As we journey toward Easter Sunday I thought I would share with you the ‘Seven Symbols of the Passion’ that we have prepared for our Good Friday family experience.  Each family will be given a black coin bag that contains the items pictured to the right.  Families will pull out each symbol and pass it around as we retell the passion narrative from The Message Bible.

As you read through these scriptures I pray that you remember deeply the passion of our savior as he gave up his life so that we might gain life.

KB

Coin
The Betrayal.

 Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”

Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”

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I will never forget an online exchange I had years ago with a prominent figure in church leadership.  He argued that seminary was a complete was of time because its role was to “help people answer questions no one is asking.”  According to that leader, a seminary education was irrelevant to “real” church leadership.  Without a doubt, one of the greatest gifts I received from my time in Bethel Seminary’s Children’s and Family Ministry Program was the gift of understanding my own leadership and the passion to pursue leadership topics that were previously untouched.

This passion brought about the resources behind What Matters Now in Children’s Ministry and the newly released Kindle ebook Nexus: Central Themes in Children’s Ministry.  The focus of all of these projects was to answer big questions because that very act of collectively and collaboratively identifying and pursuing the primary issues in our ministry work is what leaders do.

Nexus answers the question: What is at the core of children’s ministry?

Why do children’s pastors, Sunday School teachers, Christian Education directors engage in children’s ministry?  When you take all of the programming, special events, recruiting efforts, and shopping for supplies – what is the foundation of ministering to children?

David Csinos, Greg Carlson, Nancy Davies, Amy Dolan, Larry Fowler, Ryan Frank, Matt Guevara, Stacy Igarashi, Ed Jenkins, Melissa MacDonald, Matt McKee, Dustin Nickerson, and Nicki Straza contributed to the book and their answers and passion for ministry are inspiring.

Nexus is available for free this week on Amazon.  Stop by the Amazon store and pick up a copy of the Kindle ebook!

It seems like almost every week I get another flyer in the mail or read a blog post about a children’s ministry conference.  As children’s and family ministry leaders, we have many options for additional training in our field and the conferences we can attend range from thousands of attendees nationwide meeting for a week to just a handful of local leaders meeting for one day.

My senior pastor has challenged our ministry staff over the past year that really made me think about the conference options I have available to me as a ministry leader.  He asked our ministry staff to begin choosing conferences and training that get us into God’s Word and help us practice spiritual disciplines, over the larger conferences that focus on ministry strategy and execution.  This is the primary reason I have decided to attend The Gathering on May 9-11 in Costa Mesa, CA.

According to their website:

The Gathering exists for the purpose of inspiring, equipping, and supporting the faith community in order that they may become awakened to their role as ambassadors of God, His kingdom movement, and spiritual formation through family ministry within the local church.

The main things I’m looking forward to at The Gathering are the focused times of prayer (including a self-guided prayer experience the first evening of the conference) and worship.  There is a great lineup of keynote speakers too: Michelle Anthony, Gregg Jantz, and Chris Brown.  You can get all the info about The Gathering at http://dccgathering.com/.

While I love new ideas and fresh ministry strategies from experts, I want my experience this year at a conference to be about hearing from God and being challenged by the Gospel’s story.  I can’t wait for The Gathering and I hope you can join me!

In the unexpected seasons of life are the times when God wastes not a moment, a loving lesson, nor a time to show His character to us.  We often don’t like these times and wish them away, but if we could pause to see that every speed bump, detour and closed road has a kingdom building experience waiting for us, it may help.  I’d like to share a couple of stories with you to stir your heart as you enter this unpredictable coming year.

Closed Roads

Headed to spend some days with my family over the holidays we encountered a freeway that was closed.  Closed!  How do you have a closed freeway?  We of course hit the detour button on our GPS which took us seven miles out of our way only to dump us onto the soon closing freeway.  In the middle of the detour, we had some decisions to make as our four children were watching our attitudes and actions.  It made me think about the major financial decisions our church is experiencing where the “freeway was closed down” symbolically speaking.  Our congregation and ministry teams are watching to see our character as well as conduct.  It’s tough to keep it cool when things don’t go as planned while the Lord teaches us incredible lessons about trust and integrity.
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Several months ago I found out that one of my favorite children’s Bibles was being rereleased.  The Toddler’s Bible, written by V. Gilbert Beers, came out in 1992 to great acclaim.  The author, a ministry and publishing veteran, knew that in order to engage the 2-3 year old mind, heart, and eyes that he would have to “become a toddler.“  It worked.

Here are five things I love about this children’s Bible.

1. Brilliant artwork: When you glance at The Toddler’s Bible cover, you’ll immediately be struck by the vivid illustrations created by Claudine Gévry (click here to visit Claudine’s personal website).  These illustrations will quickly draw young readers into the story.

2. Interactive: When you read The Toddler’s Bible aloud, you’ll notice an ebb and flow of interactive language specifically and intentionally written for the 2-3 year old child:

Shhh. Do you see the baby?  This is baby Jesus.

Shhh. Do you see the animals?

Baby Jesus is sleeping in a manger.

- Excerpt from The Toddler’s Bible, Baby Jesus Story

3. Bible references: While each story is written in developmentally appropriate language, the Table of Contents includes the source Scripture passages.  I love it when children’s Bibles do not seek to replace Scripture, but point people to it.

4. Author introduction: I had the privilege of spending some time with the author, who lives about five minutes from my house.  Even though I have spent the better part of the last ten years ministering to kids and families, “Gil” took me to school on toddlers.  His introduction to The Toddler’s Bible is a helpful guide for parents and teachers.

