I have been drawn recently to a particular verse in scripture which I have read hundreds of time but which only recently started to grip my heart. It was written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth:
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. [1 Corinthians 2:2]
Nothing! Nothing but Christ and Him crucified. The cross of Christ is the one essential piece of knowledge in this world, and our role as children’s ministers is to impart that to kids. So often, we get sidetracked in children’s ministry and miss the bulls eye which is the cross of Christ. We worry about what games we will play, what crafts we will do, how we will keep the kids occupied and under control, and we throw in the gospel when it fits. We start to feel like we have to come up with ways to entice kids with the Cross of Christ and ignore the power of God to effectuate change in the lives of kids.
So, here is my challenge and my question. First, the challenge – resolve in your children’s ministry to make the Gospel of our Lord central to everything you do. Now for the question, what does this look like in your ministry? What would your children’s ministry look like if the cross of Christ was central to all that you do? I can’t wait to hear your ideas and thoughts – please leave a comment below.