Focus Matters

I've been talking for the past couple days about evaluating what we do so we can be sure we are helping children know, love and walk with Jesus themselves, rather than just providing fun things for them to do. Today I want to talk about why our focus matters.

Before I do, please let me say, I absolutely believe everything we do must be done with excellence. I also believe it is a good thing to provide opportunities for children - and families - to have fun at our churches. We should be providing these things in our children's ministries.

But, if we focus on one event and then the next and fail to focus on the purpose behind the events, we run the risk of children going through our ministries - having fun - but not meeting Jesus and learning to walk with Him for their lives. 

Yes, our faith matters. Yes, parent's faith matters. But neither of those things will help children choose to obey God. Neither of those things will keep children from forgetting God.  They have to have a faith which is theirs. They have to know God, themselves. They have to love God, themselves. They have to walk with Him, themselves. If we fail to point children to God, we have truly failed.

I do not want it to be said children in the ministries where I've served - or my grandchildren - have just had a good time at church. I want them to know, love and walk with Jesus, themselves, and I'm sure this is true of you, too. For this to happen we have to evaluate what we are doing regularly and stay focused on what matters most: seeing children know, love and walk with God, themselves.