A few months ago, I invited six-year-old Abby to the platform to assist me in the introduction to my message. I showed her, along with the audience, four objects: a long pencil, a short and stubby pencil, a tall candle, and a short candle. “Let’s pretend,” I began, “that one of these pencils is a ‘grown-up’ pencil and the other one is a ‘kid’ pencil.” As I asked her to identify the ‘adult’ pencil, I placed a label on it. I then placed the “child” label by the other pencil.

I repeated the exercise, this time with the two candles. In both cases, Abby did just what I thought she would do. The long pencil and the tall candle were classified as the “grown-up” versions, and the shorter items were labeled as the “kid” versions. Many in the congregation agreed with her decisions.

I lit the candles as I began the task of changing a paradigm we typically have with children and ministry. Often we think of children in terms of their size rather than their service for the Lord. As soon as I asked the audience, “Which candle or pencil will be useful for a longer period of time?” they understood the implication of my illustration.

Children need to be important in church ministry because they are important to God. Growing churches are often intentional in their discipleship efforts at the adult level, and some even at the youth level. However, when children’s ministry comes under a closer look, it may be a little anemic. Even with age-grouped Sunday School classes, a weeknight program, and Vacation Bible School, some ministries may forget what the target of the overall ministry truly is. Let’s take a quick look at children in American culture.

Social and Emotional Challenges

Consider these statistics published by George Barna in 2003:

*There are 73 million children under eighteen years of age in America, with 31 million children in the five- to twelve-year-old age range.

*One in three children is born to an unmarried woman.

*One in four children currently lives with a single parent.

*Children ages two to seven average twenty-five hours per week of TV viewing, while those ages eight to thirteen average forty-eight hours.

*Of children ages eight to twelve, 73 percent choose the Internet over other media.1

In addition to these statistics, a significant change has occurred in the family unit. Just a couple of generations ago, parents were the channel by which children learned about the world. Even a child’s reading level provided a natural screening to information. With increased technology and media coverage, children are exposed to all kinds of things. Thus, when children watched the Challenger launch, it was much more than a science lesson. They viewed disaster, death, and adults’ mistakes. Today media coverage is even more vivid and extensive. Coverage of the 9/11 tragedy, the Asian tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina showed children, in addition to the destruction, that adults have problems, fight, kill, cry, and lose control. They learned that life is difficult and that Mom or Dad cannot fix everything.

For most of American culture, media has created an altered authority. Children know much more than children of past generations did. Just as significantly, adults know that kids know! This knowledge has weakened the respect children have for authority in general, and for parental authority in particular.

When the Lord, in Mark 10:13-16, rebuked His disciples for trying to keep children out of the way during the disciples’ “grown-up” discussions, He gave children priority in His attention. He valued them simply because they were children and not because they could be used as a means to reach adults.

Physical Challenges
It is no surprise that today’s children are very different from those of thirty years ago. Sedentary lifestyles and poor diets seem to contribute to the fact that one in five children is overweight or obese, according to a government report on the conditions facing American children.2 Some of this inactivity is, no doubt, due to heavy media intake; but perhaps it is because some parents, concerned for their children’s safety, limit the kinds of play enjoyed in their neighborhoods and local parks. Although Barna reported that children are frequently booked in a full slate of activities-even during the summer months-it may not be enough to offset their poor dietary habits.3 The government report also notes that a greater portion of nutritional intake of American children comes from snacks, soda, and fast food.4 The end result is poorer physical condition.

In addition, more and more children have been diagnosed with behavioral challenges and placed on medication to control behavior. What may be most alarming is that, according to a report issued in 2000 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7.3 percent of children have had sex by age thirteen. Research focusing on seventh and eighth graders reveals that almost two in ten (17%) of them are no longer virgins.5 All of these elements have significant implications for our churches’ children’s ministries.

Ministry Implications
Today’s children face a constant worldview battle for the mind. A growing secular world attacks the traditional childhood gifts of innocence, civility, joy, and trust. Children will struggle to maintain a healthy balance in life and will fall prey to the constantly deteriorating definitions of normalcy.

Because of these pressures, our church ministries must target children spiritually. At times it may seem like the only reason to have a children’s program is to reach parents or not hinder them from attending a training time for adults. Larry Fowler, author of Rock-Solid Kids, did a superb job of identifying ministry perspectives that fail to recognize the intrinsic value of children in our ministries. He noted three incorrect attitudes that need to be discarded:

*Children are a bother. This attitude leads to apathy in children’s ministry, which creates difficulty in finding staff with a desire to serve children.

*Children are a tool. This attitude is practical but incomplete in its understanding. Greater emphasis is given to using kids to reach adults who can carry on the major work of church finances and programs.

