Encouragement — Ministry Leaders

As Christian leaders and teachers, we are called upon to “be like Jesus.” We are to be servants to those we are responsible to guide and direct. The biblical model for leadership is not about gaining power or success or even being in control — it is about serving others. It’s an awesome responsibility that can be challenging. But it comes with great rewards! As ministers to children, we need to heed the words of Jesus when He said, “Unless you become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) Children have a level of trust...

Being in Christian ministry can be both rewarding and satisfying, but it can also be challenging and difficult — leaving you exhausted or feeling like you are not accomplishing your goal of serving our Lord and Savior. So, what are some things you can do to keep your faith alive and help you stay motivated? I believe the secret is in combining spiritual faith and hope into all of our interactions. We grow in faith as we serve. In our dealings with children, it is by faith we keep planting seeds into their lives, and then we water and fertilize,...

Children play an important role in ministry for God. But that is often overlooked. We, as adults, have an opportunity to learn from them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto me.” He cared for children and wanted to have a relationship with them. He even told His followers that unless you have the faith of a child, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is the faith of a child like? Until they have reason not to, children will believe what their parents tell them and follow their instructions, as they still possess a level of trust...

In over two decades of ministry leadership, I have seen the benefits of game play in ministry from every angle. I’ve served as a camp counselor where lots of relationship building happened over multi-day games. I’ve organized and executed quick game play for Sunday school and mid-week programming. I’ve written dozens of games to coordinate with VBS themes. I’ve been the dad listening to my kids talk about a team building experience with their peers or a shared moment of victory during game play in ministry time. I love games. Most children’s ministry leaders incorporate games into a portion of...

“Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2, NIV) Lately, I’ve been doing some thinking. Thinking about what? Oh, you name it, I’ve probably had a thought about it. Yet if my wife would ask me the infamous question, “What are you thinking about?” My response would be the typical response, “Nothing.” According to Murdock (2020), “The average person will typically have more than 6,000 thoughts in a single day.” That’s a whole lot of thoughts! But, thinking about thinking brought me to the question: What does Scripture have to say about...