We got some new songs for our upcoming “God Is…” series in Toon Town!

Check them out here!

Here we are… The 5th and final faith skill to build into our kids… (cue drumroll)

Skill #5:  Give to God

It’s important for children and teens to know how to give back to God and serve Him in the way they live their everyday lives

Again, I don’t think we’re hearing anything new here.  It’s the simplicity of living a life focused on God and not ourselves.  Whether it’s worshiping through song, the tithe, serving others… the key is focusing on God and following His desires for us, not our own.

Now, here’s the kicker question that applies to every faith skill.

1. Navigate the Bible
2. Personalize Scripture
3. Dialogue with God
4. Articulate Faith
5. Give to God

Do these faith skills only apply to kids?  Or are these skills each of us need to develop/sharpen in our own lives?

We tend to plan out the things kids are taught to ensure the objectives are clear. Consider this ‘continuing education’ for adults.  Which faith skill needs sharpening in your life?

Leading praise and worship (a.k.a. the song and dance) in kids ministry is a full-body experience.

This is no spectator sport.

Kids love to sing.  Kids love to dance.  Part of every experience for kids includes this element.  It’s another way to teach kids how to praise their God.

But if you’re volunteers don’t know how to praise their God, then this element can run flat.

I’m not suggesting that every kids volunteer would love to stand in front of a bunch of 4-year-olds waving a worship scarf around while singing songs.  It’s true… there has to be one of those crazy fanatics in the group… but not everyone has to be like that.

This really has less to do with how energetic or silly they are while leading kids in a worship song.  It has more to do with the spiritual discipline of praise and how it’s applied in their own lives.

My theory is this…

If my volunteers have never incorporated the spiritual discipline of praise into their own lives, then teaching kids how to honor God’s name in worship can feel pretty manufactured.  Kids pick up on that stuff.  Clearly this can affect every aspect of the kids experience… but (in my experience) it seems most obvious during the time when their leading kids in song and dance.

Why is that?

Because I can feel pretty comfortable in my own skin when I’m reading a story, leading a craft or just hanging out coloring with kids.  But put me in front of kids with a song I wouldn’t normally listen to on the radio, a worship scarf I would never be found dead with in Big Church and ask me to lead a bunch of little kids through the song with energy and enthusiasm… I’m not feeling so comfortable any more.  It’s the most exposing part of the kids experience and most adults don’t enjoy leading it.  Why?

It’s the least adult-like function of the entire hour.

So relating back to yesterday’s post… Lead your volunteers spiritually.  Challenge them to the spiritual discipline of praise.  Do they truly praise God?  What does that look like?

Praise has everything to do with God and nothing to do with us.  Praise isn’t all about singing a song… in fact that’s only one of many ways to bring praise and glory to God.  Praise is about acknowledging who God is… recognizing His attributes… honoring His name.

So here’s a great challenge for your volunteer… for all of us, for that matter.

Take 5 minutes and praise God.  Do nothing but talk to Him about Him.  No mention of yourself.  There can be NO pronouns.  It’s tougher than you think.  Our spirits are so adept at making things about us that shifting our focus for even 5 minutes to recognize and honor God is a discipline that must be built up.

I believe that when a volunteer incorporates this discipline into their life it can change the way they approach volunteering as a whole.  It can certainly change the way they feel about singing and dancing in front of 4-year olds.  Why?  Because they have established in their lives that it isn’t about them… it’s about teaching these kids to do what they’ve learned to do… bring glory and honor to their God.

So, last week I asked the question we all ask at one point in our ministry.

What level of commitment do we ask of our volunteers?

Responses varied.  But Kenny’s summed all of them up very well.

For us it depends on what role. We expect our small group leaders to serve every week. We have multiple services, so they don’t have to miss the adult service. Leaders (people who are leading other volunteers) generally serve every week as well. However, most volunteers serve every other week. I’ve found that volunteers who can only commit to one weekend a month generally are not dependable. They often forget and rarely value the commitment. Some of the people I really respect in ministry really encourage moving all teams toward a serve every week model. I’m in love with the idea and I understand that you’ll need less people to pull that off, but finding people willing to commit to that schedule is HARD to do! 

So let’s talk nitty-gritty.  

The majority of those that commented all lead kids ministry and all agree that the every week commitment is the preference even if it isn’t the practice.  The majority agree that an every week commitment fosters an environment that is best for the child… which is our focus.  We could spend a lot of time there.

But someone I respect immensly shifted my focus recently and it has dramatically changed the way I recruit.

Most of the time we recruit from a mindset that we need the parent in order to make our ministry work.  That is true.  We need adults to execute the ministry on a weekly basis.  No argument.  

But is it possible that parents need to serve in kids ministry in order to grow as parents?  

hmmm… that’s a thinker

I speak best from experience mostly b/c I’m hard-headed.  I’ll share more on my personal experience tomorrow.

How do we teach kids to truly worship God?

“Perhaps we haven’t tapped into what is possible for children when it comes to worship.  It is easy for children to worship things that fascinate and interest them.”  Kathleen Chapman  Teaching Kids Authentic Worship

 

What do you think?