Caring For The Children in Your Ministry

 

How can you show the children in your ministry that you genuinely care? What does it require of you as a leader? What attitudes or actions are most appropriate? The Apostle Paul exemplifies a model of caring for others in the second chapter of 1 Thessalonians. 

Be Gentle- 1 Thessalonians 2:7  But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. The word "gentle" means to be kind, sensitive, not rushing. Every leader should be sensitive to each child's personality, background, intellect, emotions, and will. This sensitivity is achieved through a gentle spirit. 

Be Relational- 1 Thessalonians 2:8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. "Affection" means having a deep longing for and maintaining a close intimate relationship with another person. Leaders need to have affection for the children in their ministry. If these children feel close to their leaders, they will open up and share their thoughts, prayers and struggles. They will trust them with their feelings, both good and bad. 

Give of Yourself- 1 Thessalonians 2:8b we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. Leaders need to give of themselves to the children they serve. As you get to know these children better, it becomes easier to share more of your life with them. You may want to plan activities outside of club with them and their families (child protection rules apply). This takes extra time and effort, but a little extra time goes a long way for many of the kids with whom you are in contact with. 

Work Lovingly- 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. In this verse, Paul is talking about how he worked to support themselves financially. He didn't want to be a burden to people, and he didn't to give anyone an opportunity to accuse him of taking advantage of them. Paul made tents, working early in the morning and late into the night...this was hard work. Awana is hard work, but what other work lasts for eternity. 

Be an Example- 1 Thessalonians 2:10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. Awana leaders should be an example of what a Jesus follower should be. Children can't handle inconsistency. They want a leader who "walks the talk". When you ask your clubbers what is a disciple, rather than think of someone with a rob and a beard as they have seen in drawings, they should think of you. You should be a model of what a disciple is.

Be an Encourager and a Motivator- 1 Thessalonians 2:11b For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children. As an Awana leader, you need to be like a father. Encourage the children in your ministry to keep attending club, to pay attention during the Bible lesson, learn their verses and stay involved with the club. Maybe all it takes is for you to say, "You're a great kid, Jesus loves you, we love you...keep coming".

This is why Paul labored day and night for the Thessalonians. And that's why leaders must care for the children in their ministry. So that someday these children who God has entrusted to your care will trust Christ as their Savior and begin to grow and walk in a manner worthy and pleasing to God.

9 Reasons why Awana is important to the long term health of the Church

As we begin the year 2020, I thought it might be good to remind some why you are serving in Awana, encourage others to consider starting an Awana ministry and a few others to relaunch or revision the Awana ministry at a church that either dropped Awana or is on life support. 

To be clear, when I say the word "Awana" in this blog, I don't necessarily mean the books, awards, game circle or uniforms that are typically associated with an Awana ministry. Those tools are certainly part of some Awana ministries, but not all. When I refer to "Awana" in this blog, I'm speaking of a fun, exciting, gospel centered, scripture rich legacy ministry that involves parents, trains teens to serve the church and develops adult leaders that create disciples who will propel the Church into the future. 

So, here are 9 reasons why Awana is important to the long term health of the Church.

1. First and foremost, children are important to Jesus. From the beginning to the end of God’s word, God speaks about the importance and worth of children.

• Matthew 18:1-5 says “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

• Continuing on in verse 10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

• Mark 10:13-16 13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

Because children are important to God, they should be important to us.

2. Children, even in the United States, are an “unreached people group”. In the ministry area that I serve, the state of Nevada, according to the US Census there are 887,000 children under the age of 18. Through the ministry of Awana, we are reaching between 3,000-4,000 of these children, there are other ministries and churches reaching more of these children, but nowhere near that 887,000. From a salvation standpoint, the reality is that there are a small group of these children that have received Jesus and are on their way to heaven, yet there is an even larger group of these children that have had NO chance to hear about the message of Jesus and their destiny most likely is hell. As ministry leaders, the question we must ask ourselves is are we comfortable with that fact, and more importantly what are we willing to do about it. To add to this, those 887,000 children are a moving number. Meaning every year, there are a new group of children entering and leaving that demographic, ie the children of today grow up, and an entirely new group of children and their eternal fate is up for grabs. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/NV

