Reaching Their Minds

The Privilege of Preschool

2008-10-04T06:52:00.000-07:00

Thankfully on Wednesday night the Lord has modified the schedule allowing me to teach the four year olds in Awana (Cubbies). It is so precious to see there faces when they are glued to a lesson. I started the first night using little Woolly (www.amazehealingwings.com/puppets.htm) to teach the kids about sin. The eyes lit up when I started to bring little Woolly out of the bag. Of course, him being shy, he just peeked out of the bag and after a few more peeks he finally came out and began to teach the childen with me. Even at four years old the little kids knew what I meant when I talked about sin (doing wrong things). Those children are ready to understand the freedom that comes from forgiveness. Many hesitate to share this concept for fear of discouraging them. This is justifiable as a person has to be sure that a child understands both sin and forgiveness, the two must come together. However, even at this young of an age those children already know what it is like to feel guilty. They have been in trouble and they have all seen Mom or Dad lose their patience and get angry. Guilt is something they are now trying to figure out. Sharing this lesson of sin and forgiveness at their level is like a missionary sharing the gospel to an unreached tribe in the jungle. Just by the looks on their faces as I talked with Woolly I knew that this message was opening their eyes and hearts to the privilege we have when we receive Christ's forgiveness.

This will be one of the most exciting days of the week for me.

Pray for the Impossible.

2008-10-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

As I have shared before God is teaching me more about real faith. In the last few weeks God has shown me that I have made faith just an extra help for my own efforts. In other words I would work hard on things and then ask in "faith" for everything to go well. Faith was not for God to do something in and of Himself, it was kind of the like the icing on the cake. My only risks were for me to fail in what I was trying to achieve. I relied on God to strengthen me but I did not rely on God to do it for me. At any rate, God put me to the test and showed me real faith.

This started when my wife and I gave money to the church even though it meant we couldn't pay some bills. This request put me in a situation in which I had to step out in true faith. God was saying to me, "Let me do the impossible". Sounds Biblically simple but practically nuts. In spite of my little faith we gave. Unfortunately nothing happened overnight, not even the next day or the next day. What made it bizarre was that I had more faith each day. We would talk together about how we were going to get through this and I would cheerfully say, God has to do something. On the very last day that we would suffer the consequence for not paying a bill God provided. The check we received was the exact amount that my wife had prayed for. This is one of those times when you are surprised but not surprised. Holding the check in my hand I was laughing at myself saying "what did you expect, you serve the almighty sovereign Dad."

The example I have thought of was Peter walking on the water. This was truly real faith because there was nothing that Peter could do to make this happen. It was simply impossible. This is now my prayer that I will pray more for the impossible that only God can do. This is one of the ways the Lord teaching me about real faith and I don't think this will ever end.

Trust..what did I get myself into

2008-09-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

God answers prayers. Two years ago I told the Lord that I did not know what true joy was. Have you every asked God for something that if you would have known what it would take to learn it you wouldn't have asked. And yet what it brought you in the end made all worth it. True joy I have learned comes from only the things above and not from the things on earth. Deep, yes. Real, completely.

You would think that I would have learned my lesson. If it takes trials to learn a key word in the Bible why would a person ask for it. I guess you could call it righteous greed. I did not cry out for it or beg the Lord, I merely told the Lord that I wanted to know what real trust was. You know the verse, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" At one time I considered that my life verse. Trusting as I may have been (20 years ago), I know that my trust in the Lord is not even near what it should be. And God is faithful, the process of learning about trust has begun. Yes, it is already a rough road. However, in spite of what it is going to take I know that in the end I will be to say it was all worth it.

This morning as my trust was being challenged, God brought these verses to me (www.youversion.com) at just the right time. Bibles usually titles these verses "Do not Worry".

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:22-34

Today it will be on His Word that I stand.

Reforming a children's ministry

2008-09-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

I have found that the two most common problems in children's ministries are being disorganized and lacking volunteers. Both of which require change to fix the problem.

