Last weekend I was not scheduled to teach in our adult services at Mariners Church so I volunteered to teach Sunday morning in our kid’s ministry. I am so thankful for those who serve in kid’s ministry each week. They make a massive impact on children and their families, and I wanted to be a part of their great work. If the Lord did not have me preaching in “big church” most weekends, I would be serving in kids ministry or student ministry. Here are four reasons you should consider volunteering in the kid’s ministry at your church:
1. You Will Enjoy It.
Serving God by serving kids is fun. Kids say some of the most hilarious things. They often want to learn and tend to respect the leader who is offering them instruction. And let’s be honest; children tend have more fun than most big people. Being in a kid’s ministry gives you an opportunity to be surrounded by the optimism and creativity and joy that kids bring.
2. You Will Have an Impact.
Those who serve kids are choosing to invest in others during their most impressionable years. While kids are impressionable, they are not innocent. None of us are. The Bible says we are sinful from the time we were conceived. All of us need the grace of Jesus to change us, and those who serve in kid’s ministry are helping kids encounter God’s grace. If you serve in kid’s ministry you can make an eternal impact by giving kids a tangible expression of God’s love. As a kid’s ministry leader, your consistent presence in the life of kids sends a strong signal of God’s consistent and faithful love.
3. You Will Be Reminded of the Nature of the Faith.
Jesus told a crowd one day that unless we become like children we will not enter his kingdom. There is a major difference between a childish faith and a childlike faith; God affirms the latter and rebukes the former. It is not surprising when children are childish. But they also give us glimpses of childlike faith. Not only are they trusting but also they often still have the gift of awe, a sense of wonder, which gives us a great opportunity to point them to the most awesome story of all.
4. You Will Learn to Communicate Truth More Effectively.
Theologian and professor Helmut Thielicke required all of his doctoral students to teach kid’s Sunday school while they were studying theology for their advanced degrees. He believed that if someone really understands theology then the person can articulate the truth to a child in a way the child understands. He reasoned that if his theology students could not explain the Christian faith to kids, they did not understand it well enough. Teaching and leading kids likely will help you more than it helps them. You will learn how to take the truth of God and communicate it in ways that are understandable.
If someone at your church approaches you about serving in the kid’s ministry, you are being offered a major honor. Go for it.
Eric Geiger is the senior pastor of Mariners Church in Irvine, California, and the former vice president of the Church Resource Division at LifeWay Christian Resources. This article originally appeared on EricGeiger.com.