they say a picture is worth a thousand words. sometimes a video can be worth millions. i love how this KidMin 2013 video captures the true heart of this very unconventional conference. to learn more or to register, go here.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/5ryLMFzK234[/youtube]
as i picture Jesus speaking to people in towns and on hillsides, i see families sitting together. through scripture, i hear Him using everyday objects (bread, fish, sheep, etc.) to build bridges from abstract concepts to concrete beliefs for all ages. i imagine kids asking their parents questions as they heard Him speak and family discussions continuing on long after He left. i envision faith being built and strengthened as families. these thoughts encapsulate reason number one of why worshipping as a family is a passion of my heart.
another reason is because i see sweet spiritual fruit from these intentional times spent together as families. fruit shared in an email i received the next morning after vine family worship that had a subject line stating: “One more for God’s Kingdom!” after our first dawson kids vine family worship, a young boy went home and prayed to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior. how cool to think that a worship song sung and a hands-on activity shared as a family (things he referenced from the night of family worship) contributed as one of many puzzle pieces that lead him to the cross, confessing his need for a Savior. glory!
our theme for our first vine family worship was “love, why?” we were following a church-wide
emphasis from matthew 22:37-39 to “love God and love people”. i wanted the children to see in God’s Word why were are to love and not do so out of: religious ritual, because i told them to, because the church was emphasizing it, but because God said so and He first loved us! below is the order of our service for that night along with pictures that help paint the story. i am already smiling as i think about what God may do in the lives of families in our next family worship.
– we began with a “why” family intro activity that families had to work on together. (it was important that they sat as families so each part of the night could be shared as a family.) each table had dot stickers and an info sheet that gave them instructions. (see pic) i was 
overwhelmed by something someone shared with me during this opening activity. she said, “you realize there are three languages being spoken in here tonight?” as i panned the room, i could see many english speaking tables, but it was the spanish and arabic speaking tables that made me beam. such a sweet picture of the body of Christ.
– we then opened with a child led worship song that was straight scripture. here is the one we used for this service. i love seeing the kids up in front leading and the parents doing the motions.
– then a family and another child performed a skit entitled “the love family.” 
this was precious, because the young boy that played “the love man” is a new believer and his part was to share the love of God with this family so they could be freed to love with God’s love.
– next, families discussed what the skit meant to them. i think this part is crucial because each person could have received something different. if we are not intentional to discuss it immediately, we may lose valuable family faith teaching time. i loved sitting back and listening in on families grappling with what this skit had to do with their daily lives.
– after they discussed the skit, a young man came and read the scriptures for the evening and i talked about two reasons why we are to love: 1) because God says so and that is enough (it was a command, not a suggestion) and 2) because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
– i ended my talk confessing and challenging families that maybe we don’t love like we should because we forget all the many ways we see proof of how God loves us. (i.e. His Son Jesus, His comfort, He made us, etc.) 
families were then challenged to take each dot off of themselves and place it on the pot of their vine plant. with each dot they removed, they were to name one reason why they know God loves them. i told them if they ran out of reasons (which we 
really never could) they could say the name of Jesus, because no other has given up their life for sinners like us. this was my favorite part of the evening. watching families count the ways they see God loving them was priceless. a child at one table even turned to grandparents and an uncle to hear from each of them.
– we then ended the night in worship singing “i could sing of your love forever” and “amazing love.” i don’t think i will ever tire of watching families worship together.
– after closing prayer and me encouraging them to take their pots home and put them in a place where the family would always see them, we ended with dinner and sweet fellowship.
i still stand amazed at how our great big God showed up and blew us all away with His love.
this weekend was my first big event with my 5th grade smasH (students ministering and serving Him) group at dawson. the objective of smasH is for them to grow closer to God while growing closer to each other. i couldn’t wait to walk through the mission smasH event with them. this night is designed to cause them to work together through a series of cd clues and complete missions through activities hidden around the church. this night requires specific planning and we even try to stay on a schedule. it was great fun watching them work with the smasH ball, which always had to have a palm on it. if the ball was left without a palm pressed on it for more than three seconds they had to add another palm. with only three palms on the ball after six hours, i was convinced this was a focused crew of kids. they worked together beautifully on all the other activities (i.e. the bull ring, the ping-pong support relay, the blindfold walk, the light in the darkness searching for their smasH shirts, and more) and the night was going exactly how it was planned. well, that was until we got to the last experience.