However, reorganizing a ministry can bring immediate resistance from even the most committed people. For a variety of reasons the current systems that are in place, unorganized as they may be, have become holy. Changing these systems are immediately seen as damage to a ministry instead of improvement. Accepting this change requires people to get back to the basics of why they are doing the ministry. This in itself is what brings acceptance to change and an adoption of the new system. As difficult as this may be, the results are always the same, people will agree and appreciate it once it is in place and the system is running smooth. Smoother than they ever thought was possible. The disagreement that was once creating tension has now become something that brings a smile.

Not only does reorganizing make the ministry smooth and more enjoyable for volunteers, it makes it possible for more to join. Possible? Yes, possible. The reason being, that the old system requires everyone to do the same thing the same way. The current volunteers are usually devoted to the ministry but ignorant of how they disinclude others to join. Not everyone is gifted in the same way and many are not even mature enough to even think of being that devoted or confident in discipling children. In order to bring volunteers you have to provide a way for people to start. If it's "all or nothin" you will get nothin. When you welcome people to get involved and do not overwhelm them with responsibility, you begin to plant seeds that over time (not overnight) will produce more volunteers.

When the ministry is organized and the volunteers flourish, the ministry will explode. Most of all God will make more disciples.

Giving what you have been forgiven

2008-09-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was dumbfounded as a man told me he was going to donate $15,000 for us to paint a kids mural in the entire children's wing. I was shocked when he told me and had trouble even believing he was serious. His wife gave me a few nods to assure me that he was not kidding. As we talked about all of the details in using these funds he began to share his testimony of how God has provided for him.

The story that he shared was simply about a man who had nothing (not just money) and believed that God had given him everything. Humorously and yet coming from deep down in his heart he told me that when he became a christian he knew he couldn't do all those big things that a Christian was supposed to do, so he decided to start with a little one. That little thing was tithing. What was amazing is the fact that he wasn't even able to pay his bills and he started giving to the Lord.

Reading the story of the prostitute in Luke 7:36-50 I see a great similarity to what he shared with me. Jesus said in verse 47 "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." Jesus told the pharisee (Simon) that she washed his feet with her tears and yet he didn't even give him water to wash his feet. He also said that the woman would not even stop kissing his feet and yet Simon did not even give greet him with a kiss. Jesus essentially told the pharisee that he had given him nothing of this sort because he did not even begin to think that he even needed forgiveness but this woman gave him all that she had because Jesus was willing to forgive all of her sins.

This man I was talking to knew that God had forgiven him more than he could have ever imagined, because of this he continues to this day giving more than he could have ever imagined.
I look at my life and how little I am willing give. I may say to myself that I give little because I have received little. The problem is that I am looking at how much money I am receiving and not at how much I have been forgiven. Looking at it from this perspective I should be willing to give a lot because I am a wealthy man.

The importance of resisting prayer

2008-09-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

Every time I am alone with God early in the morning I am encouraged, strengthened, and guided. Short as it may be sometimes I always finish saying to myself "I have got to do this every day." And yet no matter how much I try to convince myself when I finish, it is always a challenge to continue the next day. The will to rely on myself never does lose it's strength. Only by God's power and His grace can I overcome this foolish desire. It surprises me that I have prayed so much these last few weeks and have seen obvious answers to my prayers, only to find myself resist pray the next morning. It really does seem illogical. How can a simple act of obedience that brings rewards, become something that I would resist. I would assume the obvious, if this is something that helps me I would think that I would be "tempted" to do it all the time. Unfortunately this battle will never end, reading the Word and praying will always be a challenge. Perhaps this is God's intention. Perhaps this is part of what makes it what it is. Spending time alone with God is not an easy thing, it is not something that is convenient or something we crave (like a large butterfinger blizzard). Resisting our will to rely on ourself is what makes it genuine. Overcoming the temptation to get out of bed early in the morning is

Resisting our will to rely on ourself is what makes it genuine. Overcoming the temptation to get out of bed early in the morning is evidence that He is our Lord. If spending time alone with God was convenient and a never ending craving, I would predict that my prayers would become selfish. Choosing to say no to myself and yes to the Lord is a basic essential to making time alone with God so special. When I get out my bed I am saying to the Lord "You are more important than me." This is what God is looking for.

