June 2019
This weekend may very well be just another weekend for you — not so different than the one that came before or the ones to come. It may be a weekend just like any other in your life. On Saturday you’ll spend some time preparing for your Sunday School lesson. You’ll get a good night’s sleep Saturday to be ready for the kids in your children’s ministry on Sunday morning. You’ll get up Sunday morning, get the family fed and ready to go, head off to church, and do your part in your church’s children’s ministry. After church, you’ll socialize for a little bit, then head out to lunch with the family before heading home for some heavy-duty relaxation on Sunday afternoon. For you, it will be just another Sunday.
However, to the kids you minister to, this may be another weekend just like all the others for them, too. But what they call “normal” might make your stomach churn. One of the boys in the class will come to church after a morning of hiding from his parents so that they can’t inflict more physical pain on him. One of the girls will come to church with Mom and Mom’s new boyfriend who she doesn’t really like and isn’t all that comfortable around. Another boy will come to church suffering emotional trauma because he is convinced that his parents split up due to something he did. Another girl will come to church mourning the loss of her favorite grandparent. A boy will come to church hungry. A girl will come to church not knowing where she will sleep that night. Another will come to church never having known what true love really is. And another will come to church fearing that someone, somehow, will discover their secret.
But when God brings together your “normal Sunday” with their “normal Sunday,” the results can be extraordinary. Where God gets involved, you have anything but “normal.” This Sunday you could be the one who introduces that child in need of love to his Heavenly Father. Yes, you could be the one who God allows the privilege of shining the light of His unconditional love into a child’s life. You could be the one who God works through to bring that child into His kingdom. You could be an eyewitness to the miracle of transformation as God gently lifts a broken soul and transforms it into a co-heir with Christ. This Sunday could be a whole lot more for you than “just another Sunday.”
Every Sunday, those of us who work in the Children’s Ministry are blessed with the opportunity to serve God’s kids and teach them about Him. Shame on us if we ever view that opportunity as a burden or as “just another Sunday.” We are also given a tremendous amount of responsibility in teaching God’s children and leading them towards Him. The work we do every Sunday is anything but ordinary, and we should approach it with the excitement that lies in the possibility and hope that comes through God. And, we should approach it in reverent fear of our Creator, making certain that we would not abuse or neglect the responsibility that He has graced us with. What will you do this weekend to make sure that it is not “just another weekend?” This Sunday could be the day that a child’s life changes for eternity!