This week’s guest post is by Terrice Tinsley, Director of Children’s Ministries.
Dear Christ Church,
My back patio is an oasis for me. It’s a peaceful place to take in the freshness of the morning and hear the first praises of the day sung by the birds in the treetops. Last week as I lingered I spied two monarch butterflies making a tandem swirl around our lacy elm tree. They reminded me of how butterflies would magically land on my little sister’s finger when we were kids. Like God’s gentle Presence just saying, “I’m here and I love you.” I, however, did not attract butterflies as a kid. I attracted mosquitos!
Isn’t that what we want for our children – to be butterflies? Glorifying God by being fully who they were created to become? Confident and free to be themselves, transformed from their sinful caterpillar-ish selves into beautiful, thriving beings of new life in Christ and with others doing the same?
As much as we would love that to happen overnight for our children, deep roots of faith and transformed hearts take time. Seeds must be planted and watered every day in hopes of a blossoming flower that will bear more seeds! Our Children’s Ministry at Christ Church is one such garden, tended by faithful and enthusiastic Kids’ Quest elementary volunteers, nursery volunteers, check-in volunteers and adored hired workers! To cultivate our garden well, it takes 15-19 children’s champions each Sunday! My desire as the Director of Children’s Ministries is to see our children at Christ Church thrive and grow with true, vibrant faith in Christ!
Our culture is sowing a different garden for our children. As we have seen in the news this week, it is a garden swarming with enemies that aren’t just pesky but bent on destruction. We are challenged with the threat of sudden violence, abusers lurking like wolves in sheep’s clothing, the confusing messages about a child’s God-given identity, and the disregard for an unborn child’s life. Jesus speaks a powerful yet simple message to all children everywhere when he says, “Let the little children come to me for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them” (Mark 10:14). All children matter deeply to God as his precious ones, full image-bearers of the King.
But we, the Church, carry the light of Christ! We can bless their lives now by pouring in the goodness of the life-giving Gospel through the means of weekly kid-community and truth-filled, fun lessons in our children’s ministry!
There are two ways we can do this in the power of the Holy Spirit:
#1) Prayer. Our children need your on-your-knees prayers today. Please pray with me for the Father’s mercy upon them and that the Holy Spirit would reveal Himself and the great love of the Father to them. Pray for His protection from evil. Pray for them to know they are beautifully and wonderfully made in God’s image and that He created them with purpose.
#2) Serving. Please consider standing alongside me and our children’s ministry volunteers as we pour heaping amounts of nourishing love, truth, joy and hope in Christ into the ones who will sow the seeds of faith in the future! Contact me to find out more about opportunities with our kids!
By His Mercy,
Terrice