Recently, I have been praying for God’s guidance related serving him in Children’s Ministry. I know what I want his will to be, but I’m praying to make sure I’m in sync with his will before I make a final decision. This morning when I was stretched thinnest, he made his will clear to me through some very little voices. Here’s the story:
Sometimes in Children’s Ministry, it is easy to get frustrated. This morning was one of those mornings for me. I moved offices this past week and hurt my back lifting an old printer I had no business trying to lift. So, when I sat down in the little chairs in kid’s church this morning, I was already a little hurt, and a little distracted. As the children started to file into the room, the first three or four to sit at my table were the most rambunctious kids in class who seem to feed off of one another. One boy in particular was in rare form this morning and required way to many reminders and way to much retention. Children’s Ministry requires a lot of patience, and this morning I found myself praying for more as the time ran on.
After the the large group teaching, we came back to our room for some small group time. We were tealking about God’s gift of salvation. The first game was akin to Hot Potato with a gift box with the child who got stuck with the potatoe opening up the box and pulling out a clue to what God’s gift was. As the music ended, the first child pulled out a card that said “God Gave.” I asked them what God gave, and one of the six year olds in the room started to quote John 3:16 – “his only begotten son.” As the other cards came out of the box, this six year old started to “teach” the other kids at the table the Gospel based on John 3:16. I had to help a little bit, but it reminded me why God says we have to have faith like a child to enter his kingdom.
So, things were looking up! The second voice God talked to me through was a little boy in the class. He’s been coming for four or five months now. He saw me once at lunch after church and I said “hi” which he thought was really cool so we’ve developed quite a bit a rapport over the last several months. He is always one of the last kids in the class to get picked up because his Mom volunteers elsewhere in the church. That always gives us a little extra time just to chat. This morning when his Mom picked him up, she asked if she could talk to us for just a second. She wanted to let us know that starting on Friday he had started to pester her because he couldn’t wait to get to church. She said that he looks forward to it every week! Talk about encouragement from little voices.
We don’t ultimately serve in Children’s Ministry for recognition or accolades. We serve bring and honor and glory to God. That said, today was one of those moments that I knew that God was talking to me through the little voices of the kids in my class. If I had any doubt about my decision before today, he worked through those kids to dispell that.
I’m reminded of Psalm 8:2: “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.” Amen!