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When I watch It’s a Wonderful Life at Christmas time, I cry. Every single time. Without fail.
There’s just something about being able to get a little space to ask, Wait, how did I get here? And what was my original motivation to begin with?
In the movie, George Bailey’s dreams of adventure get cut short pretty quickly, and on the afternoon of his wedding, of all days. Just as he and Mary are about to pull away on their honeymoon to New York and Bermuda, there’s a run on the bank. Duty calls and George answers, toppling the first domino in the domino run that becomes his life. It can’t be stopped. The next thing George knows, he’s been married several years, has four kids and he’s tied down to a dead-end job in a cul-de-sac to nowhere — or so it seems.
DOES THAT RESONATE WITH YOU?
One thing I hear from kids pastors on a regular basis is, “Sunday comes every week.” Like a treadmill that won’t slow down, Sunday is on regular rotation.
Just about the time you catch your breath, it’s time to do it all again, but this time the machine’s on incline! Lesson prep, curriculum selection, volunteer recruitment, parent resources, staff meetings, supply lists … and I almost left out quiet time, Bible reading and prayer.
It’s only fair if you sometimes ask yourself, What was my original motivation to begin with? Why did you get involved in children’s ministry in the first
place? Although I likely don’t know your personal story, I’ve been listening to and studying leaders like you for more than 20 years, and I’d like to make
a recommendation.
What George Bailey illustrates to us each Christmas season is this: We can get so blinded by our “whats” and “hows” that we forget our “why.”
I, along with a group of dedicated servant leaders at Awana, have been researching children’s ministry for some time now (14 research projects, including one with Barna Group). As we process all that research and mine
the insight from it, we can boil it all down to one key question:
WHAT IF WE CHANGED OUR THINKING FROM
“CHILDREN’S MINISTRY” TO “CHILD DISCIPLESHIP”?
George Bailey had become blinded by “misframing” his perceived reality. He defined himself as a man stuck in a small town working for a “measly” mom-
and-pop building and loan shop. But the moment George was able to see that he was the heartbeat of the community, everything changed. He was the linchpin — the single holdout preventing corruption from overrunning an entire community so its citizens could thrive. This was his reality … his “why.”
But somewhere along the journey, he simply lost his way.
If we are not careful, we who serve in children’s ministry can get so blinded by the whats and the hows that we can forget why we’re doing this in the first
place. You and I are not in this for the innumerable methodologies and the tactics that dominate our calendars. We’re in this because we prayerfully want
lasting faith in Jesus for every child. This is our motivation. This is our why!
So what if your entire children’s ministry could view each tactic, each methodology and each program through the lens of child discipleship that’s known to form lasting faith in Jesus? How could this increase the fruitfulness of every aspect of your ministry? With this mindset shift, even the smallest moments have the potential for great eternal impact!
The term children’s ministry, which often gets boiled down to a long list of tactics and methodologies, can mean different things to different people. But the idea of child discipleship is a biblical mission. It’s consistent with the best of church history, it’s research-backed and it’s the pathway to form kids with lasting faith in Jesus. That’s what it’s all about.
Let’s Lasso the Moon,
Matt Markins
Awana President & CEO
