- And what if we took it outside the walls of the church? What if we helped our older congregation members to find our kids and youth at their sporting events and dance recitals and spelling bees and show up as their biggest fans and loudest cheerleaders? What could that do to help break down the fears that might exists in being asked to lead a kid’s small group or teaching a youth Sunday School class?
Significance of Ministry
Perhaps most important of all, bringing the congregation and family together underscores the reality that spiritual formation and generational discipleship finds its home, not in a classroom or a curriculum, but in the people who make up the body of Christ.
If we are begging and pleading for volunteers, if we are so exhausted we can’t catch a break because every week is just getting classrooms covered or planning the next activity in hopes that kids and youth show up, if we are on the verge of burnout because we feel the weight of keeping a program afloat while also adding spiritual value to the lives of kids and teens… something is not lining up to our church’s stated values. Even if our best intentions and stated values are that these ministries are important, we’ve got to recognize a cultural change is needed, not a curriculum change.
Discipleship cannot be programmed even with the best, most-expensive curriculum. Relationships cannot be forged by coercing and begging volunteers into serving. Connection can’t be forged when healthy interactions aren’t even a possibility. These can only happen in community, bringing the congregation together.
“But that won’t work at my church!”
How do we know? What is the worst thing that could happen if we said, “I’m not willing to settle for just any curriculum because it’s easy-to-use and I can get volunteers to do it. I’m not willing to simply accept that I have to keep this program afloat at any cost regardless of whether it’s the best thing for the kids, the youth, or the parents. I’m not willing to let the budget dictate the significance of this ministry and the role the congregation and family play in raising lifelong disciples. I’m willing to risk it all for a chance of doing something so radical, so relational, and so real that these kids and youth will be indelibly formed by God’s love revealed in community with one another.”
Could it be worse than reducing children’s ministry to a user-friendly, budget-conscious, low-bar experience just to keep things going? Surely not. There’s so much richness to be had in the body of Christ. It has to be worth the risk.
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
