[Kid Inspiration]

Almost a month ago I began an epic quest – to write a complete A-Z of Children’s Ministry.

I started at A (funny that) for Adults and finished with Z for Zeta. Along the way I hope that I was able to surprise you and make you think about the world of ministry to children.

If you have enjoyed it or found it insightful or even remotely helpful then please push the retweet button on the side of this post, or the facebook ‘like’ button at the bottom. Feel free to blog about it, tell your neighbours and your enemies, which of course you don’t, for you love all humanity and would want them to read this blog.

Here is the complete list with links:

• A is for Adults
• B is for Bible
• C is for Culture
• D is for Delegate
• E is for Encouragement
• F is for Fun
• G is for Growth
• H is for House
• I is for Inclusive
• J is for Journey
• K is for Kidology
• L is for Longevity
• M is for Mystery
• N is for New
• O is for Obedience
• P is for Paradigm
• Q is for Question
• R is for Respect
• S is for Sabbath
• T is for Teaching
• U is for Unexpected
• V is for Visual
• W is for Welcome
• X is for Xenogague
• Y is for Yahweh
• Z is for Zeta

Now this was the most epic mission I have attempted on this blog since starting in 2004, so in order to make me think it was worth it, please write your adoring comments below. Even if you post a simple, “Dave you’re the greatest” I won’t mind.

But feel free to write a long discorse on just how much this blog series has impacted your life and caused your Church to double in size because of all the kids in your children’s ministry.

But really, I hope it has been helpful to you, I know that I have learnt a lot putting these ideas to paper (digital paper).

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

Y… young, yearn, yesterday…

Y is for Yahweh - So there it is. I didn’t choose J for Jesus, but put Y for Yahweh. The bottom line is that God came into His creation to reveal His plan to humanity and you and I and the children we lead all have a place in the grand story.

Jesus told His disciples “Let the little children come to me”. You and I are called to do just that.

Amen.

*Hey, I am at Kidshaper conference this week. Welcome any new readers, make sure you suscribe in the top right.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

W… water, witness, woah, wapenshaw…

W is for Welcome – One of the most important moments in your ministry to kids on a weekend is as they arrive. Not only kids but parents. How good is it for them to see their child welcomed like a champion, like one of the family. High fives all round, names remembered, discussions about what happened that week and also sometimes the injury of the week (for the boys usually).

It will probably be one of the only two moments during your program the parents get to see, the other being pickup.

When I see as a parent, my boy running into a room and welcomed well, it gives me a confidence and sets my mind at ease. It is no different for the parents we serve.

Your team can out do Disney and the biggest budgets in the world if their welcome is personal and fun!

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

V… Vision, vexed, virtuous, vectitation…

V is for Visual - It would be hard to imagine a technology that had more impact on 20th century life than photography. Imagine a world without school photos, travel pictures, without pictures of sports, wars, and disasters; and you have no way to document the birth of your children.

Images convey emotion brilliantly. I could write pages here on the facts of the recent Haiti earthquake; how many homes were ruined, how many people are homeless, what effect it will have on the country.

Or I could simply show images like this:

In an image saturated culture, pictures really do say a thousand words.

There is SO much that could be said about the power of image, so many questions to explore… Are Christians meant to be people of the word? Should we use images in this way to provoke emotion? What about pictures of Jesus? Where does it become idolatry? Are images a good thing or a negative thing?

The point of this post is to highlight the power that images have. If we are aware of the power, and we bring it into the light then it stops having power over us. Pornography (one of the most powerful type of image) has no power when it is ‘accountable’, when it is out of darkness… but when it is hidden, it has the power to destroy a life.

And one way to have power over a thing is to engage it, use it.

If an image helps you convey a truth, then use it!

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

U… undies, uniform, uncle, Umbratious…

U is for Unexpected – Give them half a chance and I bet the kids in your ministry would surprise you. I have lost count of the times that I have heard something about a child, or see them do something that is surprising… unexpected.

Sometimes negative like one of our regular boys who returned to me (Mum right behind him) a number of air hockey pucks he had stolen over a number of weeks.

But usually positive.

• The 6 year old girl who exhibits her art
• The 9 year old violinist getting a major scholarship
• A 7 year old in the lead role in a major touring show

All surprising.

Some of the biggest surprises are when I see the resilience of children going through major life situations.

So don’t be surprised when you get surprised by a child. In fact, the more surprises you get, I believe the better you are in connecting with kids and families.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

T… telephone, tiger, Tachydidaxy…

T is for Teaching – I belive the Church can lead a revolution.

