The New Journey

I'm on a road of discovery right now. With a new group of kids to pastor, I must not fall into the "children's church formula" that would make life easier. What I mean is this; as a person who has been a children's pastor for more than 20 years, I have to be careful not to fall back on or rely on past successes to minister to my new congregation. I have to discover where they are in their faith journey, how mature they are in God's Word and what needs do they have socially, physically and Spiritually. That takes time, effort and being very intentional. Life would be easier if I just mapped out the coming year without really praying it through and allowing God to show me where He wants or needs these kids to go. At the MOST, I have them 7 years in children's church. Seven years to lead them to Jesus and through His Word in a way they can understand. Seven years to prepare them to go to the next level with the youth pastor. Seven years to build a Spiritual foundation that will be firm and steady enough to add worldly weight and pressure. Seven years to help them understand what we believe and why we believe it. Seven years to get them plugged into ministry and teach them to be servants. Seven years...sounds like a long time but remember that's only a couple of hours a week. I have to make them count!
So...the road to discovery has some bumps and pot holes but it's a road that must be traveled to achieve what those precious kids really need. I choose to make the road fun and not a burden. It makes it even more satisfying when you can look back and see how they got from point A to point B. What an honor it is to love kid's to Jesus.