*Children are our future. This attitude may lead to an appreciation of children’s ministry, but it is still different than the attitude demonstrated by our Lord in Mark 10:13-16, when He took the children and blessed them.6

When the Lord, in Mark 10:13-16, rebuked His disciples for trying to keep children out of the way during the disciples’ “grown-up” discussions, He gave children priority in His attention. He valued them simply because they were children and not because they could be used as a means to reach adults.

We must carry the same perspective in our ministries to children. They, like adults, need to have a Biblical perspective on life. Children can and should learn truths regarding God’s character and nature, how and why the world was created, Who Jesus Christ is and why He died on the cross, what sin is, and a number of specific teachings based on the fact that God’s Word is the source of truth.

To minister effectively, churches need to address both the emotional and physical security of today’s children. Just a few weeks ago, my heart was touched as I talked with a group of children about our Heavenly Father and the gift of salvation. As I talked with one nine-year-old girl who wanted to know more about salvation, she told me that she has had five fathers and that her “real” one was in jail. She said she wanted to ask Jesus to save her, but she always felt like He wasn’t listening to her or was too far away to hear her.

Connecting the truth of the Bible lesson to her specific situation in life was critical to her understanding of the gospel. While more and more churches are taking steps to provide for the physical security of children in their programs, it is just as critical to pay attention to a child’s life outside the hour or two he or she is in class.

Measurement of Progress
Just as a child enjoys tracking his or her physical growth on a doorjamb or a growth chart, so we should be interested in tracking a child’s spiritual maturity. The alert teacher or ministry leader will gain valuable insights through informal evaluations and observations. If an exasperated parent states, “This has been quite the week. . . . Benny has really been difficult to control!” then it is safe to conclude that Benny has not gotten a handle on self-control or obedience to authority. Similarly, if a child is reluctant to pray, it may be due to a lack of a personal relationship with God rather than a fear of praying in front of a group. Important clues can be gathered from personally interacting with and observing both the child and the parent. Another set of clues may be found in exploring the interests and recreational pursuits of a student. If he or she frequently discusses movies or wanting to get the latest iPod, it may indicate where his or her values lie.

Interestingly, both Barna and Fowler advocate the critical value of performance evaluation of children and children’s ministries. While they both offer suggestions for how to evaluate in a formal way, Regular Baptist Press has provided a valuable tool through its Blueprint training manual and seminar. The philosophy behind the method is based on Colossians 2:6 and 7: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”

In recognizing the need for organizing Biblical truths into a useful grid for a child’s life, the BuildUP format provides seven “hooks,” or aims, for an effective ministry: Believe the Gospel; Understand Biblical Ethics; Internalize Godliness; Learn Doctrine; Develop Life Skills; Uplift Others; Prepare to Serve. Together, these aims provide a comprehensive overview of what spiritual maturity should look like in the life of a child. The strength of any assessment tool is that it will work with either individuals or larger groups. Ministry leaders using the BuildUP concepts and resources will be able to identify general patterns of spiritual growth in a whole class or age group. Once these trends are identified, it is far easier to set goals to correct neglected areas or make adjustments in a weaker area.7 While no formal evaluative tool is perfect, there is immeasurable wisdom in asking a series of specific questions about a child or class rather than merely making some random conclusions drawn during a couple of teaching times.

Church ministry leaders who are serious about building up children will constantly be learning. They will be learning about the pressures facing today’s children, about the spiritual level of the children involved in their programs, and about ways to make their discipling and training of children more effective. By nine years of age, most moral and spiritual foundations are set. Children take their cues from experiences that either affirm or challenge their mindsets.8 Because of this, children’s ministries should not waste one class period or club time with misplaced goals. The current cultural pressures attacking children and their families demand intentional ministry.

We must value children the same way our Savior demonstrated. Why not take time and invest in some nice, long candles that have the potential to burn effectively for years to come? An individual reached for Christ as a child will not only be a servant of God for decades, but will also be saved from consequences of a sinful lifestyle. What more motivation do you need?

Notes
1 George Barna, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2003), 17, 18, 22-24.

2 Centers for Disease Control, Life’s First Great Crossroad – Tweens Make Choices that Affect Their Lives Forever, May 2000 (Washington, DC) 17, 18. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/youthcampaign/research/PDF/4.4.02-LifesFirstCrossroadsRes.pdf

3 Barna, 24.

4 Centers for Disease Control, 17.

5 Centers for Disease Control, 15.

6 Larry Fowler, Rock-Solid Kids (Ventura, CA: Gospel Light, 2004), 17, 18.

7 Blueprint Seminar Notebook (Schaumburg, IL: Regular Baptist Press, 2003), 33, 34.

8 Barna, 47.

Jack Austin is pastor of church education at Calvary Baptist Church, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.