1 of 2
The Gift You're Already Giving
Parenting, it's been said, is the only profession where the goal is to work yourself out of a job.
1 of 2
Parenting, it's been said, is the only profession where the goal is to work yourself out of a job. As children's ministry leaders, whether volunteer or paid, our goal is to partner with parents, and help them work themselves out of a job. That is, to support their efforts to bring their children to maturity. We are helping parents to raise their children, to train them in the ways of the Lord. We focus on the spiritual, but really, just as parents, our goals ought to be to develop the whole person. After all, what good is it if we can get a child to recite from memory, "Love your neighbor as yourself," but then he goes home and bullies the other children in his neighborhood, or is disrespectful to his teacher at school? Our goal is not to police kids, since we can't. The hour on Sunday you spend with the kids you minister to is miniscule compared to the time they spend with parents, peers or in school in any given week. So how can you impact kids, how can you help them grow? In fact, how can you get them to "outgrow" you? Because isn't that the goal—to have them move forward, to mature, to move from dependence on you to independence? There is a synergy between the growth of the children we lead, and our growth, and even their parents' growth. Or at least, there can be, if we live life intentional and aware. Here are three ways we can grow as we guide others toward spiritual maturity. Trust God: As kids' leaders (or as parents), we can grow in our faith by challenging kids to grow—and then actually letting them do it. Allowing kids to take risks to follow hard after God requires us to trust God to take care of them, it forces us to let go of control. Surrendering the kids in our charge to God, trusting that all will be well and things will work for good in the long run—that's a faith builder right there. If you've been in children's ministry a while, you know that there are kids who wander from their faith, despite the efforts of their parents and the church to guide them in righteousness. But there is nothing better to build your ability to trust God than praying for a prodigal. Pray: This leads us to the second way to nurture your soul as you nurture children: pray for them and for their parents. Even when you are praying for someone else, you build spiritual muscles that will serve you well as you journey with Christ. Pray that your students' parents will use the time wisely, that they will support and build on the things you are teaching their kids. Pray that God would be in charge of that child's development in every way. Let parents know that you pray for their kids, and for them. As a parent, knowing someone else is praying for my child is huge. It communicates God's love to me in a way few other things can. Model: Third, live what you teach. When the kids and parents from church see you in the grocery store, on the Little League sidelines, with your own family—are you living the values you seek to instill in them? Are you kind, patient, loving? (That is, do you act as Jesus would?) How about when no one's looking? That, it's been said, is the definition of character. |
share this page
Average User Rating: Not rated
Submit Your Rating and Review *