God's Plan for Children's Ministry

As I have prepared to be the new Children’s Pastor at Bethel Church, one question has dominated my thoughts: What is God’s plan for children’s ministry? If God were to plant a church, who would he choose to be the Children’s Pastor and what would he want them to do?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God gave us a model for children’s ministry? Wouldn’t it be great if at one point in history God had formed a community of believers, called them to be the light of the world, and given them instructions on how to live – even on how to care for the spiritual lives of children?

If you haven’t picked up the rocks I’m dropping yet – God has left us with a model for children’s ministry. God gave his original people Israel specific directions on how to care for the spiritual lives of children. And surprisingly enough, God’s plan for children’s ministry didn’t include Bible Quiz, Royal Rangers, or even a children’s pastor. Instead, God’s plan for children’s ministry was parenting. God wants parents to be in charge of nurturing the faith of children.

In Exodus and Deuteronomy we can read some of the things God wants parents to do: God wants parents to pass on the story of how they were saved (Exodus 10:1-2), explain the meaning of Christian holidays (Exodus 12:26-27), tell about their experiences with God (Deuteronomy 4:9-10), expose their children to Scripture (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), and command their children to obey God (Deuteronomy 32:45-47). This list isn’t exhaustive – I don’t think God meant it to be. However, it does show that when God thought about children’s ministry, he thought about parents.

We’ve answered the first question: God’s plan for children’s ministry is parenting. We’ve also partially answered our second question. God wants parents to do… a lot. However, this creates a third question: If God’s plan for children’s ministry is parenting, why does Bethel Church have a Children’s Pastor? What is my job if yours is to care for the spiritual lives of your children?

My job is to help you do yours. I could never hope to care for the spiritual lives of all the children at Bethel Church. I would fail miserably and, thankfully, that’s not God’s plan. God’s plan is for parents to nurture their children’s faith and for the church to help them. As your Children’s Pastor, I am going to do everything I can to encourage you as a parent, instruct you in what God wants you to do for your children, and provide you with the tools you need to do these things.

Only together can we raise children who think, feel and act Christianly. The task is big, but our God is bigger. Let us pray that God will give you, the parents, and the children’s ministries staff the strength to accomplish God’s plan for children’s ministry.

By God’s grace,

Pastor Stephen