Our Children’s ministry is not growing
Your Question:
“How can I stimulate the CM to grow in the numbers of children, the number of CM team members, and in the outreach to the community?”
The Issues:
The growth of the CM is a spiritual matter. It is God who causes the growth, but His blessing is directly connected to our honoring Him with our efforts, perspectives, and purpose. We can’t “get” the CM to grow, we can only honor Him with what we do, and wait for Him to bless it.
Scripture Foundation:
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” 1Corinthians 3:6-11
“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock-the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.” Deuteronomy 28: 1-5
Short Answer:
A ministry that isn’t “growing” is a serious challenge. Some ministry leaders become focused on the “work of man” more than the “work of the Lord,” and they tend to “beat the sheep” to try to get more people to join their ministry or attend their church. This is “striving.”
“Striving” is described in scripture as an “act of the flesh.” Psalm 46:10 is a great example of God’s opinion about “striving.”
“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
This verse clearly compares “striving” in our own flesh to “knowing” God. Ministry is about doing. We can’t just sit around and expect good things to happen! We must work! But our work must honor God. God expects you to make plans, but He is looking for your perspective in those plans. Are you making plans to “get” the ministry bigger so you can tell people how many CM team members you have, or how many children come to the ministry? Or, are you making plans so that the “Great Commission” can be advanced and the vision that God gave you for the CM is carried out?
God is the one who directs you step by step!
“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
God wants you to evaluate your perspective and ministry efforts. He encourages you to ask God to “search you” and to show you any principles, perspectives, or plans that are “unpleasing” to Him.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139: 23, 24.
If you have “purified” your purpose for ministry, and you feel that your goals and plans are honest and “kingdom-focused,” maybe your ministry structure needs adjusting before God can bring more people into it! Ask God to open your eyes to any “structural” needs that might be keeping God from bringing more people to the ministry. See the section on building the CM structure in this website for more help.
You should do all you can to make the CM “attractive” to children, and you should ask God to show you what needs to be done to adjust the ministry to make it something that God would bless.
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:6
If God doesn’t show you any specific areas to improve, maybe the size of the CM is “just right” in God’s eyes. Every CM and every church can’t be large or “mega”! It could be that the CM is growing, but not in the ways that you “picture.” It might be that God wants the CM and church to be the size that it is now. Regardless of how big or small a CM or church is, God wants us to be good stewards of what we have. Do all you can to use what He has given you as best you can in His strength. Always look for ways to improve the ministry to the children, their parents, and the CM team; but be content in the fact that this is God’s work, and not yours. For more help in refreshing the children’s ministry, click on the APPENDIX link below.
Visit other articles in the “Refreshing The CM APPENDIX”