“A good teacher knows how to read a story, and that each and every student arrives at our classroom door with a unique and intriguing yet incomplete story. The really good teachers know how to read a child’s story and recognize the remarkable opportunity to help author the story. The really good teachers want to script confidence and success onto the blank pages; they want to edit the mistakes; and they want to help write a happy ending.”
~ Anthony J. Mullen, 2009 NEA National Teacher of the Year

“My rewards don’t come from grades students get on a test, but from students coming back years after graduation to visit me and tell me about their experiences traveling the world and becoming passionate about learning.”
~ Craig Divis, 2010 Vermont Teacher of the Year

There is a movement developing regarding the teaching of children in schools all over the world. People like Ken Robinson in the UK are spearheading efforts to re-imagine teaching and schooling. BUT of course the resistance is institutional. It’s government there are (rightly so) laws and regulations set up to ensure high standards of learning and education.

2006 college graduates: U.S. – 1.3 million, India – 3.1 million, China – 3.3 million

In 10 years it is predicted that the number on English speaking country in the world will be China. (Did You Know 2.0)

Can hear the winds of change? I believe the Church lead this revolution.

The Church has no such regulations, we can turn in a moment and change, we can shift focus and begin to lead the world in the education of children, in the most important learning of all, the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Investigate new educational models and USE ‘em. You don’t need permission from your local council, your education board, your elected officials, all you need is permission from your senior/lead/whatever pastor!

To change the school system you need a revolution, to change your ministry system you probably just need a decision. Which I think you will agree, is much simpler.

Quotes from: Encouraging Lessons from America’s Top Educators

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

Q… quit, queen, Qantas, quacksalver…

Q is for Question – Your kids have questions. Lots of them probably. They will ask the most random question at the most random times. I know that when I am with one of our KDG’s (Kids Discipleship Groups – small groups), and talking I can see certain kids brains veering wildly out of control on a tangent which inevitably leads to a question like “If God is my Father, then is Jesus my brother?”.

I talked in E is for Encouragement about this topic a little. Whatever happens, you do want to encourage questions because they show thought and intiative both things that kids have control over.

So I want to talk about the questions you ask as a leader and follower.

Asking questions shows:

1. That you are eager to learn
2. You care about other peoples worlds
3. You want to improve
4. You are aware of what is going on around you
5. That you are interested
6. You don’t think you have all the answers
7. You want to involve others in the answers

As a leader you need to ask the most questions in the room. There is so much that goes unsaid in a team, assumptions, traditions, the way that we do things that are never articulated. Even if you feel like everyone in the room has heard it all before, say it!

Beginner stand-up comedians will work on new jokes until they have a solid ‘five minutes‘ of material they know is funny. They may keep using those jokes for years and years as they develop. Jerry Seinfeld in the movie/documentary comedian restarts his stand-up career after TV by writing all new material, and it is painful to watch at times as he goes through the growing pains.

Say what you have to say as a leader and then say it again. It will make your whole team laser focussed and avoid all the questions you don’t want to hear.

The questions you hear reveal your weaknesses, and the questions you ask reveal your heart.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

O… Omnipotent, obdiplostemonous, obtuse, ordinary, orb…

[NOTE: push play on the video on the bottom WHILE you read this. It's a musical score and will make this post even more epic that it already is - trust me give it a go]

O is for Obedience – Okay. When you hear that word, don’t think straight away about little Johnny on Sunday morning squirming around distracting others. Rather think about the life of a legend of faith reaching the end of his or her life on earth having run the race and finished strongly!

That is the motivation for obedience.

The older I get, the more I wish I was obedient to what I believed God was saying to me. I am glad for the big decisions of obedience like moving to Australia to go to bible college and giving that offering with my wife in 2003 that led to incredible miracles back then and today. But I wonder what I missed, IF I missed anything?

Obviously because of God’s grace there is no point dwelling on what might have been except for the reminder that I don’t want to miss out in the future.

SPOILER ALERT (kind of)

In the recent remake of The Karate Kid, there is a large portion of the training that involves the student trusting the master and performing the basic task of taking off and putting on a jacket. Our Kung Fu master is trying to teach many lessons here but the one that stuck out for me is one of obedience.

In order for our hero to reach his goal he needed to simply obey and trust that it would bring him closer to the desire of his heart.

Help your kids see that obedience is important by imparting: 1.Faith – trusting in God no matter what, and 2. Gratitude – a heart that is thankful to God for everything in their lives. Help them see the reason ‘WHY’ to obey… then we will see a generation who live radical risk-taking, kindgom-seeking, epic, significant… in short… obedient lives.

After all, that’s what you want in your own life right?

