Children Ministry

Warning - verbal diarrhoea - haha. I didn't expect it to be this long though

23th Sep 2007. That's the date when i 1st step into the room where children service is held. Both pastors gave very different responses. One asked me why i was here, so i explained a bit while the other was like "How come are you here! You must explain clearly cos i need to explain to your pastor!" I'll leave it to you to guess who said which one, haha. Btw, i didn't mental note this date down, it was just nice that the following Sunday, we went Balai for the mission trip so i could find out the exact date.

How did i come to join this ministry ? Personally, i told myself that i won't get involve in any ministry if i couldn't commit to it in the right mindset and drop out after a while. I did mention to someone outside cell in 06 that i might be interested in Children ministry though it wasn't the right timing yet. So in Sep 07, God sort of spoke during prayer mtg. I was thinking about having a look already, but i needed some sort of confirmation. And yup, God spoke, not once but twice that night. If mtg the children pastor was normal during a prayer mtg, then mtg one of the children whom i knew even b4 joining the ministry is called rare. Come to think of it, never did see him or his family come to prayer mtg after that. In-ter-est-ing. And so after taking a look, spending time over there the next few months as 07 came to a close, it was good to witness and trust that if the door is open and God isn't closing it, a step of faith is the next step to take.

And so, its been an eventful 10 months of journeying thus far in 08. Just 2 months more ! In fact, only 1 more lessons to teach only, woohoo ! For those who don't know, the children pastor printed out a piece of paper, sort of like a contract, and made everyone sign on it to indicate our commitment for a year to this ministry. Does any other ministry do that? Unlike most ministries where you sort of only know when you are on duty every 3 months, down here, its a standard serve 1 and then rest 1 month rotation. That said, i estimate that this year itself, i will have miss up to 7 months of youth service. Nevertheless, I'm thankful that there are so many other sources to gain "feeding" from other than just going for services.

As I recall the past 1 year, its been lots of fun and learning despite the busyness and energy draining things @ times. My class started off with 12 kids and atm its down to 8 kids, since 4 moved to another church, so it's kind of good to not have too big a group especially now where they are at an age in which they have tons of questions to ask and are trying to seek more personal freedom. As much as you feel that you are giving to the kids in a one way traffic, the kids are in fact giving back to you as well. Their childlike faith in believing, their ability to remember God and his promises and many other qualities helps to remind me to continue to seek God the way the children are doing. It also forces me to have to dig even more during QT and memorise verses as well. At least can give better and more accurate answers when they ask their questions. And ya, if u ask them to memorise things, one must also know it yourself by heart.

One of the huge challenges in this ministry is bible study. Not so much about the preparation but more about the need to get the most out of a limited amount of time and trying to help the kids understand things at their level. Two hours a week, where you have maybe a maximum amount of 30 mins class time isn't a lot, on top of which their attention span is very short. The girls are either listening or asking questions if not their mini chit-chatting sessions starts. The boys are either in their own world or having mini fights, haha. Despite all these, at least they are all willing to keep asking questions, seeking answers and share about their lives.

It's bad enough that i sometimes don't apply what i was taught in regards to preparing for class. We are suppose to prepare from Monday to Friday, setting aside time along side QT to do so and then leave Saturday to pray even more for Sunday. I just wonder for those who do word during cell, do u at times or most of the time leave it till the last min or are you consistent on your preparation ?

Another challenge is the Powder-ful arrows the ahem... children pastor shoots out. Telling u last min what you've been tasked to do is bad enough, its even more "wonderful" when you find out the arrows only when u look at the papers printed out with your name on it and the task to do beside. BOOM ! Why must church leaders at times be so similar with the leaders in the outside world in regards to their working style one, haha. Oh well, a challenge is there to be overcome anyway, hehe. BUT, that doesn't mean those who are leaders out there who are reading this blog shoot any arrow they like any time !

One very unique thing about this ministry is the forever shortage of manpower, especially in terms of guys. Interesting fact: 9/10 of the ladies here are full time mums, don't all the ladies out there aspire to be one next time, haha, then u can consider now to join this ministry in future! Back to the topic, lack of ppl = more work one needs to do = less chance to siam arrow = very sad = thinking of saying bye bye ? (Def not at this point anyway, haha. We serve by one year commitments down here, i will review again in 2010). Nah, this thought hasn't surface yet, hopefully not now.

But, it does give one the chance to learn and do practically everything. If u are interested to try out welcome ministry, we do it here as well, lining up and greeting the kids. Sound ministry? Yup, you are on the console esp when the feet washers need help. Worship ? I already turn it down in terms of leading and playing. Media ? Projector or laptop decides to pull up a tantrum, you have to think of a solution + helping to operate it during teaching as well. So if u don't know which ministry God is putting you into, u can give this one a trial period to get some confirmation. Just don't ever mention that i gave anyone of you this idea!

If you think that's all, not quite. Children ministry presents to you an opportunity to become not only a teacher/leader but a mentor as well to the kids. At this stage of life, many of us at our age have or are seeking a spiritual mentor to advice us on matters. Instead of just seeking a mentor, why not become a mentor yourself? A ministry that goes beyond just serving but impacting the next generation of God people that will shine for him. Ever thought of leaving a legacy and maybe later when you're a grandparent yourself, regret that you could have done more for the younger ones. Why not start now and leave behind your way of living life that will inspire the generations to want to follow that is also pleasing in God sight.

So right now, its the cross roads for me. Saturday or Sunday ? Which day to serve in since our sections are going to move to sat service next yr and there is going to be a children ministry for our new service. Lots of factors to consider. After clearing the initial stage of whether to continue serving in this ministry, its another new stage to go through. Both days are good choices but only one of them will be God best choice. Which one? I've absolutely no idea at the moment. Hopefully things will become clearer before the year draws to a close.

Well, that's that on a summarised version of a one year journey of serving in Children ministry. Of course can't compare to the many great servants out there who have been serving for years le, but serving is fun and a joy to be part of. It's something that i remind myself every Sunday before i see the kids. Because, if the true purpose and meaning of serving God is lost and things become a routine, what's the point of serving when your heart isn't in it anymore. It'll just become like working, dreading about it already from Mon to Fri, still want to dread about a different kind of work on week end ? No way !

- Maybe God's best present ever to us is the hope he gives in the future generations to come that will do his work and bring him glory. That we too take up the challenge to nurture and protect these young ones till they can stand up on their own.