DiscipleBlog.com

Suppose you attended an open house at your child’s school and the principal told everyone that the drop-out rate was running at 75%. Would you be alarmed? Would you try to get your child into another school? Would you home-school? What if you discovered that the drop-out rate in every school was 75-88%? You might decide that it was time to get involved and demand some major changes.

The drop-out rate for our kids attending church is 75-88% by the end of their first semester of college. That should scare us into getting involved and demanding major changes. Yet, at least twenty times a year I conduct a three hour parenting seminar and about 10% of the parents in the church attend. My most recent experience was with a children’s pastor who told me he sent out over 100 invitations and about fifteen parents showed up. He was disappointed, but didn’t know what to do.

Are we in the battle to win or surrender? I’ve searched the scriptures and I don’t find a single indication that we should surrender. But at the current drop-out rate we could have less than 50,000 true followers of Christ in the U.S. in just five generations. Unless we find a way to get the attention of the parents, the future is looking dim.

“Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world.” We don’t win battles sitting on the sidelines. We can win this most important battle, but we can’t do it alone. Somehow, someway we must get the whole church involved. Is it possible that 75% of the parents don’t care that their kids won’t consider God relevant to life in a few short years?

Share This

Image Source: BevReview.com

Pepsi is currently offering two “new” versions of it’s two most popular drinks, Pepsi-Cola and Mountain Dew, with the tag line of “throwback” alluding to the fact that each contains, for a limited time only, real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup; a “throwback” to when they used to be made with real sugar.

I wonder what Discipleship Throwback would look like?

What if individuals and churches decided to do a “throwback” to how discipleship was once done. How different would it look? How much more effective might it be? What if nothing electronic was used? What if an actual copy of the Bible were used? What if two people met one-on-one to talk about spiritual things?

What if Discipleship Throwback was actually better? What do you think?

Share This

Whatever we allow to fill our minds will strongly influence how we feel and what we do. The sobering reality is our behaviors, repeated often enough, actually shape our destinies. That’s the message the Holy Spirit communicates to us in these words, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23).

All of our “outside” actions originate from within. Inside we reason, develop attitudes and experience emotions which result in behavior. “For from within,” Jesus said, “out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’ ” (Mark 7:21-23).

What’s happening in our hearts will eventually work its way out into our lives. No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

The renewal of the mind is key and it is done by stripping out the bad stuff by filling it up with the good stuff. Jesus put it this way, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:35).

So then, what’s the good stuff? The good stuff is tested, enduring, and certified true, it’s God’s Word. His Word has the greatest transformational effect when it is “fixed” within our hearts. That has been and is still God’s intention:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children . . .” Deuteronomy 6:6,7

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds . . .” Deuteronomy 11:18

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly . . .” Colossians 3:16

The good stuff is the Bible. Fixing its truth deep in our hearts is God’s clearly revealed will and it is so potent for mind and life transformation.

For this reason, those of us who seek to disciple boys and girls to become life-long followers of Christ have to take a good look at how we approach Bible memory in our children’s ministries. In my evaluation, it is one of the weakest areas in children’s ministries. I’m very interested in hearing responses to this from those who are acquainted with children’s Bible curricula and Bible programs with a Bible memory component. I believe we must do better and I believe we can.

Share This

You have GOT to listen to this message!

Voddie Baucham is one of the most passionate advocates for children and families in America today. He is one of the preaching elders at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, TX. His vision and commitment make him one of the most sought-after Bible teachers of his generation.

This message, “Centrality of the Home,” is compelling, inspiring and challenging. Don’t pass up this opportunity to hear his message that will have you jumping out of your chair and shouting hallelujah.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Share This

Two weeks ago I conducted a DiscipleLand Academy in the Seattle area. The pastor was very gracious and invited me to preach in the morning services. When I went to the platform for the second service I noticed a family, probably from Pakistan, with three young, well behaved children sitting in the front row. I reminded everyone that the morning message was an introduction to the afternoon parent seminar titled “Equipping Parents to be the Spiritual Leaders in the Home.” My scripture passages that morning were verses from Deuteronomy: 4 & 6 and Ephesians 6:1-4. The main point of the message was that God’s plan for family gives dads the primary responsibility to be the spiritual leaders for their children.

