RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

A recent study from Pew research says believers are different than unbelievers in three key areas.

Overall happiness.  40% of believers say they are very happy compared to only 29% of unbelievers.  

Family connections.  47% of believers say they see their extended families at least once or twice a month vs. only 30% of unbelievers. 

Volunteering and giving.  45% of believers volunteer on a regular basis with 23% volunteering at church.  Only 28% of unbelievers say they volunteer.  The gap is even larger when it comes to helping the poor.  65% of believers donate their money, time or goods to help the poor compared to 41% of unbelievers. 

There is also three areas where believers and unbelievers do not differ.

Dealing with stress.  The percentage of believers and unbelievers who lose their temper in stressful situations is almost identical at 42% (believers) and 43% (unbelievers).

Health, exercising and overeating.  44% of believers say they exercise regularly compared to 43% of unbelievers.  58% of both groups say they overeat at times.

Care for the environment.  50% of both groups say they recycle when possible.  25% of both groups say they consider a company's record of environmental responsibility when making purchases.

A few weeks ago, a girl who had been brought to our church by a friend, told us she is an atheist.  She was very clear that she did not believe in God or what we were teaching.

This is not as uncommon as you might think.  Atheism is on the rise...even making it's way into the hearts of kids.  This is due to four primary factors. 

#1 - Parental influence.  The number one influence in a child's life is his or her parents.  1 out of every 4 unchurched adults are agnostics or atheists.  As the percentage of adults who are atheists goes up, the natural outcome is the percentage of children who are atheists goes up.  Add to that the fact that the largest percentage of atheists are under 30.  These young adults are and will be the parents of the next generation of kids.  As goes parents...so goes children.

#2 - Rejection of the Bible.  Interesting enough, a large percentage of skeptics had some regular exposure to the Bible as children.  But at some point in their life they have chosen to reject it as God's Word and not submit to its authority in their lives.

#3 - Lack of trust for the local church.  Interesting statistic - 2/3rds of skeptics have attended church in the past...most for an extended period of time.  But church scandals and abuse has turned many of them away from belief in God.  Since the church is a tangible expression of faith for most people, when it becomes overtly flawed, it flaws their faith.

#4 - Cultural reinforcement of a secular worldview.  This is a huge factor.  Humanism and postmodernism engulfs many children through media, school, celebrities, friends, social media, political messaging and more.  The website www.kidswithoutGod.com is a great example of kids being targeted by atheists.
 
Recently, the area of the country I minister in was voted the #1 "never-churched" area in the country. We are surrounded by kids and families who are not believers...and so are you.   

So how are we going to reach them?

We must keep our focus outward.  The issue is not how many people attend your church.  The issue is how many people in your area do not attend church anywhere.  That's the number that should keep us up at night.  Yes...we have a lot of people attending our church...but it's a drop in the bucket when you consider the 1.5 million people in our area who do not attend church anywhere.  If we are going to reach unbelievers, we must focus our attention on the Great Commission.  The Gospel still works, if we will work the Gospel. 

Our campus in New York City actually meets in an atheist church building...right across the street from Central Park.  Yes...you read it right...an atheist "church."  I guess they get together to talk about "nothing."  Anyways, they meet on the 3rd floor and we meet on the 2nd floor.  Cool thing...several atheist have accidentally walked into our service, stayed and came to faith in Jesus! 

We must reach parents.  As previously stated...atheist kids come from atheist parents.  Reach parents and you will reach their kids.  I talk more about how to reach parents in this previous post.

We must equip our kids to share their faith and bring their unbelieving friends to church.  Kids can reach kids who are unbelievers.  Just this past weekend, an elementary boy was baptized who had been brought to church by his friend.  Kids can reach kids if we give them the tools they need.

We must pray.  Prayer can melt a heart of unbelief through the power of the Holy Spirit.  I have see Him do it.  I am thinking right now of three people who were hardened atheists that I have personally seen come to faith in Christ.  

Will you join me in praying for the little girl I told you about at the beginning of this post?  Will you join me in praying for kids and families across the country and around the world who do not believe in Jesus yet?

Yes...kid atheists exists...I've met them...and yes...they can be reached.

People who volunteer are usually looking for one or more of these things...

Fulfillment...joy...spiritual growth...an avenue to give back...an opportunity to say thanks to God...purpose...a way to make a difference.

But I believe the biggest thing volunteers are looking for is this...relationships.  

People are lonely.  Recent reports say that unprecedented numbers of people are lonely.  Increasing numbers of people have less and less personal connection to close friends and families.  Families have 60% fewer family outings and 40% fewer family dinners together.

People are more "connected" through social media than ever before while at the same time being less connected face-to-face.  In many cases, the social media connections are not true relational connections.  

In every church, people are looking for ways to get connected with other believers.  One of the best ways to build relationships in a church is through serving.  

Want to build your volunteer team?  Instead of telling people how much you need help...instead of guilting people into serving...instead of "requiring" parents to serve...instead of asking the pastor to beg for volunteers from the pulpit for you...

Why not invite people to a family?  Why not invite people to a place where they can build relationships?  Why not invite people to an opportunity to get connected?  It's what they are looking for.

Relationships will not only bring people to your team, it will also keep people on your team.  A relationally connected volunteer is a long-term volunteer. 

Relationships is where it's at.