planned last was a time where the smasH students wrote a prayer to God about the remainder of their smasH year. each child spent a great deal of time writing this prayer and then they brought it up to the lock box at the foot of the cross. their prayers will be locked up until the end of the year and then they will receive them back to discover how God had answered their prayers. we finished this activity at 11:40p.m. and i promised parents their children would be ready for pick-up at midnight. no sweat, i had just enough time to finish what i had prepared — the adult leaders were to pray over the smasH students. as i was explaining this to the students, one student asked, “well, can we pray, too?” i will be honest, the first thought that ran through my mind was that they had just prayed in their letters, but as one of their leaders how could i tell them they couldn’t pray? so i said sure, thinking it would all go quick and fit in the nice package i had organized for the evening. i am so thankful that God pushes me out of the way when He wants to work.
what happened next was orchestrated by God and as one of my leaders stated, “we had church.” for the next 20 minutes child after child prayed humble, specific prayers about everything from their upcoming year at church, to the children and families in connecticuit, and then for a family in our church whose daughter had passed away in the fall. it was a holy moment. i sat there in awe and profoundly convicted. these kids poured out request after request to their Heavenly Father. as a leader with a plan i knew this might effect my schedule, but i sat quietly and they continued to pray. after a while, there was finally a break in the consistent prayers and i wrapped our time up and we went hurrying off (just a couple minutes late) to where their parents were waiting for pick up.
out of the six hours we spent together as a group it was the last bit that really drew us all closer to Him, and i had nothing to do with it. i kept hearing, “danielle, stop worrying so much about the plan and what you prepared, and let the children pray.” i constantly state that i believe that children are not the church of tomorrow, but the church of today, but i now see when it comes to prayer my actions don’t match my words. where am i intentionally giving children opportunities to pray not only in dawson kids, but in the church as a whole? i have often said if i am ever in need of great prayer i will welcome anyone’s prayers, but please let the children pray for me. let the ones who pray passionately believing and leaving their requests at their Father’s feet intercede for me. this group was a prime example.
i am reminded once again that children need to be given purposed time to pray. we not only need to provide the time, but teach them and challenge them to make prayer a priority. this lesson, like every other lesson, begins with me. i hear it loud and clear and it is still ringing in my ears — let the children pray. may their passionate prayers of faith and hunger to learn and live His Word change our world and bring glory to God.
Acts 1:21-22 “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
as i was studying the books of acts this fall, the above verses glared at me and i have been pondering them quite a bit. it wasn’t enough for judas’ replacement to have simply heard of Jesus and His miracles and power. this replacement needed, as one commentary stated, “to have accompanied the disciples throughout the course of Jesus’ ministry (from His baptism to His ascension), thus assuring that he could speak about things he has seen personally.” so when i was asked to speak to the “moms and more” group at church, this passage jumped to the forefront of my mind. no, we are not in charge of replacing judas (good thing, because i could royally mess that up), but we are challenged and called to raise children to be authentic disciples of Jesus, so they can testify to the things they have seen in and through Him.
how do we help children be eyewitnesses to the living Christ thousands of years after He walked the earth? i believe if we want kids to see the power and life-changing potential of Jesus, we must get them in the word – not simply stories about Him. we must plan to be purposed in engaging children with the living word of God.
