“What I dream for Children’s Ministry and What I want for every child”

What I dream for Children’s ministry? This question has been thought about, prayed about, wondered about and so here it is. Just in case you wanted to know but please don’t burst my bubble. I have dreamt of Children’s ministry since before I began at St. Paul’s and even before I became an Awana Commander in the Azores. I want every child to know that Jesus loves them, no matter what! I want every child to learn about the depth and the breadth of Jesus and His Father and of the Holy Spirit. I want every child to be able to stand straight and true, strong and brave with Jesus and to be able to stand against the devil and his schemes. I want every child to be able to pray for anyone at anytime and be confident that Jesus hears them. I want every child to be hungry for the knowledge and the love of Jesus. I want every child who walks through St. Paul’s doors to never want to leave because they are learning so much about Jesus; on the other hand, I want them to leave to go spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Nation. I want them comfortable enough to share Jesus at school and the neighborhood, to someone they don’t know.

I have always wanted more, not more stuff, more learning and more depth in what I learn. That wasn’t the case when I was in school as a child. I struggled, but as I became an adult, I have learned to work through the struggle and I decided to go back to school last year. I wanted to know more so I could teach your children better, so they too could learn more. I have completed my first year and did well. I will be awarded a diploma in Theology for completing this year. I have just a few short years left, with a lot of studying!

We have also changed some of the format of Elementary Kingdom Quest. We have gone a little bit deeper than we were before and will continue to go deeper. I felt like we were just covering the surface without any depth. This is what our Sunday morning looks like at 9:20 a.m.: Children are welcomed and check in, they receive their Bible buck and a ticket for the drawing. They come have a seat on the floor and visit with their buddies for a few minutes. We start at 9:25 with prayer and Praise and Worship. It isn’t like what you have in the Sanctuary, oh no! It is moving and grooving to the Lord Jesus. After all, we were made to Worship! We sing a few songs, than we have a Big Group teaching time, using their Bibles, about the subject we are learning during the month, this lasts about 10 minutes. We then draw tickets for bringing their Bibles, the winners receive yummy candy. We then release the children to their classrooms where they experience the lesson in many ways. The children are released from class at 10:45 a.m.

Preschool Kingdom Quest has a Large Group time to hear the story of the day and then break off into three small groups to rotate through different areas. The children enjoy learning about Jesus.

In Awana- each club has their own flavor. Most start with the Pledges to the Flags: American, Christian and the Bible along with our club songs and worship make up Flag Time. Puggles (age 2) do not start with flags. They have a Large Group time to listen to the story and sing the song, they play with playdough or make a craft, they play with each other and learn about the world around them. Cubbies (ages 3-5) start out in Flag time with the big dogs and then go to their classrooms. They have a big group puppet show, where the puppets help tell the story (great puppeteers too!). They have a book time where they say their scripture verses they memorized to their leaders. They have a story time along with a craft time. Both these clubs go to game time. Sparks (K-2) and Truth and Training (3rd-6th) have three sections. Handbook time – they learn or say their memorized Bible verses to their leaders, Big Group teaching time and Game Time.

In my dream, we have over 1,000 children praising Jesus and learning to be His disciples and we have committed leaders who desire to walk this journey with the children. Right now we have 250 children in total and IN every area of children’s ministry, we have incredible loving, Jesus’ loving leaders. They are committed, they desire to be involved and they are wonderfully dedicated. In my dream, this is what Children’s ministry should look like. It should look like more; more Jesus, more serving, more loving, more learning, digging deeper inside us and in the Bible and less of the outside influences, more of giving and offering to others our Jesus.
MY DESIRE IS TO SEE THE CHILDREN AND LEADERS HAVE ZEAL FOR JESUS! To know HIM with out reservations.
Thank you to all my leaders and teachers. This wouldn’t be possible without you!