5. Learnings: At the end of The Toddler’s Bible there is an outline of the attributes of God that children learn from immersing themselves in God’s Word.  I love this overt admission that the Bible reveals more than historical events, it tells us who God is.

Can you imagine? You get your child the most amazing baby doll that coos and crawls.  She tears open the wrapping paper with all the excitement a four year old could contain.  Then as you painstakingly untwist all twelve twist ties to free the imprisoned doll while all along your girl is tugging at your arm.  When you finally free the doll, you realize it has no batteries and no batteries in your house will work.  SHOCK and frustration follow.

When God placed a call on your life to minister to the kids in your church and the team that leads the ministry with you, do you think He really intended you to do it without HIM; without HIS presence and wisdom?  Of course not!  I pray the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints…” (Ephesians 1:17-18).  May your life have less shock and frustration as Christ is your energy, focus and power for serving Him.

How many of us are reaping the benefits of those who sowed seeds in our churches before us?  George O. Wood, an incredible preacher recently revealed depth from Galatians 6:6-10, the passage of sowing and reaping.  Here are some thoughts from his sermon:

1. You reap WHAT you sow.  In order to reap you must first sow. And then, are you sowing cheap seed?
2. We reap MORE than we sow (Matt 14:8) Even in times of distress still sow.  God is the multiplier of seed.  Additionally,  it could be those who follow us who reap from our labor.
3. We often reap LATER than we sow.  “Let us not grow weary, in due season we will reap.”  Seed time and harvest time will never cease. It happens like clockwork.

I pray today you are challenged to look at what you are sowing and then encourage you to hold your head high as you wait for the harvest of your labor.

Over the past year through the Side by Side Coaching Network, I have had the privilege of getting to know Greg Braly, an amazing children’s and family ministry leader from New Hope, MN.  Greg told me last month about a treasure trove of theological resources for children’s pastors: The Gospel Coalition.

You have to check out The Gospel Coalition website, it’s amazing.  They even have the media from their 2011 conference available for FREE.  Deep stuff here folks from the likes of Tim Keller, James McDonald, Don Carson, and many more.  The Gospel Coalition blog is another excellent resource.  In May, Buck Parsons posted twice on the topic of “Teaching Children to Pray.”  Here are some of Buck’s foundational principles of prayer for children:

Let them see that prayer is grounded in the Word. Prayer is nourished, and strengthened by God’s Word. E.M. Bounds wrote, “The Word of God is the food by which prayer is nourished and made strong.”

Let them see that prayer is united to the Word. Prayer is communion with God and thus twofold in essence: Listening to God as he speaks to us in his Word by the Holy Spirit, and communing with God by communicating to him, verbally or nonverbally.

Let them see that prayer is conformed by the Word. If our minds are not informed, and thus renewed by the Spirit through the Word, and our hearts not conformed by the Word, then our prayers will be futile intellectual musings on the one hand or moody emotional ramblings on the other.

Let them see that God is not simply responding to our prayers, he is responding to us his children through the means of prayer. He doesn’t simply answer prayers. He answers us, his people, and he always answers us, sometimes saying yes, no, wait, or yes but even greater than you could have imagined.

Let them see that while sometimes our prayers include all aspects of our communion with God, our prayers often include simply one aspect of prayer. When John prays at the end of Revelation, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20), he is directly supplicating Jesus to return, and although he only employs one aspect of prayer—supplication—he is still truly praying.

Let them see that just as the disciples went to the Lord and asked him to teach them to pray, so we can and should ask the Lord to help us in our prayer, in our weakness, ignorance, and stubbornness.

Let them see that prayer isn’t simply telling God what we want or need but responding to him in dependent adoration from a heart overflowing with what we know he wants for our holiness and for his glory and his kingdom. We pray with our eyes focused on his kingdom, not our own kingdoms.

Buck’s post also identifies situational and motivational principles of prayer for children.  It is well worth the read!

Prayer has become one of the key components in our children’s ministry, especially with Kindergarten through 5^th graders.  It’s a “can’t miss”, vital component of every service or program we offer.  We’ve seen a HUGE change in the kinds of prayers kids are engaging in and the serious nature of some of the situations our kids are dealing with.  Here is an example of some of the prayer cards we’ve received over the past few months.

What do children pray? from Matthew Guevara on Vimeo.

What new blogs or resources would you like to share with the Cory Center community?  Share them in the comments!

In the final episode of this 3-part series on building your children’s ministry volunteer team, Matt Guevara discusses the role of Implementation in the team building process and presents 9 strategies to challenge and develop leaders on your children’s ministry team.

Download the episode here

In my ministry context I have the privilege of spending some devotional time with the rest of the ministry staff listening to our senior pastor.  Here’s some insights he shared recently:

I’ve been reading in Thessalonians these days.  Thessalonians is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  In it we see a unique side of Paul.  Paul the apostle often gets a bad rap for being hard-nosed.  You read Romans or Galatians or the story of Paul ditching John Mark and you think, “This guy is hard-core!”  But in Thessalonians you get a different picture.

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20  “But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. 19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy”

1 Thessalonians 3:8-12 “For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”

And here we come to find two important things:

1. Paul was over the top in his love for people
2. People are what bring us the greatest joy in ministry (not goals, not great messages, recruiting new volunteers, programs, events). Our greatest joy should be looking at people who are walking with Christ.

Making disciples is the most important thing we do in children’s ministry.  It is more important than projects.  Don’t let projects crowd out people! Don’t hide behind leading a group because groups don’t disciple people, people do that (you and I do that). And I wonder, how much of your time is consumed with ministry over discipleship (you and another person spending time together with an open Bible)?  Whatever your area of ministry, make time to do the most important thing.