Youth reaching the children

2008-09-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight I spoke to the high schoolers asking them to get involved in our Awana program. I don't understand all of the reasons why the children love them, but I do know that God can use them to not only make a little kid laugh, they can open their hearts so easily. So many stories come to my mind of little kids who loved their leaders and opened up to them about things that nobody knew about.

I want those kids in Awana to learn their verses, I want them to study their Bible, but more than anything else I want them to have a leader that loves them and cares about everything in their life. I want them to not only learn about Jesus, I want them to see Him.

With prayer and encouragement from their youth leader I believe we will see some big things happen. My prayer is for 30 youth to be involved. Let's see what God will do. So far, prayer has taken care of all my needs preparing for Awana this year.

Grieving for our Children

2008-09-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

It always grabs my heart and causes me to evaluate myself every time I read about God grieving for Israels' disobedience.

"Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices." Ezekiel 6:9

It doesn't matter how bad Israel or Judah disobeys, God always grieves for them. The picture in my mind is a statue of Jesus that is at the Oklahoma City Memorial of the bombing. The statue shows Jesus grieving with his hands covering his face. I am not into statues of deity but I must say it is a good picture of God grieving for His people.

The application for myself is how I respond to my children when they disobey. Many times I become frustrated or even angry, which even God does himself when his people disobey him. However, in the midst of the righteous anger (this is another topic in itself) He grieves. I may get frustrated or angry but I fail when it comes to grief. I don't think that we have to cry, but I do think that our children's disobedience should bring compassion, along with discipline, causing us to be more burdened for them. My motivation to pray for them and guide them in the truth should increase. By God's power with this response I believe we can be a reflection of Christ in the midst of disciplining our children. Not only will we guide them to seeking the Lord, we will also have a peace in our heart when we discipline.

A.W. Tozer was asked by a college student what the keys were to reaching people for Christ. Tozer quickly answered by saying: Bent knees, Wet eyes, and a Broken heart. My prayer is to do likewise in reaching my children for Christ as well as any other children God puts in my path.

They are growing up

2008-09-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

I have told parents for so many years about two significant stages of maturity in children's lives. The first one is 7 and the second is when children begin 4th grade.

I learned about the first stage of 7 years old when I read a quote by Saint Francis of Xavier who said, "Give me your child till they are seven years old and you can have them the rest of their life." I learned that Saint Francis believed that in the first seven years a child becomes who they are. After this time you can guide and direct them, but only in those first seven years can you shape them. Once I learned about this I saw it clearly as I stayed in my previous church for six years. Those little children that I knew personally in preschool all of the sudden became a new child in the spring of their first grade year. I would always laugh because it was so cute to see this child become so independant and yet still remain a child. Back in February I knew it was coming with my youngest and only a month later I saw it clear as day. Andrew had become his own little person. I could guide him, I could direct him, I could still teach him, but him as a person, he had already become.

Last night I realized that my oldest had reached the fourth grade stage. I should have known it was coming, after all he is in fourth grade now but he has only been in school three days. Like it or not after several weeks of him acting uniquely independant it came to a head last night. His response to strict discipline was outraged (which I have seen before) but it showed an expression in his eyes and his face that was saying "Don't treat me like a little boy anymore, I am ready to grow up."

