Ministry Needs Today...

Small segment taken from review questions... I believe that the most immediate needs for this ministry include the recognition of the beginnings of faith development as early as infants, training teachers in the developmental levels and spiritual formation levels of the age groups they work with, and recognition of the role the church plays as a support for parental guidance in early childhood. Research has proven that even before a child speaks, they are learning from the world around them. Children begin to learn about a God they cannot see by their relationships with people they can see. Many people fail to recognize that faith development is formed just as cognitive development and motor skills are formed. It is important to not only fill classrooms with teachers that care about the kids, but to train these teachers in the most effective way to reach the children they are ministering to. A teacher can be placed in a classroom with no information on how a toddler processes information and will, in a sense, spend every Sunday “talking at” children and not reaching them effectively. If we had a group of adults that were being taught by someone in a foreign language or in strong theological terms that are not understood by most lay people, there would be an uproar. Why do we not think that it is just as important to reach our children for Christ in the ways that are understandable to them? Finally, there are many theories of parenting floating around and many parents are stretched thin as is. It is important that the church is a partner with the parent, offering training or advice if needed, and ultimately offering a safe support system that offers parents sound Biblical answers regarding their parenting dilemmas in all areas. If these three areas were given more attention within children’s ministry, think of the development that a child who grows up in our church would receive. Children’s Ministry is a huge foundation for our children’s future concepts and beliefs! -If you read this and wonder if I think educational practices and concepts should be integrated into Sunday School...yes I do;-) That means print rich environments, hands-on learning, and the like! We're ministering to the WHOLE child! THAT is why simple training for teachers is SO key in reaching children where they are! Little Johnny may come to Sunday School and that will be the only time someone tells him about Jesus, but it may also be the only time someone shows him how to work a puzzle, reads to him, or even says what all of the different colors are around him. Christian education is the gelling of those two worlds in my mind!