Kids are growing up faster today than any time in the past. How can we in ministry stay ahead of the 8-ball without sinking into the pocket? When searching into curriculum, do we go for the modern, high-tech, action-packed, lively-jump-off-your seat-programs that we think will attract the busy, uninterested child? Or do we stick to the basics we learned from years gone by, maintaining a calm and quiet environment, limiting activities, frowning upon interaction, and using old colorless resources?

Children’s Ministry magazines flow over with brightly colored ads describing what they think will work best for our church. Such names like: Elevate Jr. (“Each lesson brings Biblically-driven, creative teaching elements to your preschool classrooms…”), Highvoltage (“graphic art for promotions, mpeg-1 video files, PowerPoint games and slides, weekly sound effects…”) or River’s Edge (“multi-sensory, practical, attention grabbing, flexible, interactive and new!...”), to name just a few.

Thankfully, The Chapel has thought through our purpose which provides a foundation to work from: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8). In our Children’s Ministry department that statement is applied to our ministry: “Our purpose is to assist parents in the study of Jesus Christ, leading to salvation, a personal devotional time, spiritual growth, daily application of God’s Word to their lives, and evangelism; through sound Biblical teaching and Christians who will pray with and for our children.”

Paul writes in the book of II Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness...” It is our responsibility to: 1. teach sound doctrine and 2. find programs that bring God’s word alive, making it applicable to children’s lives. The methods may change to meet the needs of each age group, but the foundation will remain the same. Trends will continue to come and go but as Jesus says in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Where do we go from here? We can have a program that is biblically sound through Bible stories and verses, and that brings it to life through drama, colorful props, questions that provoke understanding, hands on reinforcement of truths through crafts, and music that praises God and His works. We can only do this in God’s strength and His leading through the Holy Spirit. Join with us in prayer as we plan, pray, and pursue different avenues of teaching.