I’ve been involved in church for as long as I can remember. I used to joke that I was born on a Friday and was in church the next Sunday. It has always been a big part of my life. I can’t remember a time in my life where I missed more than two Sundays in a row. One of the greatest areas of impact on my faith journey was made by the men and women that gave their Sunday mornings to teach me about the Bible. As far as I know, none of them were Bible scholars or highly trained teachers; they were just people who knew how important it was for young kids to be introduced to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, Jim and Lisa, Tim and Dawn, Sheri and Terry, a man called Tater, and every other great children’s ministry leader, though you may never read this, thank you. Thank you for spending time with us on a Sunday morning. Thank you for not just babysitting us but for truly investing in us. Thank you for helping to lay a strong foundation for my faith. Thank you for pointing me towards Jesus on a weekly basis. And thank you for helping me hide God’s word in my heart.
By investing a trivial amount of their time each week in me these people have ministered to countless others through me. However, they were never worried about some far off future legacy. They just wanted to make sure I and my classmates knew that we were deeply and truly loved by God. That God was there for us and that no matter what we’ve done or think we’ve done we can be forgiven. And I’m sure many people reading this have similar stories of people they could thank.
At Restore we have a lot of children. According to our records about 20% of Restore is under the age of 11, and a third of that is kids under the age of 3. This is wonderful. We love having kids being active members of our church. They bring an energy and a creativity most of us lose once we realize the fridge doesn’t get filled by magic and our laundry doesn’t wash itself.
As any parent can tell you having kids changes things. Kids adjust your priorities, they can change your goals, and most obviously kids change for whom you are now the most responsible. We as a church need to step up and accept the words of Jesus found in Luke 9:48, “Then he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.’”
We believe children are important. We believe that it is our duty to introduce them to the faith. Christi, our Children’s Ministry Director, does an amazing job preparing and equipping our teachers: preparing rooms, selecting and preparing curriculum, and so much more behind the scenes. But she can’t do it alone. If you know someone who would do an awesome job pouring into the lives of Restore’s children would you please let her know. (Christi@restoreworship.org)
We all think these kids are special and important. Let’s get together and show them.