The Karate Kid (Score) – Jacket On, Jacket Off

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

N… Naughty, nice, nothing, nautilus, numbers…

N is for New -  Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth (Ps 96:1). It has been said the the only constant thing in life is change, and the reality of the time we live in is that change is speeding up.

The thing that drives a lot of this rapid change comes down to the bottom line… money. It’s capitalism all the way down.

Fashion is a great way to gauge how fast society has changed. It wasn’t really until the 1900′s that fashion trends began to emerge more rapidly, so now we see trends that might have lasted for years have a cycle of a single season.

I often (well once, when shopping with my wife) wonder if a few hundred years ago a dressmaker could make the same style of dress her whole life and still be trendsetting?

We don’t have the same pressures on us in Church life, so what is driving us to change and innovate the most important institution on earth?

For me the answer is leadership.

Leaders with vision and foresight. Leaders who see the call of God as too important to ever settle and coast alone. Leaders who hate the status quo and dream of ways to move beyond it. Just like stand-up comedians who consider a show wasted unless they at least try out a few new jokes in their set, ensure you are trying new things every event and ministry opportunity.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

M… monkey, miracle, mountain, miffed, moro…

M is for Mystery – The universe is pretty big, and with all that science has figured out I wonder if we have even scratched the surface of our ability to understand reality. So “I don’t know”, is a perfectly good answer for a lot of questions. Obviously not for “Where is the bathroom?”, or “How do I get Tommy out of the roof?”. But for many questions in life there are no answers, only more questions.

God has revealed a few secrets to us: “This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory” (Col 1:26,27).

But some things God keeps to himself: Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong unto the LORD…”

My wife watched Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing as a young teenager and then watching years later (I can neither confirm or deny if I watched it as well) suddenly realised she had completely missed the story line involving abortion the first time around. It was there right in front of her face, but she missed it hidden in plain view.

Our kids are certainly not ready to explore every mystery, there is a maturity and understanding that will grow with them. I love a mystery along with every human on earth and I truly believe that some of the mysteries and unanswered questions only help strengthen our faith not weaken it.

In this culture and time, make sure you pass on to your kids the mystery that God has revealed – Christ lives in you. But also the mysteries that make this life of faith an adventure that may forever be unexplained.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

L… love, Lionel Richie, laughter, lost, lozenge…

L is for Longevity – After five years as a Children’s Pastor (in one Church), I started to feel like I was beginning to see some momentum building in the team. It wasn’t that amazing things weren’t happening and growth wasn’t going on, but I just hit that milestone and reflected on the things we were able to do that would have taken SO much longer in the past. I reflected on the fact that within the staff I had proven myself faithful and worked hard to build a trust. And the biggest secret to that? Just keep turning up.

My calling is NOT a career.

A common theme that appears throughout the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is the “10,000-Hour Rule” (basically to be good at something you have to do it a lot). Gladwell claims that greatness requires enormous time, using the source of The Beatles’ musical talents and Gates’ computer savvy as examples.

Your Dad would have called it good old-fashioned hard work.

For a moment, think about the leaders and pastors you admire, you aspire to be like. There is a very good chance that like me, they have served in one place for a long time.

What do you think Dory?

“Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming”.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

K… kindness, kids, karate, King Kong…

K is for Kidology – Kidology is the study of kids! The Apostle Paul said he became all things to all men so that they might be reached. If you know the work of Karl Bastian, aka “The Kidologist” you know what I’m talking about. Karl founded Kidology.org and blogs at Kidologist.com and I am going to borrow his phrase for this entry.

Studying human behaviour is a fascinating insight for all pastors and leaders who want to understand just what makes people tick. What helps them to change and grow beyond their current circumstance. You don’t need to be a counsellor to use information like this to help others. A lot can be accomplished in a single conversation if you know what you’re doing.

You and I are immigrants into the world of kids. We are strangers in a foreign land seeking to understand the natives.

Have a sit down with your kids sometime and ask them about their world, find out what their interests are and what their accomplishments are… you will be surprised. When you bring toys to Church, bring your own. Buy a Nintendo DS for yourself, not your kids. Swap Wii games, trade football cards, give away your old stuffed toys. In short, kids love to see that you are interested in what they are interested in.

I am pretty comfortable conversing with a 7 year old, it no longer terrifies me, but there was a time where it seemed we spoke different languages. I needed to study this strange creature in its natural habitat, I needed to understand its strange ways and in time it grew to trust me.

