Individuality

You were made for a reason! 

This statement is a powerful truth in our lives. God saw this world and He created you uniquely equipped to help be a force of change within it.

You are not like any other person on the face of the earth!

This means that this world, that has seen billions and billions of people live in it, will never see another you.

You were made for a mission!

That means you have a job to do that God has put in front of you. It is an incredible privilege to be a small part of God’s big story. No one is a better example of this truth than John the Baptist. We will learn his part of God’s big story this month.

What are some thing you see in yourself that are unique?

Do you think God wants us all to fit in or to stand out?

What are some ways you fit in and some ways you stand out from your friends? 

Compassion

The one thing that virtually everyone recognizes about Jesus Christ was the way he showed compassion to others. Everything we see on TV and everything anyone tells about success in this world is about how much money we make or how popular we are. Jesus didn’t seek these things. Instead, he touched the people no one would touch and he loved the people that others thought were sinners. He even died for people that hated him enough to kill him. 

Who are the people that you need to love and care for? 

What people in your school are easy to ignore or pick on? Should you defend them instead?

What are some things you can do to make the needs of others important to you?

Music That Matters

One of the most common comments I receive from kids is on the music that we use in our worship. This was the first real hurdle for me as a children’s pastor. I came into children’s worship content to repeat the music I had grown up listening to when I was in church. The problem was the kids were different than I was when I was a kid (come to think of it, I don’t think I liked the music that much when I was a kid).

I had asked a young teen, Stephanie, to help with music. The first week she came in she didn’t use any of the music I had suggested. Instead she used some stuff I had never heard. I knew then that I had a lot of learning to do. I did! I began to make music a priority in my life.

Today, I am always on the lookout for the newest music or for what makes the kids really respond to the move of God.

Music is the language of love. God speaks to us through music. So why shouldn’t we be asking kids what music best communicates the message of God’s love to them.

I owe my thanks to Stephanie. She showed me more than music. She showed me that I needed to pay attention to the needs of others and put them over my own ideas of how things “should be”. 

Discipline

Discipline is a hard thing to do ourselves. That is why we often need our parents or teachers to help (ouch!). The value of doing what we need to even when it is hard will take us a long way and make us a much stronger person (on the inside). 

Jesus was a great example of discipline. I think of the time he spent in the garden of Gethsemane and how he sweat blood knowing that he would have to suffer and die such a gruesome death. He was still willing to go through it though. I think it is amazing that someone could endure so much pain and suffering for someone else, especially someone like me.

We all need to know we are loved. The discipline of Jesus shows us that we are loved. Our discipline will help us tell the story of Jesus when it is hard or unpopular. I know that I have put Jesus in charge of my discipline when I can say, “I can do what I need to even when it is hard.” 

What is one of the hardest things you have ever done?

 Have you ever done something really hard for someone else?

 Tell the story of how you came to know the love of Jesus? 

Tell about a time you helped someone else know about the love of Jesus?

 Make a comment below or add a comment to one of the others. 

Responsibility

Responsibility is not a dirty word. Responsibility is not having a good work ethic either. Responsibility has more to do with who you are. Responsibility has to do with how much you care for other people. If someone gives you a job to do, do you care enough about them to make sure you don’t let them down?

Our teachers, parents, bosses, and leaders give us jobs to do all of the time. Are you the kind of person that they trust to get the job done? Or are they holding their breath, hoping that you don’t forget?

Being responsible means making the things that are important to others important to us. So I really can show someone the love of Jesus by being able to look my teacher, parent, boss, or leader in the eyes and say, “I can be trusted to get the job done.”

That is Responsibility!

What does responsibility look like at your house?

What is a way you need to put Jesus in charge and be more responsible?

Do you know anyone that you just can’t trust to get the job done? How do they make you feel when they let you down?

Comment Below and we will share your thoughts.

Welcome Parents

Why do we do what we do?Many parents want to know why we do what we do. Some just want to know what we do. The foundation of our ministry is that it is not really possible to “educate” people about Jesus, especially kids. Although, we have tried over the years. I think mainly because they were a captive audience and could not leave the church until they entered youth, which they do, at an alarming rate of 80%.This led us to concentrate less on teaching and more on how kids learn. My goal for these kids from the very beginning is spiritual growth instead of education and I feel strongly that one has little to do with the other. So our programing reflects our core beliefs about learning and spiritual interaction with God.Kids learn from experience! So we created a rotational teaching model called The Hands-on Bible Workshop. In this Workshop kids interact with the Bible story in a hands-on environment.Kids learn from repetition! So we concentrate on one value and one Bible story for one month. We also connect all of our services together so that Wednesdays and Sundays are spent communicating one thing rather than multiple or competing lessons. This allows application to become strong and communication between the church and home to increase.Kids learn through media! The church is usually 10 years behind the culture. This can make ministries like ours seem irrelevant to the everyday lives of the kids we are intending to reach. So we use multiple media applications like video and music that are high quality and highly relevant.Kids learn through interaction! The truth is kids learn from kids! So we not only involve kids in parts of our programing, we involve them in all of our programming. We also use small groups frequently as we interact with one another.Kids learn through empowerment! Nothing impacts the potential of a child more than positive (or negative) reinforcement. So we use “I can” statements to communicate with the kids. For example, instead of saying “You should tell the truth.” we say, “I can avoid trouble by telling the truth.” This not only gives the kids a specific objective that they can understand it also puts everyone in the ministry on the same level. Both leaders and kids share a common goal. We all can “avoid trouble by telling the truth.”This is certainly not the classical approach to children’s ministry. Although, all of these learning models are well known (just not well used) in the field of classical education. Our approach applies a variety of ministry approaches that increase learning and moves toward the goal of sharing Christ with those that need him and entering into relationships with one another.If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to comment.