This reminded me of an old story that my Grandma had told me many times about my Grandpa (born in 1894). Grandpa had a little brother who was the king of tattling. Grandpa also had a mother who believed everything he said. The story begins when one day Grandpa went down to the water well to carry some up to the house. Grandma said that it was quite a distance and his little brother would always follow him down and back. The problem was that many times he would come back and tell his Mother that my grandpa had hurt him. It was tradition that his Mother would spank Grandpa with a spoon and his Mother was a tough old women with a strong arm. This time was different. Grandpa returned with the water after his little brother had run ahead to tattle. His Mother, as usual, told my Grandpa to come over so she could spank him. Grandpa said "No." Grandma said that his Mother was shocked and got very angry but she wasn't strong enough to hold him down. His Mom told him that he was going to get a bigger spank when his Father got home. Grandma said it was a long day waiting for his Father to get home. That night when his Dad got home my Grandpa snuck over to the room where his Mother and Father were talking. Much to his surprise his Father, who Grandma said had a calming personality, told her that their son had become a man and was too old to spank. His Mother got angry but knew that her husband was still the man of this house and relaxed as he may seem, he was also someone you couldn't control (which was exactly like my Grandpa). Grandma said that from that day on he never got a spank again.

That story has become even more personal as I see my son has begun this stage. He is no longer the little boy any more he is someone who is ready to be respected and accept more responsibilities. He is ready, but only with prayer am I going to be ready for this stage of his life.

Missions Camp

2008-08-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

This is our first year of Missions Camp for our 4th-8th grade kids. With 55 total and lots of leaders, including MK's, the possibilities are endless. This morning as I was praying about sharing my message with the kids I started to get those chills. I began to realize that I may be talking to some kids here who are going to be future leaders of missions. People who will be well known for years and years. Perhaps others like one of my professors who never becomes famous but a few knew that they are the ones who changed the future of an entire country. Perhaps someone who merely raises children with a burden for the lost and are used to save thousands of lives. The list is endless of what God can do through these kids.

I share today how a friend of mine at their age committed his life to missions and believed God was going to send him to Mongolia. After finishing college he became a missionary in Mongolia. Think of how the person would feel who had an impact on him when he made this commitment.

The story is real. Every one of these kids could potentially look back at this time and say "It all began at Missions Camp".

What makes it even more special is when I am speaking to these kids about becoming a missionary and how God can do amazing things in their life, I see my own son sitting their listening to me. I am no longer just talking to other parents children, I am talking to my very own child. A child who is very close to becoming a young man. A child who could making a life changing decision to give his entire life to serving Christ.

The questions I asked myself today were, "Do you believe that God can do amazing things in your child's life? Do you believe that God could use him to change an entire country or lead thousands to Christ? The next question is, "If you do believe this, what are you doing about it?"

This is a big question that makes it clear to me that I am not doing enough about it. If I truly believe God can awesome things through him, I had better start parenting and discipling him like I already know who is. I think this camp is going to cause me to make a life changing decision that will have a rippling affects on both of my children.

Was Jesus a wild little boy?

2008-07-28T07:10:00.000-07:00

This week I had the privilege of working with a volunteer who works with children who are primarily ADD and ADHD who is experienced in working with little kids who have lots of energy and a mind that is going in all different directions. It was fun seeing how well she was able to communicate with these kids. Instead of them being the one who was getting in trouble, they became a special child who was answering questions and showing unique creativity in their craft.

It is sad to see children like this being treated wrong simply because a leader does not understand how to work with them. I have seen so many volunteers over the years who have shared with me how frustrated they were with a child like this. However, everyone one of these volunteers loved the child they just didn't know what to do with them.

I remember a little boy who was well known in my previous church as one of the hardest kids to deal with in a class. When he was in second and third grade I was his teacher. He was definitely a challenge but I never saw a bad attitude, I only saw a little guy who had a mind running a million miles an hour and his body had trouble keeping up with it. One evening I explained the gospel and gave an invitation for kids to accept Christ. The poor little guy could not control himself and kept interrupting me. I asked him to step out with a leader (he had already accepted Christ and was a library knowing all about the Bible). After we finished, the kids were dismissed for dinner and we sat down together to talk about what I taught and what I was trying to accomplish. After I explained this to him he said "lets pray for them". I was so humbled and I was on the edge of tears as he prayed for those kids with a prayer that was deep down in the heart.

