i love the nature of kidmin communities. you don’t have to be around kidmin leaders long before you hear them sharing ideas so that the global church is successful. there is a greater we than me in this community and i have to say, it makes me proud to be a part of it.
but one thing of late has been bothering me. now before i share, please know as i type this post, i am allowing the computer screen to be a mirror in my own ministry life. i am in the trenches, working full-time in a church, with many of you and i know how hard it can be. we become masters at spinning plates and when we know one is about to fall, we turn to our generous ministry friends and ask for help. there we find many suggestions, ideas, and understanding.
but i wonder, as i look on children’s ministry facebook groups and listen at conferences, has our goal become more about how to’s and idea swapping, than a community hunkered together seeking Gospel-centeredness no matter the cost?
i loved jenny’s post about fun vs. content and while that pertains mostly to the classroom, i am wondering how we can improve our ministry communities? i understand that ministry doesn’t just happen and we are all in need of ideas, but when is the last time you have been in a ministry group (either online or in person) and the cross of Christ was the main topic?
i love the idea of preaching the Gospel to ourselves daily. while this may be a personal concept, i wonder how our communities would be reshaped for Christ if we also preached the Gospel of Christ to each other.
sometimes we get so caught up with being creative, we forget about the cross.
our creativity doesn’t change lives. the latest and greatest doesn’t change lives. trends don’t change lives. Jesus Christ changes lives and until we place Him not only at the center of our ministry, but our ministry communities, i believe we are falling short of what we were called to do.
so what can we do?
- what if we started to speak of Jesus to one another like He is what matters most in what we do?
- what if instead of always asking for last minute ideas, we asked for prayer that much would be made of Jesus?
- instead of complaining (i know we have a list at times, been there done that) what if we found a few close friends in our communities to challenge us to see beyond our circumstances.
- we can form accountability groups with people that will speak truth when you stray from the cross. (sam, jenny, and i were just talking about this the other day. there was a concept floating around that grieved us and we all texted one another and said “call me out, if i begin to choose this concept over the cross.)
- make having a mentor a priority and give this person permission to speak truth boldly, and give yourself permission to share your spiritual struggles.
the older i get in ministry, the more my soul longs for living water over brainstorming sessions. i am not saying that creativity isn’t needed, i just know how even in my own ministry it can quietly creep in and steal center from the cross.
what are your thoughts?