3. Evangelism is most effective among children. According to Barna Research, almost half of all Christians (43%) accepted Christ before age 13, and 2 out of every 3 born again Christians put their faith in Christ before age 18. What does that mean for our churches? Take a look around the seats of your santuary on Sunday morning and know that two thirds of those seats are filled by people who accepted Christ as a child. The other side of that coin, is that if the Church neglects robust children’s ministry, we are sacrificing the future of the Church. Juxtapose the health or unhealth of the children’s wing in many of our churches with the fact that there are more and more churches closing their doors every year and it causes a sober evaluation for the future of the Church in the US. https://www.barna.com/research/evangelism-is-most-effective-among-kids/

4.  Sunday morning attendance patterns are declining- There is a popular saying among many churches and children’s pastors, “Make Sunday morning the best hour of a child’s week”. At first glance, this seems encouraging, however, in light of the current attendance patterns there are several issues worth addressing in this line of thinking.

• With 168 hours in a week, is 1 hour a week/ 52 hours a year a realistic reality to increase the Biblical literacy of the children in your church? 
• Taking into account sports, sickness, family vacations, families desire to sleep in on Sunday morning occasionally, Barna research says the average child attends Sunday morning church an average of 1.7 times per month. This means that if our only strategy for child discipleship is Sunday morning, we now only have 20 hours a YEAR to evangelize and disciple our children. Considering children spend 6-8 hours a day at school, 3-4 hours a day on TV and social media, it is easy to see that we simply don’t have enough time to truly make an impact on the lives of the children in our churches. 

Bottom line, we can’t disciple children in our churches who aren’t there. Having a solid ministry option in addition to Sunday morning is vital to the discipleship of our children. Most pastors are already aware of this for their adult ministry as is seen in the rise of midweek small groups...why not midweek for kids?

5.  Awana teaches teenagers to serve. The harsh reality is that the church in the US can be very consumeristic, ie many church members want to know how the church can serve them as opposed to what can they do to serve the church.  The most common response I hear when asking a church how I can pray for them is “We need more volunteers”. A healthy Awana ministry, provides a steady stream of teenage volunteers to serve and indeed lead your children’ ministry. In addition, when a teenager prays with and leads a child to Christ, in many cases their faith is now in concrete. Serving is not a burden, but a discipleship opportunity for our teens. 

6. Awana forces the church to take its eyes off itself and reach out into the community- Everywhere I go, without exception, when a church has a strong healthy children’s ministry, that church is growing. If not, it is quite obvious that church is in a slow decline. Very simply, if there are no new members coming into the church, the church has no place to go but down. Having a fun, vibrant,  gospel centered ministry that is attracting to both children and families in your community is a great long term strategy to keep your church full. 

7. Awana can create a long term legacy ministry- Churches that have used Awana for years often have children, parents and grandparents all involved at the same time...WHAT A WIN! In my home church, our Awana club is governed not as a children’s ministry, but as a “Community Group”. The mission of our church is “To Follow Jesus and Make Disciples”, so our Awana club is aligned with that vision as a Community Group of children, teens, parents and grandparents who follow Jesus and make disciples. Indeed a healthy Awana club is a ministry that makes disciples who make disciples who make disciples.

8. Awana is a ministry that involves parents (and grandparents)- God’s plan is that parents are the real spiritual leaders of their children. Awana creates and encourages an atmosphere where parents and children learn about God together. Parents are encouraged to serve as volunteers, parents and children work together in a parent/ child activity workbook throughout the week which involves finding and discussing scripture, wrestling with theological issues and memorizing God’s word together. Creating an environment where parents and children work together as oppposed to a “drop off” mentality is a key ingredient to successful child discipleship. 

9. Because it works!- In 2006 Awana and Baylor University did a study to find out if Awana was effective as a ministry that raises children who upon adulthood were functioning, productive members of the church, ie regular attendance, giving, serving, reading their Bible and sharing their faith. The results...92.7 percent of Awana Alumni (as defined in this study) are still attending church at age 30. Download the study from the link below. I often tell people this success is not due to “Awana” per se, ie God doesn't give special favor to kids who wear Awana uniforms, but it does conclusively say this...weekly child discipleship, combined with loving and caring adults, combined with parental involvement produce lasting results for the Kingdom.
Alumni Survey https://drive.google.com/file/d/10RpCCkuVo-D7eHWrAhasK_AqsFuaJRQV/view?usp=sharing

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THIS YEAR...an exciting time in Awana

I was thinking today, what an exciting time of year in Awana! As leaders, pastors, and directors from our area and indeed all around the world all begin to come together in small meeting rooms, in living rooms and dens, on back porches, in coffee shops, in fellowship halls, and in basement game rooms for prayer and planning meetings and for trainings to get the new club year started, there are anxious moments for sure, ie who will be the game director? How many kids will come this year? How much should we order? How can we get everyone trained? Those are all part of ministry.