I wonder sometimes what Jesus was like as a little kid who had a mind that was running at the speed of light. Perhaps when He left his parents to talk to the priests in the temple, Mary and Joseph were not surprised He was gone because He was always running around everywhere. How could we not think that He was kind of loud without a shy bone in His body if He had the courage to talk to all those priests who others would have feared. Perhaps Mary and Joseph didn't check to see if He was with them because He knew everybody in the family and was always talking to somebody else. With a mind like His I doubt he was quiet and with the power of God himself in that body I doubt it was very easy for Him to sit still. I would expect that He had tons of energy and aggravated many adults who had to work with Him. It is very likely that if you want to see a child who was like Christ when he was a little, you would see more similarities in the wild ones than the quiet ones. Perhaps when Jesus sees some of these crazy kids who are frustrating volunteers he smiles because it reminds Him of himself when he was little.
The challenge this gives me is to understand more how they think so I may know Christ even better.

Confident Care

2008-07-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

Over time I have learned a lot about leadership. Trying to find the balance between leading and being sensitive is a complex process that takes time. Being sensitive is appreciated by a lot of people but when there is no clear direction for the future or the present, people have trouble following. If you lead without having any sensitivity to the needs of your followers you can lose them. If you lead in order to please everyone you will lose them for sure.

The phrase that comes to mind is "confident care". A leader must be confident in the vision that he or she casts for his followers and at the same time prove that they care about each individual. Surprisingly enough I have learned that showing you care does not require trying to please everybody, it means showing people that you truly love each one of them. Contacting them when there is troubles, providing support or tools when they are struggling in their ministry, taking time just to listen, sending cards showing appreciation, and making sure everything is organized for them. This list along with many others makes all the difference in the world. What has surprised me over the years is that if your care for them and have confidence in your vision and direction, people will follow you even if they disagree. Why, because they know that you care about them. I have been shocked at how many people have put up with so many troubles while I attempted to reform a ministry that had no direction and nothing was organized. People put up with all of this because they knew I cared about them.

I was amazed a few years ago how much it meant to a family I visited when they took their daughter to the hospital late at night. I heard about how much they appreciated that for a long time. Just a little time that made a world of difference. Having been in the ministry for over fifteen years now I have developed a lot more confidence in how I lead a ministry but I can never forget the essential ingredient of caring for people who are following.

Lead like Christ who confidently knew exactly what needed to be done and proved ever day how much He cared about His followers.

Camp

2008-07-19T15:36:00.001-07:00

God is faithful. Fortunately I got a crazy idea to illustrate the gospel with five famous Superheroes. Following the camp theme this year of the olympics, each one of these Superheroes raced against volunteers each day. Superman lost because one of the racers had kryptonite. Kryptonite was Supermans weakness just like we have a weakness called sin. Batman lost the race because he took off after a boy who stole a purse from a girl in the audience. Batman wanted justice just like God wants justice, so Jesus died for our sins to bring justice and the gift of salvation. Spiderman lost the race because a referee told us that you can't compete in the Olympics with a mask on your face. Spiderman wore a mask that he refused to remove, we must remove our mask, ask Jesus into our heart and know that Jesus loves us just the way we are. Yoda won the race because he used the force and froze his competitors feet to the ground. Yoda used the force like we must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to become like Christ. A five year old little girl who represented a Christian won the race against a U of O football player and a computer genius because the race represented how far you have run the race with Christ and her competitors did not have Jesus in their heart. The little girl illustrated that God can use anyone powerfully at any of any age. With God all things are possible.