Become a student of children and remember… you used to be one.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

J… Jokes, Jiminy Cricket, juice, Jesus, jiraffes?…

J is for Journey - (Yes I know Jesus starts with J) Our kids have a lifetime of faith to discover. Salvation is not a one-time event but rather a lifetime journey. Sure we make a big deal about the ‘event’ of making a choice to receive salvation and redemption, but there is so much more to it than that.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18)

I think with children, one of the the important things to remember it that phrase ‘being saved‘, we have been saved, are being saved and will be saved.

Jesus has of course accomplished salvation on the cross (2 Timothy 1:9), and we will eventually be saved from the presence of sin (1 Peter 1:5), but there is a long time in between that we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

I used to get pretty frustrated with kids who just didn’t cope well in our programs, you know the ones who perhaps should be on a slightly higher dosage of medication. But as I have aged and mellowed out , I have realised that we need to take a long view of a child’s life.

I met last weekend a 14 year old I hadn’t seen for about 2-3 years when he was in our programs. He admitted to me that he was a ‘bit of a punk‘ when he was in Hillsong Kids, which I did seem to recall. But this is a young man who is still ‘being saved’, and I am looking forward to see him start serving and helping in our pre-teen ministry.

I am taking a long term view of his life for sure.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

G… granny, gigantic, gross, gravity…

G is for Growth – When I was a school child we had a backyard… this was the countryside in New Zealand… everyone had a backyard. One day I shall take my son outside of Sydney and show him this mythical square of land called the ‘backyard’.

And on this backyard we had a garden, and for a brief period of time I grew my own vegetables. Notice the use of the word brief… it was a school project and like most projects was abandoned upon getting a C+.

But the thing I realised in this project was healthy plants grow. Because not many of mine did.

So many of the parables of Jesus were about seeds, planting etc. because he was part of an agrarian culture (thank you Bible college). As a farmer you don’t spend your time measuring the height of your crop each day, you just make sure that they get everything they need to grow. Sun, water, insecticide and whatever else helps a seed sprout.

Your job as leader is to make sure everything is healthy, because healthy things grow.

Even if you have reached every single family and individual in your community, if your Church is healthy the growth in the lives of the people will be evident.

We will often talk as a team about the kids in our ministry, comparing them to when they first started coming to Hillsong Kids compared to now and it is often amazing the growth that has taken place, because we work hard to ensure it is a healthy environment.

Just today in our Sunday 12pm service, I helped a first time 6 year old visitor who was clinging onto Mum and wailing about not wanting to leave her, come into our program and have a great time. I can’t wait to look back at the growth in his life over the next few months!

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

C… Christ, cooking, craft, cookies, camping…

C is for Culture – Whether we want to accept it, ignore it, or use it–the reality is that our kids are growing up under the influence of a media-saturated culture.

If we refuse to engage young people in biblical discussions about what they’re watching and hearing, we make it easy for them to compartmentalize their faith and put it aside when they move beyond the church walls.

Through discussions that reveal either the gospel’s presence or absence in popular culture, we help young people develop a biblical filter that shines the light of Jesus’ truth on media messages, encourages them to live authentically at school and church, and engages the Holy Spirit’s discernment in their lives.

Knowledge of kids’ culture also enhances our efforts as missionaries within that culture.

I like to USE culture, when you use something you have power over it, you take away fear. I certainly don’t want my kids to be afraid of any forms of media. Book burnings should be left in the past lest they turn into iPad burnings!

Now in an effort to drum up comments… Harry Potter – discuss

(please don’t)

P.S. Hillsong Church now has an official Blog! VIsit Hillsong Collected and read my first post at the site - The Dispenser of Enthusiasm.

I have given myself a challenge for the next 26 days – post the complete A-Z of Ministry to Children.

B… bread, bridge, bands, beginning, Barnabas, Beyonce…

B is for Bible - The potential for an image to convey emotion is very powerful. If I wrote on a wall – “The boy is sad”, any number of images could spring to mind but you probably won’t be overtly moved. If I instead place an image of a African child in despair over the famine he is experiencing… that ‘sad boy’ is far more powerful emotionally.

We need to be aware that it just might be the case that this current generation value images more than the written word, abstract more than the concrete. That’s scary for us logical, linear ‘oldies’ who grew up with ‘books’… but here is the awesome part… Jesus had it all covered way back in the first Century, he taught in pictures, in images, in metaphor. He took the prevalent culture and used it to bring understanding.

In a Image Based culture one of our highest callings is to develop children who love learning, not just kids who are learned. The way WE treat the Bible can have a big impact on that outcome.

The Bible is not a book! That’s JUST the way we have been reading the word of God for a few hundred years. In fact a Bible is useless unless the words have left the book and made their way into the hearts and minds of people. I am not bothered how my son chooses to interact with the BIble… in digital or paper versions it doesn’t really matter, my concern is that he chooses to.