Proverbs 22:6: Train up a Child in the way He should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
The Mission Statement for our Church is to Follow God, Reach People and to Teach Others to do the same. The Children’s Ministry is no exception to this rule. The goal of the Children’s Ministry is to, “Lead children to love the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls, minds and strength, and to love their neighbor as their selves.” (Matthew 22: 37-40)
Everything we do is to lead children to Christ and lead them to follow Him in all they do. This includes telling their friends about Him.
Our Goal for the Children’s Ministry, as well as for the whole Church, is to become responsible followers of Christ. We are not a country club. We are not a place to come and just feel good about saying that we have been to church.
I have a friend who calls his time at church, “His Battle Training.” He bases this on Ephesians 6, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual force in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…”
We make sure our kids are going to sports, music, scholastic and other extra-curricular activities, but are we helping them to stand firm against attacks from Satan and his host of demons. Sounds like something from a Hollywood horror film, but it is Biblically sound, proven through scripture. It’s a real threat to our kids.
So how do we train up our children to Follow God, Reach People and to Train Others To Do The Same? How do we train them for battle against the evils of this world? It starts at home. Our kids, for the most part, are going to follow God as much as we do. We all know the basics of our Christian faith. We should be completely 100% sold out to God. This means that we don’t keep one “Little besetting sin” because it is no big deal. It means that we don’t justify or rationalize our sins. We, as parents and grandparents, are the gate keepers for our children. We should be setting the example and intentionally leading them to regularly read their Bibles, pray, attend Church, tithe, and tell others about Christ. It is a daunting task to be sure, but we make sure that our kids are brushing their teeth daily. We make sure that they are going to school and studying.
We provide multiple opportunities for our kids to grow spiritually. We have Sunday mornings in Sunday School. On Sunday Nights, we have a children’s Bible Study during the Evening Worship service. The Bible Study is designed to teach Children how to stand firm, how to be a good witness, how to grow deeper in their walk with Christ. On Wednesdays, we have Children’s Choirs where they learn to worship and sing praises to God. Then, we have Missions where the children learn how others are telling people about Christ throughout the world. They also learn the importance of telling others about Him.
I think that Moses had it right, (of course he did because it was inspired by God) in Deuteronomy 6:4-7 where he lays down how, we as parents, should tell our children about the things of God. He writes, “Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is the one and only God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength.The commandments I give you today must be in your hearts. Make sure your children learn them. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up…”
This is not an easy thing to do, but we must protect our children. Maybe a good practical thing to do would be to make a list of those things we are doing to draw our family closer to God and a list of things that are not as beneficial. Next, come up with a SIMPLE game plan of what you need to do or not do.
All of us struggle in raising our children. None of us have it down pat and are experts at doing it right, but we know that God has placed some mighty tools in our hands to help us. The prayer of this staff is that we will continue to help us all to Follow Christ, Reach People and to Train others to do the same.
Pastor Greg