Jellytelly

2008-07-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

Many of us have been waiting for Phil Vischer to come out with his new production. Phil Vischer (creator of Veggie Tales) has gone through some life changes the last few years as he has shared many times. In short, Phil is now focusing more of his time creating something that will educate children about the Bible. The wonderful thing about it is that it is top quality. Sadly, without being too critical, much of the educational entertainment about the Bible for children is extremely amateur compared to what kids are watching on TV. Take a look at Phil's new production and you will become excited. I look am looking forward to seeing how this is going to affect my own children.

http://www.jellytelly.tv/

Camp Messages

2008-07-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am speaking at Camp this coming week. For five days I will sharing the gospel to at least 300 kids who very likely will attend this Day Camp 2 or 3 times this summer. That means you can't use the same message each week that you speak and it is very likely that the many of the kids are only there because it is replacing day care. Here in the northwest it is very easy to assume that the majority of these kids do not have Jesus in their heart and do not even understand the gospel. This is quite a challenge because I need to keep it simple and it needs to be very entertaining for these young children. My prayer is that these children will leave at the end of this week understanding the basic message of the gospel and either accept Christ or begin searching for Christ in their life.

Solomon the Servant

2008-07-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

I am moved by how Jonathon loves David. In 1 Samuel 20:4 Jonathon tells David "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for you." David is like Christ to Jonathon. David, who is taking Jonathon's kingship and an enemy to his father is Jonathon's friend and master. Jonathan's commitment to David causes me to ask that question of myself, am I willing to do anything for Christ.

Jonathon thinks nothing of himself and only about David. In 1 Samuel 20:34 Jonathon leaves dinner in anger after his father attempted to kill him with a spear. Jonathon shows his service to David (who is like Christ to him) when it says "he was grieved at his father's shameful treatment of David." I don't think I would be grieving about my father mistreating David, I would be grieving over my father trying to kill me. However, Jonathon only cares about David, what others think of him (even his father) does no matter at all to him. This is a goal of mine but is still a challenge.

Jonathon is an example to me of what it means to be a true servant of Christ. Christ must become all that matters to me. Nothing else, no one else, not even myself, only Christ.

cmconnect.org

2008-07-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

Cmconnect.org is a place to "get connected to others serving Christ through Children's Ministry". It amazes me more and more how much information for children's ministry is available on web. This free website is designed to help people in Children's Ministry network with one another. This provides a place to share ideas, encourage one another, and enhance everyones ability to reach children for Christ."

What impresses me the most about this website is that well known leaders who you pay money to hear speak in large conferences are providing open communication with anyone. There is no profit for them and there is no charge for the communication that is being provided. I believe that this is one of the things that makes the leaders involved in children's so unique. You never know they are highly respected when you talk to them and they love to help anyone reaching kids. I have talked to so many of these key members either at conferences or online and each one of them has a heart to help anyone involved in Children's ministry.

I pray that leaders in children's ministries with a tiny budget and very few volunteers will find resources such as these. Online they can see God do some big things in their ministry.

Online resources have the potential to enable anyone to lead a children's ministry that is what Bill Hybels calls "International Quality" which means you can find it different but you can't find it any better. Get online and see the enormous potential.