“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.” Hebrews 4: 12 amplified
“Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action).” 2 Timothy 3: 16 amplified
scripture memory
to live by the scriptures we have to help children hide them in their hearts. as adults, we can surely testify to a time when being able to recall/recite scripture to ourselves from memory brought peace, joy, comfort, direction, or discernment. i believe these fruits are truly the reward for hiding God’s Word in our hearts. that is why in the classes i teach, i have children memorize scripture, but not for any kind of reward. i explain to them the “prize” for knowing God’s Word may not come to them the day they say their scripture to me, but it can come at a time when they most need it and will be of a much greater worth than the temporary reward i hand them. scripture memory alone stops shy of the goal if we don’t help children see how it applies to their life. so, as we are practicing God’s Word with them, we must be deliberate about helping them see: what is to learn, the example(s) shown, or what we should put into practice after learning the verse. here are some great tools to help children hide God’s Word in their hearts.
use scripture for answers, correction, and decisions
one of my favorite Bible teachers is anne graham lotz. one of the things i appreciate most about her is when she is asked a question in a Bible study setting or an interview on national tv, she doesn’t quickly answer with her opinion. her answer almost inevitably begins with, “the Bible says…” oh the value of immediately pointing children to God’s Word when they are seeking answers, need to understand why we are to behave a certain way, or have to make a decision! six months ago, i made the decision to accept God’s call to a new church and place of service. i knew one of the hardest conversations i would have was with the 6th graders (Y.U.C.s – youth under construction) with whom i had spent the most time with in ministry. so the first wednesday night after my announcement, i sat them down and told them to fire away with their questions. what a comfort and joy it was to be able to share with them specific scriptures that God used as He called me into this new adventure and they could see it was His word, not circumstances, on which i was basing my decision. they knew that ephesians 3:20-21 was one of the main scriptures and for weeks after i received texts and cards that they had found with that scripture on them.
pointing kids to scripture can also be a great tool when we, as adults, blow it. i blogged about a time i blew it with my niece here, but what if when children see us make mistakes or sin, we use that as a time to show them how we fall short and are in need of a Savior. (romans 3:23) or, how we are not perfect and cannot save ourselves, only grace does that. (ephesians 2:8)
also as we speak and pray over children how much more powerful if we use God’s Word other than our own. Bible teacher, pricilla shirer, wrote a great blog about how she speaks God’s word over boys. http://www.goingbeyond.com/blog/gods-word-spoken-over-our-children
children digging into God’s word
devotion books are great and there are wonderful ones out there for children, but i also think it is important for us to teach kids how to open, read, study, and apply God’s Word to their lives using just the Bible. i have also stopped calling them Bible stories in an effort to separate the truths contained from all the other “stories” children read. i will go into this process much more detailed in a “digging deeper” study i am teaching parents and kids this spring, but we can begin by asking children to look for things as they read a passage of scripture. is there an example of a way someone is behaving that i should follow or not follow? is there something happening in these passages that can teach me a lesson? then, how can i put in to practice what i learned from these scriptures? we can begin the Christmas with God’s word and truths about a Savior being born that apply to their lives today. (luke 1:46-55, luke 2:8-10, isaiah 9:6-7, matthew 2:9-11)
as we minister to children that are surrounded by the world, lets engage them with the living scriptures of Jesus Christ so that they will be more than church-going disciples and devotion-book disciples. God’s words can accomplish His purposes. as we intentionally point them to the infallible truths in the Bible, may they become passionate and committed disciples of the Word and eyewitness of the Savior.
Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
i received two exciting video texts last week. both of them brought a huge smile to my face, while they also reinforced one of my greatest passions in children’s ministry – partnering with parents. i believe the church is a great place for Biblical truths to be taught, but if we are lucky we may get between 50-100 hours in a given year. i believe it is the home, through the faithful discipleship of the parents, that life-changing ministry happens and spiritual truths are truly caught. these videos testify to the fact that while we may plant, water, and nurture spiritual seeds in the church walls, it is the consistent tending in the home that reaps such a precious harvest.
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/52820954[/vimeo]
that’s why i love the new family app lifeway has designed to continue the Gospel project learning at home. this app combines all the learning from the classroom (videos, scripture memory, songs, discussion starters, and more) with activities families can do together to help apply these BIble truths to their daily lives. families can discover together my favorite part of the Gospel project – how each Bible truth from old to new testament paints the beautiful story of Jesus Christ. (the Christ connection)
i wasn’t asked or paid to write this. it is just incredibly exciting for me as a children’s minister to know that the powerful Bible truths shared so passionately by my investors in the classroom each week don’t stop at the church doors. parents can now continue to explore these truths as a family all week long. i can’t wait to hear how God uses this in the homes of dawson kids families.
