RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

What does it mean when kids (and parents) compartmentalize their faith?

It basically means they do the "church thing" on Sunday and the rest of the week they don't bring God into their conversations, decisions and schedule.

The Bible (or Bible app) might be used on Sunday at church, but the rest of the week it collects dust. Few, if any prayers are said in the home during the week.

The result - kids and parents develop a shallow faith that sees following Jesus as something you do 1 hour a week.

As ministry leaders, one of our top priorities must be helping kids and parents understand that Jesus wants to be involved in every area of their life.

Here is an illustration I use with our pre-teens each year. It helps them see what it means to have Jesus leading every part of their life.

First, I have the kids draw a circle and lines on a piece of paper.  The circle represents their entire life and the lines represent different areas of their life.  It should look like this when they draw it...like a bicycle tire with spokes.
The next step is to have the kids write in some of the parts of their life.  Things like school, family, hobbies, sports, etc.  See the example below.
Go over the areas of their life.  Ask if anyone wrote in "Jesus" or "Church?"

Have the kids read Matthew 6:33 with you.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Share with the kids this vital truth.  Jesus doesn't want to just be a part of their life.  He wants to be the center of their life.

Have the kids write in the word "Jesus" in the smaller circle in the middle.
Explain that in the center of the wheel is the hub.  The hub moves with and controls not just one or two parts, but every part of the wheel.

When you put Jesus first, you are inviting Him to be your Leader in every area of your life.  You invite Him to be at school with you.  You invite Him to control your thoughts and actions when you are playing sports.  You invite Him to guide you and lead you when are with your friends.

Explain that Jesus has promised when you make Him the hub, the center of your life, then everything else will fall into place.

If kids can grab hold of this truth, they will be able to decompartmentalize their relationship with Jesus.  They will understand that following Jesus means you ask Him to get involved and control every part of your life.

Sometimes you will see or hear about a person who says they are following Jesus, but many of their actions say the opposite.  They put their "church clothes" and put in their one hour at church for the week.  But once Sunday is over, they close the door to Jesus' influence during the rest of the week.

We must also help parents grasp this truth as well.  Often the child is simply following their parents example.  They don't see their parents praying at home, so they don't pray at home.  They don't see mom and dad tithe, so they don't tithe.  They see their parent's Bible collecting dust all week and so their Bible collects dust as well.

When parents make the decision to put Jesus as the hub of their life, then you will see their children follow and do the same.

This teaching is from the Elementary Graduation Celebration kit.  It is a great tool to help deepen the faith of both kids and their parents as they prepare to move into middle school ministry.  You can see more examples and get ordering info. at this link.  

There are over 35 million kids involved in youth sports.  Over 21 million of these are involved in non-school teams.

I love sports.  I played sports all the way through my school years.  I believe sports teaches kids valuable life skills such as discipline, teamwork, perseverance, and more.

That being said, let's talk about traveling teams.  If you're in children's ministry, you're probably very familiar with traveling teams.  These are teams that travel to other cities and states to play.  They require a much higher commitment level and are normally made up of kids who have above average skills. 

There is a financial cost.  Parents whose kids are on traveling teams currently spend over 7 billion dollars a year on travel alone.

But I believe the biggest costs cannot be measured financially.

How about the cost of disrupted home lives?  A traveling team means increased practices, busy weekends away from home and hectic schedules.

And the biggest cost...misplaced spiritual priorities.  In most cases, traveling teams can take kids out of church for weeks at a time.  I have personally seen families miss church 6-8 weeks at a time due to this.

What message are we sending to kids when this happens?  Are we teaching them that sports takes a priority over being in God's house?  In churches across the country, families are attending church less frequently.  The average family who attends church is showing up twice or less each month.  A percentage of this can be attributed to traveling teams.

I have a feeling I am getting some "amen's" from children's ministry leaders who are reading this.  So...what can we do to encourage families in this area?

We must teach parents the importance of bringing their children to church consistently.  In a positive way, we must share the difference it will make in their lives spiritually.

One of the best times for this is when parents are young.  If they can get this right when their children are in the nursery, they will continue when their children are in their pre-teen years.  I talk in this post about a key way you can do this.

We must teach kids and their parents to follow Matthew 6:33 in every area of their lives.  Seek God and His kingdom first.  There is nothing wrong with kids playing sports...as long as it doesn't replace God at the top of the list.  And where you're at on Sunday shows where God is on your list.

We must help kids fall in love with Jesus.  As we model what it means to be in love with Jesus, kids will see this as more attractive than putting sports first.  

We must make sure kids are personally known at church and are missed when they are not there.  When a child knows Mr. ______ or Mrs. ______ is waiting to see them at church, they will want to be there.   When they miss a weekend and get a handwritten postcard in the mail letting them know they were missed, they will want to be there.

Kids who are on the edge of the crowd will be prone to get involved in activities that take them out of church.  Being connected is a glue that keeps kids in church when traveling teams come calling. 

We must create environments that have kids dragging their parents to church.  When kids are part of a ministry where they have fun...are loved...are personally known...and can't wait to be...they will not want to miss...for anything...including sports.
  
What are your thoughts on this?
Do traveling teams affect kid's attendance in your ministry?
How do you encourage kids and parents to put Jesus first in this area?
Share your thoughts in the comment section below.