Why I value children’s ministries

Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation. (Joel 1:3)

While speaking primarily to parents, every generation the church faces extinction and the Great Commission calls us to share the Good News with all ages, including children. While a whole family focus is important in evangelism, statistically 64% of Christians become a Christian before they are 18.
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God has been incredibly gracious to allow me to be involved in children’s (and youth) ministries through the years.

• This began as an older teenager teaching a children’s Sunday School class (Lord have mercy, there was so much about the Bible and theology that I didn’t know!);
• It continued as I led children from our local association on youth retreats (exhausting!);
• Soon after I became a youth pastor (sowing Gospel seeds in a liberal church);
• At my first solo pastorate I joined the board of YFC and got to know many community youth as our church developed fledgling ministries (including hosting its first VBS in some time. Praise God they have a healthy children’s ministry today).
• When I served as a pastor oversees, our Chapel didn’t have any children. However, the Lord enabled me to begin to take religious assemblies (corporate worship was/is still mandatory in schools there). This opened further doors to serve on the board of governors, bring in special puppet productions, doing other religious presentations and beginning a weekly in school Bible club for those in gr. 5—all with others from the chapel slowly getting involved. We also ran Townwell Tots and weekly shared the Gospel with 30+ for several years.
  • It was here I became a physical father and having a child of my own has taught me much about the spiritual needs of children. I also discovered two great children’s Bibles: The Big Picture Story Bible (0-3) and the Kingdom of God Children’s Bible (4-10).
• Upon coming to Markdale my son was the only regular child but by God’s grace we now have around 20 children. I’ve been involved in teaching children at our weekly afterschool club (King’s Kids), helping lead chapel for our homeschool hub (Fabulous Friday), speaking at New Life Camp junior camp fire weeks, engaging in our VBS and overseeing intergenerational worship, etc.

VBS 2026 gave me pause to look back and reflect upon my involvement in children’s ministries.
Apart from immense gratitude, what have I learned to value about this ministry?:

• Children are to be valued as a heritage from the Lord and not treated as a nuisance;
• I was saved as a child (8 turning 9) and the Lord can save them too;
• Teaching children forces you to be simple but not simplistic (distilling the Faith in age-appropriate ways);
• Children ask great (and hard) questions—it keeps you on your toes and growing too;
• It is an honour to help pass on the Faith and be part of their journey;

“Dear father, I pray for any child I have been able to minister to…and may we all treasure this important ministry and support it as the Lord enables.”