**Originally in 2010 I completed an epic quest to write an A-Z of Children’s ministry, Now because of the epic fail detailed on an earlier blog post I am reposting an updated 2018 version!
C… Church, Christ, company, Country music…
C is for Culture
I am fascinated by the culture we currently live in. Sometimes it feels like it’s teetering on the edge of anarchy, but after turning off 24 hour news channels that doesn’t seem so likely. I recommend reading news for a few weeks instead of watching news. You may just find the world is a friendlier place.
Today I’m not going to tell you what the culture is, but instead focus on the one important mindset you need to have in the world of children’s ministry.
Think like a missionary.
The most effective missionaries learn the language, learn the culture and build bridges. They don’t come in and impose their own values and ideas upon an unsuspecting people. That’s how I want you to see yourself as you enter the world of kids. An immigrant, a missionary into an unknown culture.
Come in humbly, without agenda, just seeking to learn and to grow – eventually you will become a local, a guide for others into this mysterious new culture.
Let me say this another way; You are not here to ‘bring Jesus’ to your group of kids. You are here to seek out and discover exactly what God is already doing in their lives and join WITH him in ministry.
BECOME AN IMMIGRANT – you ask questions that reveal the culture around you rather than being blind to it.
This attitude of being a missionary changes the way you see the world for the better. As you start this journey of ministry to children, the biggest harvest field in the world. Right now children (15 and below) make up 27% of the population of earth – that’s 1.9 Billion young people! Population experts estimate we have reached the peak number of children, that means this is your moment, your opportunity to join with Jesus in seeing this generation follow Him!
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