Scope and Sequence

2008-07-04T08:31:00.001-07:00

This title has a dry taste to it. I know that it is essential to have a well thought out plan of education in your children (I love organized plans) but the question always needs to be asked...what will lead a child to Christ and to follow Christ? The most common plan is to cover all of the basic Bible stories and essential theological concepts. I have likewise followed this plan for my children's ministry. And yet, I am still evaluating it wanting to make sure it is accomplishing those two goals. There are other strategies, some will focus mainly on practical issues, some will focus primarily on theological concepts, and others have created a strategy.But is a scope and sequence the key to leading to accepting and following Christ?Miss Vicki had a different strategy. She was always willing to follow the Promiseland lessons (with some resistance), but in the summer when there was not an essential plan to follow she would ask me if she could teach her own lessons. Now I would perhaps want to evaluate this but with her having being a Sunday school teacher for many many years and seeing my boy excited to go to class, I had the confidence let her do her own thing. Now Vicki didn't do lessons the easy way, with having gone to Israel several times she had photos and items for every Bible story you could think of. How much more real can a story become for a child when they see a photo of their teacher standing in the same location where the Bible story actually happened. Taking all of this into consideration, what impressed me the most was the way she taught. She didn't read a lesson to the kids or find a lesson that didn't require much prep. Vicki worked on her lesson all week and come to church on a Thursday or a Friday to do some set up and then come to church two hours early to get everything ready before she taught that night (we did kids church in the morning and did Sunday school at night). When she taught her lessons to the children, she did it with a passion like she was literally preaching to the children. The results were amazing. Children would consistently run into class, say hi to her every Sunday even though they were in third grade, and many children accepted Christ. Did she have a scope and sequence, no. Vicki taught lessons to those children that would allow her to share what God had put on her heart.The question has to be asked, which will lead a child to accepting and following Christ? A strict scope and sequence or a flexible plan that allows committed teachers to pour their heart out to the children. The two can work together sometimes, but I would say that if you have a teacher who has this kind of passion, take the risk and compromise on your plan.

Who is your Master

2008-07-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

One of the things that God has taught me these last two years is to serve Him and Him alone. Working as a pastor can bring a lot of praises from people that can boost your ego. This is especially difficult when the praises come from the people you respect and look up to. Your motivation gets boosted as well as your confidence but your reliance on the Lord drifts away. All the acceptance and encouragement you need comes from others and not from the Lord whose love is faithful no matter what.
In the last two years God has graciously taken all of that approval away and brought me back to serving Him alone. WOW! I never knew how comforting that is and how much confidence it would give me in leadership. If you truly want to lead people who love the Lord you must be led, motivated, empowered, reassured, guided, and comforted by the Lord Himself. Calling Him master gives so much relief to a ministry that can bring so much stress. Serving Him alone has gifted me with a greater vision for my life and my ministry because I can call Him master.

Parents are Innocent

2008-07-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

One of my primary goals has been to get parents involved in discipling their children at church. For several years I have tried to get families to do Bible studies during the week with their children but I have had very little success. I have used all different ideas. One summer I provided creative Bible studies that could be used for all ages. I advertised these and provide stacks of them all over the church. However, when I went to pick them up each week, I couldn't even tell a single one had been picked up until I counted them. Another time I gave children prizes for bringing back a take home Bible study of their lesson. Only 2 or 3 children would bring one back the next Sunday.

Getting parents involved in discipling their children has become a bitter subject among many children's leaders. For many it seems that the parents do not really care, but parents do care about their children. The problem is, they do not think it is their responsibility, that is what the church does for them.

After teaching SHAPE for over 7 years to adults I found that some of the philosophy of finding your ministry was pulling parents away from taking on their responsibility to disciple their children. Parents were being given the impression that their primary mission is to serve where they feel they are gifted and where they had interests. Therefore, if their SHAPE did not directly tie to teaching children about the Bible then they shouldn't be make this their ministry. This philosophy (much of which is not solely supported in the Bible) has limited the potential of many Children's ministries. Sadly, so many children's leaders are spending most of their time recruiting and less of them their time improving the program itself.

I believe that the parents are innocent. Parents are not saying they don't care, the parents just don't know what God wants them to do. Parents simply need be educated on what the Bible calls them to do and then they will independantly, without an announcement in the bulletin, join in this effort to raise their children up to be lovers of God's Word.

Embrace Awana Ministry

2008-06-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Casting a vision for the Awana ministry began last week. Our vision for this year was "Embrace". Our goal is to have a 3 to 1 ratio for preschool to early elementary and a 4 to 1 ratio for the 4th and 5th grade. The purpose of this goal is for every child to be individually discipled and loved by a leader. We want kids to love coming to Awana because their buddy (their leader) is excited to see them and would really miss them if they didn't come. This is the key for kids to achieve in Awana and this is the key for recruiting. People becoming attached to kids and loving to work with kids because they have built a relationship.

