Relevant Ministry…a Timeless Objective
Leading children to Christ today will likely require some new ministry approaches
If ministry is about serving others and leading them into faithful relationships with God through Jesus Christ, then effective ministry must relate directly to their needs and the circumstances of their lives as they exist at the time. Today, the needs of our children are evolving in response to a dynamically changing environment of new family structures and living arrangements; increasingly disparate family economic situations with some children living in poverty or near-poverty conditions; the variations of learning experiences resulting from kids attending public school, private school, or home school; the increasing influence of technology in all aspects of life; and, in general, as a result of what Walt Mueller (President, Center for Parent and Youth Understanding) calls the “cultural soup that our kids swim in every day.” These factors are constantly creating needs in our children that our ministries have never had to deal with before. As a result, children’s ministry must continue to evolve in order to sustain its relevance in the lives of our young people….in order to serve them effectively.
At LOGOS, we understand that a strong ministry model can be the foundation of a successful children’s ministry, but that we must be ready to reshape it to fit the emerging needs of our children. By remaining open to the circumstances and factors that may affect the church’s kids and correlating them with key aspects of the ministry, church leaders can help to maintain the relevance of their service to children. This openness to transformation is a critical aspect of the organic nature of ministry – changing to live in a new world. The message always remains the same, but the method must be adapted to reach those in need.
How are you looking for ways to ensure the continuing relevance of your children’s ministry…to bringing kids to Christ in today’s culture?
November 10, 2006 at 6:56 pm
Relevance…isn’t that an important challenge for the church generally? We must help others see that the “good news” of Jesus really does matter in their lives today - that it makes a real difference.
November 10, 2006 at 7:05 pm
“We must help others see that the ‘good news’ of Jesus really does matter in their lives today - that it makes a real difference.”
And while we show them, we must also contend with any negative experiences they might have had with Christianity.
To stay on topic,I think that a relevant children’s ministry is one that goes where the children go, wherever that may be.
November 10, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Part of relevency is to understand where they are and what is happening in their lives. If we have no idea what they read, listen to, watch and do, we will not find a way to connect so that we can build the relationship that welcomes them into the body of Christ.
November 16, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Relevance is very important. But I think that a problem with focussing on relevance is it can cause us to forget the importance of Scripture. I am not accusing you guys of that…I just think it is a healthy reminder to return to Scripture and the worlk to help children apply the messages of Scripture to the lives of kids.
I am loving this blog!
November 16, 2006 at 7:03 pm
Jaded:
Relevance just challenges us to place God’s messages to us into action…ensuring that we can make a difference for Christ and because of Christ.
November 16, 2006 at 7:05 pm
Jaded, I totally agree with the primacy of Scripture. We can never lose sight of the reality that this is what we use to guide our lives. I just see a lot of areas where tradition is held up even over Scripture so not only do we lose God’s word and direction but we become irrelevant to those we are in ministry with.
November 17, 2006 at 8:26 pm
If we don’t find good ways to apply the scriptures to the lives of our young people (what I would define as “relevance”)…then the scriptures aren’t likely to “take hold” in their hearts and in their actions. Ministry must be relevant BECAUSE the scriptures are so important!