generation before them.

Their iconic toy is the fidget spinner.

Their music device of choice is smart speakers.

Their leadership style will be inspiring. 

Their screen content will be streaming.

These are the babies in your nursery.  These are the toddlers, crawlers, walkers, etc. in your ministry. 

One big reason why Timothy grew up to be such a strong, spiritual leader was because his mother and grandmother invested in him spiritually from an early age.  The spiritual foundation that they helped him build prepared him to be used by God in a great way as he grew up.

If you work in the nursey, let me remind you of something.  You are not babysitting.  You are investing in the youngest generation.  

You are not doing "child care."  You are are ministering to people at one of the most critical times in their life. 

You are not just changing diapers.  You are also changing lives.  

Trust me...you are.  It can be hard to see the spiritual fruit that is coming from your ministry at this moment.  But it is there and it is abounding...even if you can't see it yet.

You are serving by faith.  Faith that the time and energy you are investing is producing spiritual fruit.  Some of the fruit you will see now...but the majority of the fruit you won't see until later as Gen Alpha grows up.

The enemy is trying to get to the heart and mind of the youngest generation.  The enemy knows that the earlier he can capture the heart of a person, the more influence he can have. 

We must determine to get there first. Remember this quote as you serve in the nursery and early childhood ministry of your church. 

In the race to a child's heart, the first one there wins.  George Barna

The enemy won't let up.  And neither should you.  If you are not doing a lesson in your nursery, it is time to start doing so. If you are not teaching the little ones in your ministry, it is time to get a strategy and content to do so.  If you are not praying over the youngest generation while they are in your care, it's time to start doing so.  If you are not equipping and empowering parents to step up and be the biggest spiritual influence in the life of Gen Alpha, it's time to do so.   

Will you invest in the youngest generation?  Will you seek to capture their heart for Christ as Timothy's mother and grandmother did?