I learned this when I worked with the Whiz Kids ministry in Oklahoma City. We tutored children in one of the lowest income elementary schools in the city. Half of the children tutored were in homes where the parents did not speak english and all the children had no idea what it was like to excel in school. When I began working in this ministry we had 12 faithful tutors and in one year we increased to 40. This week I was told that their is now over 100 volunteers tutoring children one on one. How did this happen? It happened because people found out that they could tutor one child who had no hope of excelling in school and they knew that they could make a difference. Once people began to share about the relationships they were building with these children and how it was inspiring them, the volunteers began to pour in. The word has now spread to a second church that joined and pushed the numbers so large that they are now transporting kids in a bus to a larger church.

This is what will make the Awana ministry do the same. One leaders making a difference with a child they have adopted as their disciple. This is the first year this vision and this high of a goal has been cast, and with prayer and good strategies in communication that goal will be achieved. The exciting part is going to be hearing the leaders share about how special this has been in their own life and seeing how excited they are at the awards ceremony at the end of the year.

Simple camp leader training

2008-06-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

The camp welcomed all the leaders this last weekend in preparation to minister to over 3000 campers. The entire weekend was spent training them on the rules, schedules, discipline policies, and every other little detail in the giant leader handbook.

After all of these long hours of training I got the privilege of speaking to them the night before they met the first group of campers. So many things could be covered on how to reach out to children but only one thing was covered: Loving them.
The leaders needed to understand the basic question every child is asking "Do you like me". Children in any home, stable or unstable, rich or poor, christian or non-Christian is looking for someone who loves them.

For four or five days the children will hear the gospel in the "campitheater". This message will have a big impact on the kids and perhaps lead some to accepting Christ. For many children from non-christian families and others with a short attention span, will very likely not understand or remember the message.

In spite of this, what will draw those kids to Christ will be most of all the love they received from their leaders. Some kids will come to camp for several weeks and some may never come again but leaders who love them, they will never forget. Genuine love from a leader who gives a child faithful attention and makes extra efforts to learn more about a child will become someone they will always remember. It may be years and years till one of these kids turn to Christ but when their heart is open they will turn to Christ because they saw someone just like Him for just a few days.

To Be Educated

2008-06-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

My son has a love for history just like myself. He endlessly tells us all about the different planes that were used in the war until we finally tune him out. I am proud that instead of being stuck into watching cartoons, he religously watches the History Channel.

The question I was asked yesterday was "Do I think this is enough?" God has called me to disciple not only the children in my ministry, but even more importantly my own children. I think that i have too easily become satisfied with his progress in learning history and not in the Word of God. An education that is far greater than anything else he could ever learn.

"To Be Educated"

by Carolyn Caines

Longview, Washington

If I learn m ABC's and can read 600 words per minute,

And can write with perfect penmanship,

But have not been shown how to communicate

with the Designer of all language,

I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can deliver an eloquent speech

An persuage you with stunning logic,

But have not been instructed in God's wisdom,

I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I have read Shakespeare and John Locke

And can discuss their writings with keen insight,

But have not read the greatest of all books, the Bible,

and have no knowledge of its personal importance,

I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can play the piano, or the violin,

or several other instruments,

And can write music that moves men to tears,

But have not been taught to listen to the

Director of the universe and Worship Him,

I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can identify a Picasso, describe the style of DaVinci,

Or even even paint an A+ portrait,

But have not learned that all harmony

and beauty comes from a

Relationship with God,

I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I become a good citizen, voting at each election

And fighting for what is moral and right,

But have not been told of the sinfulness of man

and his hopelessness Without Christ,

I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

However, if one day I see the world as God sees it,

And come to know Him, Whom to know is life eternal,

And glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for me,

Then, I HAVE BEEN EDUCATED.

This is my shortened version of the poem. If you would like to read the poem in its entirety and see the video of children reciting this poem, visit this blogspot.

Kidologist