I love to write, but I’ve never been really good abut blogging.  However, having been asked recently by several pastors how to go about restarting a children’s ministry at their church, I think this would be the best way for me to get all the thoughts and ideas in print. My plan is to develop this weekly and hopefully have it completed in a month or 2.

The first thing to understand is the important role Children’s Ministries play in the life of a church.

Children are not simply the future of your church, they need to be an integral part of your church today. If you are not reaching the children now, you most likely won’t have a church in the future.

The difficulty is that we tend to focus a lot of effort on adults because their issues are more evident and they are able to support the church through giving and service. Yet children are the most receptive to the Gospel. Over 80% of people who accept Jesus as Savior do so before the age of 14. We dare not wait and hope they will learn the Truths of Scripture when they’re older. If we don’t teach our children to love and follow Jesus Christ, the world will teach them to disregard Him long before they reach adulthood. As an added benefit, when you reach the children you can also reach their parents.

Sadly, I’ve had parents tell me they didn’t want to pressure their child to go to church. They thought it was better to let them decide about “religion” for themselves when they grow up. My response to this bizarre idea is somewhat cynical. I look at them thoughtfully and inquire whether they make their child brush their teeth. After all, you could just let them decide whether or not to brush when they’re older. The same holds true for your church’s children’s ministry. You just can’t sit by and wait until they grow up to give them the godly guidance and cleansing we all need.

But what do you do if your children’s ministry is failing or even nonexistent? Don’t give up! Act! But don’t act in your own strength. Act in the power of the One who raised Jesus from the dead. He is also able to raise a children’s ministry from the grave. And if you think you love children, He loves them more. Jesus truly does love the little children.

As you’re considering how to accomplish this, don’t miss an important detail – the goal of a fruitful children’s ministry is to train boys and girls to become godly men and woman, not just entertain them until you can give them back to their parents.

Also, think bigger. We often think of children’s ministries in the terms of the boys and girls of the families that currently attend our church. Unless you are in a very remote area of the world, there are most likely many children who need Christ right in your neighborhood.

So where to begin? Start with prayer, realizing that it is God who will open the doors and change hearts. As has already been stated, He loves the children far more than we do. Start and continue with prayer.

Keep praying, and next time we’ll deal with some problems and excuses.