|
If you are looking for something to do on Wednesday
evenings, then "Fishers of Kids" is the curriculum for you.
Bring the family and
worship God together. A number of churches have been using
"Fishers of Kids" curriculum for a Family Night Service, and are
loving it. In my years of Children's Ministry, time and time again
when a parent came in to watch and see what we did, they left saying,
"I learned more this morning in children's church than I do in the
adult service."
One of the biggest problems
of the church today is that our kids do not know the God of their
fathers. They know the God of their Preschool teacher. They
know the God of their Sunday School teacher. They know the God of
their Children's Pastor and Youth Pastor, but they do not know the God of
their father and mother. The last verse of the last chapter of the
last book in the Old Testament says this, "And he shall turn the heart
of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi
4:6. Family Night with "Fishers of Kids" curriculum (or any
curriculum for that matter) allows the kids to worship the God of their
mothers and fathers, with their mothers and fathers. One of the greatest
lessons we can teach our children is by example. When a child sees
his parents worship and pray, it tells the child that God is real. It
also is a great tool for parents, giving them a connection point to teach
their children. When we teach the kids a lesson in Sunday School,
chances are they will hear that lesson one time, and won't hear it again
for many years, if ever at all. When we teach families together, then
when the lesson we are teaching comes up at home, the parents can rehearse
what they learned, and reinforce the truths taught. For example,
there is a section of "Fishers of Kids" on the ten commandments,
and one of the lessons is on "Thou Shalt Not Covet." If we
teach the child in children's church, and if he is actually paying
attention on that particular Sunday, he may hear it, and may even remember
it (God willing), but chances are that lesson will not be taught
again. If we teach the lesson to the family, then when the child
struggles with coveting what his brother or sister, neighbor or friend has,
the parent can sit down with the child, review the lesson they learned
together, and apply it to the child's life. Then when he or she
struggles with that area a couple of weeks later (and they usually do) the
parent can review it again.
As a children's minister, I
know and understand the importance of teaching the Word of God to the
children. In the eighth chapter of Acts, the eunuch was reading the
scripture, but when asked if he understood he said, "How can I, except
some man should guide me?" (Acts 8:31). Philip then
explained the meaning. This is a great example of the importance of
Children's ministry. What good is a sermon to a child if he does not
understand it? But I also know that the greatest teacher of these
biblical lessons is not me, the Sunday School teacher, but mom and
dad. It is not my job to take the place of mom and dad, it is my job
to stand beside and reinforce the beliefs of mom and dad to their
kids. I believe God is crying out in these last days, as he cried out
in the last days of the Old Testament, desiring to turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
lest he come and smite the earth.
I believe great results are
waiting for the church who is willing to worship God together as a family.
|
