Continuing from my article “Becoming a Passé Pastor – 10 Hot Tips,” I have been dissecting the ten different elements that I contended were very important to continued relevance in kid’s ministry.
Your ministry needs the Holy Spirit. That might seem like a basic, ridiculously simple, point to make – but it is one that we as kid’s ministers need to take note of. We need more intentional Holy Spirit than a castaway prayer before we start our kid’s church Sunday morning services. We need a Holy Spirit sparked revival in our kid’s ministries and church at large – a move of the Holy Spirit that breaks down the negative aspects and fleshly attitudes raised up in people (including children) by a globalized world that teaches us to consume at any cost. Instead we need Holy Spirit fruit, which goes beyond initial evidence arguments and denomination; we need the Spirit which crucifies these fleshly desires, and brings the real result of complete worldview change – no matter how deeply engrained that it may be by the mass media. In a literal sense changes us from metaphorical trees that produce poisonous, even demonic, fruit to trees that produce good godly fruit. That’s a change YOU cannot make through games and life stories. Kid’s ministry is all about results – the person that results from our leadership, our shepherding care.
Your ministry needs the Holy Spirit, without Him it is hopelessly ineffective.
It is time that we as children’s ministers begin to realize, and acknowledge, the reward that comes from the Holy Spirit; rewards for children that extend beyond experiential moments on church camp. Rewards that will require us as ministers to do more that a simple “head nod” during our pre-service prayer. There is a counselor, a helper, whom Jesus sent to us – whom will do a great work in the children we lead. The Apostle Paul realized this great reward, the contrast between in the spirit and in the flesh, and writes to the church in Galatia about it.
Often the church has painted the wrong picture of children, that is that they are perfect – blameless and without spot. While it is true that children carry with them less baggage and have great measures of faith, they also have “fleshly lusts and desires” that are sinful. Children of course DO NOT have lusts in the sexual context that our society paints the word lust – and it is your responsibility as the children’s minister in your church environment to protect children from such evil attitudes among some people that say the opposite. We will save that for another post. But in Galatians 5:19-23 Paul lists the things that the sinful nature of man craves, many of which are applicable even to children, but again I repeat, we are all about the resulting person from our ministry. I will list them and you can use your own understanding to contextualize them into the cultural context you work within. Paul lists (quoted from the NLT):
- Hostility
- Quarrelling
- Jealously
- Outbursts of anger
- Selfish ambition
- Idolatry
- Envy
- The feeling that everybody around you is wrong except for those in your own little group.
I believe that these things are acutely accurate when they come to some of the attitudes of kids around the global church. Of course this is not an exhaustive list of what Paul said, because some of the points are not relevant to children. But there are many more poor attitudes that may be shown that Paul does not list, even he says that the list he presents is not exhaustive in Galatians 5:23b when he says, “and other kinds of sin.” These things are not characteristic of kingdom behavior; they are not the signature of a believer, but of a person who “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (c.f. Galatians 5:21b). These things are the outcomes of fleshly living, a way of life that is in an all out war against walking in the Spirit. Paul says tells us in Galatians 5:17-18 that it is a constant battle between the two, but the only way we have freedom from it by walking in the Spirit.
If children give over there lives though to be led by the Spirit, giving Him complete control, the fruit of that is completely at odds with the negative rewards of walking in the flesh. Galatians 5:22 lists the fruit of “living in the Spirit.” Once again I will let you contextualize these truths into your cultural context, in view of children:
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-control
These are all results that fleshly living can never bring, only being in step with the Holy Spirit can. These are not the things that our globalized consumerist world wants kids to feel. They want them to be discontented, impatient, unfaithful, lacking in self control. They want children to be jealous, envious, and full of selfish ambition; all in order to convince kids to buy more stuff. These are powerful principalities and powers that we have to combat with whom rely on fleshly living and attitudes to make big bucks. In many spheres power is quickly being shifted from governments to mega-corporations who want fleshly living to be cultivated and to take deep root in people’s lives. You might dismiss this as an “apocalyptic rant” or “banging the leftist drum” but which ever way you look at our world we cannot ignore that Ephesians 6:11 says “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We live in a world which has been deceived by the spiritual forces of evil, powers of a dark world. The battle for and against fleshly living has been waged, don’t be naïve about the powers and principalities in our world.
But because of Christ’s sacrifice the flesh is made futile, if we will submit to the Spirit. Jesus has won the battle against the flesh for us, and Paul tells us that if we are to follow Christ, we need to take our fleshly desires to Christ’s cross and crucify them there (Galatians 5:24). Instead, Paul says, we are to walk in step – in total obedience to the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:25). The way our world works is circular, a rat race with no way out. But the walking in the Spirit sets us free from the ways and evil lusts of the world. That’s why we must make Spirit filled living an absolute priority in our Kids Churches. A head nod is not enough. Our lives need to represent that good fruit of the Spirit, we must show children why and how to live in the Spirit.
Paul says in Galatians 5:16, “walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” Living in the flesh has dire results (Gal 5:21b), but walking in the Spirit positive results. Though this world is pushing from all sides for children to adopt a particular worldview, teaching kids to consume at any cost, but the Spirit defies and converts this completely. We need the Holy Spirit to move. If children’s ministry is all about results, that is, the resulting persons that we raise up, then the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary. We need to teach children to walk in the Spirit. We need to teach children about the Holy Spirit, to be continually led by Him. That way they will defy the flesh as they grow older in a world that is trying to negatively mould them. Our ministries need to move beyond using the tools of the flesh to engage children. Our ministries need the Holy Spirit, let’s pray for a Holy Spirit led revival in kid’s churches, and the entire church body, all across the world.
