RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

This past weekend at church, we had our baptism class. 

The class is designed for kids and their parents to experience together.  

Many of the children in the class have made a decision to follow Jesus.

The purpose of the class is to make sure children understand the step they are taking by being baptized.  

I used to teach this class with just the children attending.  But then I felt led to have the parents attend the class with their children.  

When you do this, something amazing begins to happen. You will see parents also come to Christ.  This past weekend, at the end of the class, I had a mother who realized she needed to make this step as well.  She will be baptized with her daughter this coming weekend. 

I have seen this happen time and time again. If you will be intentional about sharing the Gospel with parents as well, you will see God do amazing things and change lives.

Remember this...when you reach a child with the Gospel, you change a person's life.  When you reach parents, you change the entire family.

Always be thinking of ways you can include parents in the process of sharing the Gospel with families. Do this and I guarantee you that you will see parents come to Christ with their children. 

Below are the two classes I use to share the Gospel and baptism with kids and their parents. You can order them at the links below.  

 

There are a lot of important lessons you can teach in 2024. 

The 10 commandments.

Prayer.

Bible reading.

Worshiping God.

Relationships.

Godly character.

Major prophets.

Fruit of the Spirit.

The great stories of the Bible like David and Goliath.

These are all good topics to teach about.  But they are not the most important lesson you will teach in 2024. 

The biggest, most important lesson you will teach is the GOSPEL.

The Gospel is the heart of God.  It shines brightly as it makes its way from the pages of the Bible and into the heart of the next generation. 

The Gospel is the hope for the next generation.

The Gospel changes lives for eternity.

The Gospel is the central theme of Scripture.

The Gospel is the power of God for salvation.  Paul said this about the Gospel.

For I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  Romans 1:16

The Gospel can shift the entire trajectory of families.

The Gospel can penetrate the darkness and shine a ray of hope into a family.

The Gospel is the road to eternal life. 

What will you be teaching this year?  Will you be following a scope and sequence?  

Whatever curriculum you are using, make sure it is centered on the Gospel.  Make sure you are regularly sharing the Gospel with the children you are called to minister to.  You can teach a lot of things, but if you don't share the Gospel with the kids, you are missing the most important component of children's ministry.

Remember...most people come to Christ when they are young.  We must share the Gospel with children before their hearts get hardened by sin and the culture they are growing up in.

Let me testify about the Gospel.

My family was far from God...a dysfunctional family with major issues to say the least.  We knew nothing about God. We were criminals.  In fact, my great grandfather was sentenced to life in prison for murdering someone with a knife.

The generational curses were passed down to my grandfather. He was a drunkard and violent man as well. He ran a bar and often got into fights.  His nose was broken five times in bar fights.

Church and God were no where on our radar.  We had no hope.

Until one day a man came to our house with the Gospel.  He invited us to ride to church with him to hear the Gospel.  At first, we said "no way."  But the man wouldn't give up.  He kept coming back with the Gospel.  Finally, my grandmother told him if he would come by tomorrow, she and my dad would go with him to church.  For the first time, our family walked into a church.  My father was 9-years-old at the time. 

The Gospel penetrated our heart and my grandmother and father entered a relationship with God.  7 years later, my father was called to preach the Gospel.  My grandfather came to hear my father share the Gospel.  The Gospel was shared and my grandfather responded.  His life was changed.  He went from being a mean drunkard to one of the sweetest people you would ever meet.  He never got drunk again and served as a deacon for over 30 years.

I am here today...typing this...because of the Gospel.  

What a great opportunity you have to teach the Gospel in 2024.  You have the opportunity to share the Gospel with people at the most important time in their life.  When kids graduate out of your ministry in a few years, will they have encountered the Gospel?

Road Trip. This series takes the kids on a road trip as they discover that Jesus is the one and only road to heaven.  You can get it at this link.

You can get Starting Point at this link.

I pray that the major theme you will share with the kids and parents this year is the Gospel.  It is the only hope for the next generation. 
 

When it comes to children's ministry, there are some things that really get me riled up.

One is calling children's ministry "babysitting" or "childcare."  I believe it's the exact opposite of that.  I believe it is ministry at the most critical time in a person's life.  So much is absorbed and learned during the early years of a person's life.

The other pet peeve I have is when someone says "Oh...it doesn't matter...they are just kids." As if kids don't deserve our very best effort. Usually, this is said when someone is taking shortcuts or not giving their best effort just because they think it won't matter to the kids.  

I don't believe that at all.  I believe that kids do matter and our ministry to them matters...big time.  I believe we should give our very best to this endeavor.  

Yes...kids do notice.

Yes...how we communicate with children matters.

Yes...how prepared we are matters.  

Yes...children's ministry should be a top priority at your church.

Yes...the greatest stories deserve the greatest presentations.