But there are EXCITING things to think about as well...

How many children will hear about Jesus for the first time?

How many children will know that they are loved unconditionally by the God of the universe?

How many children will know that the same God who causes the sun to rise and to set knows them by name!!

How many children will hear that this same God came to earth as a man and sacrificed His life so that they can be free from sin?

Indeed, how many children will be in heaven some day because of these prayer and planning meetings?Because of the trainings that are happening now? Because of the boxes that are shipped, the powerpoints that are created and shared...this year.

All over the world, there are over 4 million kids hearing about Jesus because of the ministry of Awana!! How many more this year will hear? How many more this year will know Him?

How many new moms and dads will bring their children to Awana, hear the Gospel from a pastor or a leader and put their faith in Christ. 

How many teenagers will feel God's call on their life to full time ministry as a pastor or missionary?

How many churches will be revitalized because they decided to invest in young children and as a result new families join and become involved in their church?

How many new leaders who came "just to help" will soon realize that God wants to use them in a much bigger way to disciple and train these young children?

Yes, there is so much to be excited about as we all get ready for another club year in Awana.

Thank you all again for all you do to make this happen. For those who serve, those who pray, those who give and those who lead. THANK YOU!!

Because of you... all this happens! Children will be reached... THIS YEAR!

THANK YOU!

Is Independence Day a Civic or Religious Holiday?

Is July 4th (Independence Day) a civic holiday or is it a religious holiday? Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter are generally recognized as Christian holidays as they celebrate God’s goodness to our country, Jesus birth, death and resurrection respectively. But what about the 4th, a civic or religious holiday? I would argue that Independence Day is a religious holiday.

Why you ask? Many think of the 4th as a celebration of the adoption of the Declaration of the Independence and the birth our nation. That’s true, but not the whole story.  The key to understanding the birth of our nation is in the first sentence of the Declaration of Independence;

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The founders of our nation believed that our rights as people came from God, not from any man, monarchy or government, and as long as we held onto that truth; that our rights do come from God, then no man could take them away. After living under the tyrannical British monarchy, they understood first hand the sinful nature of man, so they deliberately wrote in our country’s founding document, that we are a free people not because our government says we’re free, but because God created us as free people and no one can take that away. Truly something to celebrate!

So this year as we all spend time with families, engage in July 4th activities, eat hot dogs and watch fireworks, remember...that you live in the only country in history that guarantees and celebrates your God given right to freedom...don’t ever forget.

Reaching lost kids

I recently had the opportunity to have lunch with a pastor in rural Nevada to talk with him about starting an Awana ministry at his church. After sharing with him about the importance of children's ministry, what Jesus thinks of children as depicted in Matthew 19:14, ie "Let the little children come to me..." and how he might use Awana to reach out into his community and bring new families into his church, this pastor told me something I have heard many times before.  "Awana is a great ministry, I love Awana, I'd love to start an Awana ministry at my church, BUT we don't have any children that come to our church".

My response was EXACTLY! I told him the very fact that he doesn't have any children come to his church is the very reason he should start an Awana ministry. I asked him to consider what if the Apostle Paul had said to himself "I'm not going to start any new churches until I can round up some Christians". Doesn't make sense does it, as one of the primary reasons for the church is to reach the lost.

I asked him to consider that Awana is not a ministry to find "bad" kids and make them "good", or to take good kids and make them better, rather Awana is a ministry to find dead kids and give them life through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Please be praying for children and for pastors. Pastors have an incredibly difficult job; pray that they will view children's ministry not as something to keep kids busy while the adults "do real ministry", but that children are loved and cherished by God, that they are geniune souls to be saved and that they are legitimate members of the church.