Raise the bar on kids!

                                                               The Heart of a Kid's Pastor

Did you know that all Kidmin leaders have something in common? What do you think that might be?  Some would say Kidmin leaders have a child-like presence and child-like attributes.  In other words, they act like big kids!  This may be true of many of us but it isn't what we are referring to today.  I do believe that those child-like qualities often are God's special anointing (gift) for the work he has called them do.

Others might point to the most obvious answer to this question of commonality, and that is,  all Kidmin leaders work with kids. That would be true, but it is not what we are looking for either. What I am referring to is something that is far more important and has a much greater scope.

 The one thing that all Kidmin leaders have in common is that they see the potential life-time of impact that each child has if he or she becomes a Christ follower. You will often hear them say, "I wonder who this kids is going to be for God?"  When a child comes to Christ, he or she has seventy or eighty years to have an impact in the community and in the church!  That is exciting!

 The 4 -14 window tells us that most people who become Christ-followers do so between the ages of 4 and 14. So why aren't more churches and leaders focused on winning kids to Christ?  Maybe they never really considered the potential impact for their church nor for their community.  Every time a person is rescued by Jesus, their friends and families are impacted immediately.  That is never more true than when a child becomes a Christ-follower.  Children will tell everyone what has happened to them...Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches and even strangers.

So why is the bar set so low?

Simply stated,  ministry to children is not a high priority in many churches today.   Many Kid's ministries are simply care-giving venues where parents drop off their kids while they attend a dynamic service, timed and designed just for them. How sad as I see churches that have "aged-out" with no strategy to reach and minister to the next generation.  In several countries, I have heard national church leaders express with great passion the fact that the church is only one generation away not existing unless they begin to reach children for Christ.   Many of those leaders have turned the corner and helped their countries make ministry to kids a priority.

 A new Kid's pastor, starting a new position in a large, successful church, discovered that Sunday morning for the children was minimal ministry and mostly care giving.  The children attended the adult service during worship (that was dynamic), and then they retreated to a popcorn filled room to watch Veggie tales and to play until the adult service ended. Sadly this happens to often across the landscape of the church today.

Often the bottom line today may simply revolve around money when it comes to the low priority level of ministry to children.  I have always said, "follow the money in a church and you will quickly discover their priorities."  After all, children do not have jobs and they can't support the ministry of the church like their parents, right?  It is true that kids don't technically have careers, profit sharing and all that but they have enormous influence in the family to impact the giving of the local church!  Companies spend millions of dollars marketing to children each year.  Do you think they are wasting their money?  No way! They are incredibly smart and they see an enormous return on that investment.  Churches could stand to pay attention.  We should heed the words of Jesus when he said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for such belongs the kingdom of heaven."(Matthew 19:14, ESV)

                                                    

So what does this have to do with me, Pastor Ken?

Begin to raise the bar on Kid's ministry in your church and in your community!   The heart of a Kid's Pastor continually seeks to raise the priority level of ministry to kids, every chance they get. Point to the 4 -14 window and challenge your church and families to begin to reach kids around them.  Don't stop when you reach a child for Christ. Purpose in your heart and your ministry strategy to reach the whole family by every means you can. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you be creative as you raise the bar and reach for kids.
Meet with your pastor about spotlighting Kidmin heroes who serve in your church and ministry wins in your kids area.