Yes...we must reach kids...up to 85% of people come to Christ before they are adults.

Yes...kids are worth giving our very best to.

The most important thing you do is sharing the Gospel with kids and their parents.  The Gospel is the power of God for salvation.   

Think about these questions with me.

Am I sharing the Gospel with kids and parents on a regular basis?

When was the last time I saw a child come to Christ?

When was the last time I saw a parent come to Christ?

When was the last time I saw someone baptized?

We know that stats show that most people who come to Christ do so when they are children.  I believe children and their parents are the greatest mission field in the world.  Our opportunity to share the Gospel and reach children quickly fades away as they move into their older teen and adult years. 

Here's the good news.  I have a strategy that can help you see kids and parents come to Christ on a regular basis. Here it is. 

Share the Gospel on a regular basis.  You can't share the Gospel enough.  Every week is great.  At the very least, you should share the Gospel twice a month. 

Ask kids who want to step across the line of faith to raise their hands during prayer time. 

When their parents come to pick them up, let their parents know that you have a class they can attend with their child. In that class, you will share what it means to enter a relationship with Jesus.

The class should be a family class for kids and their parents. No drop offs.  This is key if you want to reach kids and their parents with the Gospel.

In the class, clearly share the Gospel with the kids and their parents. You want to make sure they understand what it means to follow Jesus.  

At the end of the class, give parents the opportunity to lead their child to Jesus.  Or if the child is not ready to accept Christ, encourage them to continue having the conversation with their child at home.  Provide parents with a tool they can use to share the Gospel with their child. 

And here's the cool thing.  When parents get in the class and hear the Gospel presented clearly, you will see many of them step across the line of faith as well.  

Invite those who step across the line of faith to attend another class about baptism.  In this second class, clearly explain why you should be baptized. 

I have developed two classes for this strategy.  Starting Point is a class where you share the Gospel using scripture, videos, object lessons and dialogue.  Baptism for Kids explains what it means to follow Jesus in baptism.

This strategy has been proven to work.  In one year, I saw over 430 children and dozens of parents step across the line of faith, become followers of Jesus and follow Him in baptism.  Every single one had attended the classes.

Here is a testimony from a church that has started using this strategy. 

"I just wanted to share a quick praise report about implementing your Starting Point Class material this past year. 

We had 50 kids respond for salvation on Easter and sent home in their salvation packet to parents a follow-up QR code promo for kids and parents to attend our follow-up “Starting Point” classes on a Wednesday night. 

We had eleven children register. Two were guest families! They complimented the content and the creative ways of connecting with kids and teaching them about salvation and baptism. It was also the first time half the men including a grandpa attended with the family. 

This coming Sunday, I have the honor of baptizing half the group, and the rest will get baptized during the Summer. 

Thank you for providing us with excellent discipleship tools." 

If you'd like more information about these tools, click on the classes below. 

Starting Point

Baptism for Kids

If you have more questions, feel free to contact me in the comment section below.  

God wants to use you to reach kids and families with the Gospel.

There are a lot of things in the Bible that you can teach kids.  

The Bible is a big book that is full of captivating stories, wisdom and guidance for life.

There are tons of curriculum available that cover a wide variety of topics.  

But keep this in mind as you are developing your teaching plan.

The most important thing you will ever teach kids is the Gospel.  

The entire Bible points to the Gospel.  

Kids can know every single story in the Bible, but without the Gospel they can't know Jesus. 

Kids can memorize entire chapters of the Bible, but without the Gospel they will not inherit eternal life. 

Kids can explore the deeper teachings of the Bible, but without the Gospel their studying will be invalid.

How often do you share the Gospel with the children in your ministry?   

Do you see kids come to Christ on a regular basis?

Can the kids in your ministry explain the Gospel?

Here are some key verses that clarify how important it is that you share the Gospel with kids. 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."                  Romans 1:16

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures."                       I Corinthians 15

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"   Romans 10:14

We know that the vast majority of people who come to Jesus do so before the age of 18.  It is critical that we share the Gospel on a regular basis with the children God has placed in our care.  It is the most important thing you will ever teach children.

Think about these questions.

Does our current curriculum share the Gospel on a regular basis?

Are we intentional about sharing the Gospel?

How many children have come to Christ in the past year?

How many children will be baptized after coming to Christ in your ministry this year?  

If you need some resources to help you share the Gospel with the kids and parents in your ministry, then check out these proven resources that can help you. 

Starting Point Salvation Class  (I used this class to see over 430 kids accept Christ and follow Him in baptism in one year)

Connect12 curriculum - shares the Gospel each month.

Baptism for Kids - teaches kids what baptism is and why we should be baptized.

The Gospel is the centrality of the entire Bible.  It is the hope for the next generation.

Share it frequently.  Share it with passion.  Share it with clarity.  

It is the most important thing you will ever teach kids.