The family joined us for lunch, took their children to child care and came into the  parenting seminar. As I talked about the various activities parents can use to help their children become disciples, I noticed the dad listening intently. At the end of the day the children’s pastor came to close the meeting and this dad raised his hand and asked if he could say something. He said “I’m a visitor today. We were part of a local church for eight years, but have not been in church since last June. This morning I told my family to get ready to go to church. Their response was ‘why?’ I told them we need to go.” He then said

I wasn’t sure where to go and I turned into the driveway of this church. It was God’s plan and I want you to know that my life and my family will never be the same. I can’t thank you enough for what you have given me today.

Yes, there are dads listening to God and He is communicating with them. Thank God for an obedient dad who listened and followed His leading.

Share This

This is part 8 in a 12 part Series on D.I.S.C.I.P.L.E.S.H.I.P. - Twelve Tips to help you become a more effective discipler of children.

When you are discipling a young person - they will only rise as far as you expect them to. This doesn’t mean they won’t fall short of your hopes and dreams, they often will. But I’ve never seen a student exceed my expectations. In short, “Expect Little, Get Little; Expect Much, Get Much.”

Most young people have a low opinion of themselves, you can be their greatest encourager to exceed the expectations of everyone in their life, except you. If you think more of them than they think of themselves, you can have the power to help lift them to the next level on their Christian journey! You can challenge them to surprise those who don’t think they can excel. And for those who are achievers and confident in their abilities, you can challenge them to even greater levels of accomplishment.

As a young man, I was given a passion for Scripture memory by my junior department superintendent, Helen Reed, who is now with the Lord. She had a chart that seemed to wrap around the room, and with her “I think you can do it” whispered in my ear, my goal in life was to get a star in every square by memorizing all the verses. For those who criticize external motivations for children, all I can say is I’m glad my teachers believed in them! Or I would have never memorized the hundreds of verses I did nor would I have the grasp of Scripture I have today, even if I have lost most of the references and can’t “quote” them all word for word any longer. So when it came to Scripture memory, I knew that was an area of strength and that I had memorized more of the Bible than most people by the time I got into high school. As a result, I either already knew the verses my class was studying, or I could learn it quickly with little work. While my high school discipler, Ralph Hines, could have just complimented me on my knowledge of Scripture and focused on challenging me elsewhere, instead, he was barely impressed and said once, “I’ll be impressed when you memorize an entire book. That’s what the early believers and scholars did, and it will make a profound impact on you.” He started assigning me chapters to memorize and often hinted that the next level was memorizing an entire book of the Bible. It was all the challenge I needed. That thought stuck in my head for several years until finally in my freshman year of college I memorized the book of James. And a profound impact it indeed made leading me to memorize other books and chunks of Scripture.

My point is NOT about “me” - is about the need to expect more of our students and challenge them to the next level in their spiritual walk. Scripture memory is just one area, and it is a knowledge area - there are many other arena worth challenging, especially those that deal with “real life.” Witnessing to a friend, stepping up to a position of leadership, submitting to their controlling parents, reconciling with a friend or forgiving someone who hurt them, taking on a challenging project, or starting a ministry. There have been many times in my life when God has brought people into my life to challenge me. They expected more of me than I expected of myself, and with renewed confidence I took steps of faith and action that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have. YOU can be that person in the lives of those you disciple!

Prayerfully seek how you can challenge them. Do not accept poor performance or a mediocre walk with Christ. Learn their skills and passions and then expect them to step out in faith and trust God to do in and through them what they otherwise would never think of doing. You can share in the fruit that their life will produce! Do not merely seek to get through discipleship materials or to walk with them in their journey. God may have placed you in their life specifically to prod them toward His will for their life! What an awesome and humbling responsibility! Do it with gentleness, but firmness; with sensitivity to the Spirit’s leading, but with boldness.

Dare them to go where they have never gone before. That is what truly brings excitement to the Christian Life!

Share This

Imagine getting a brochure in the mail: Salvation Conference - O’Hare Hyatt - Jesus, God’s Son, lecturing on God’s Eternal Plan for the Salvation of Mankind.  Admission Free.  Come ready to study the prophetic Old Testament Scriptures and the Types of Christ that point to the Soteriological Position and Role of Jesus.

Not many people would be drawn to a training seminar on Semitic salvation - and that is why Jesus didn’t come and undertake an educational ministry, but rather a relational ministry!  Jesus came to this earth, born as a child, grew up within the culture, ministered to felt needs, and made friends who He made into disciples to carry on the ministry after His redeeming work on the cross.

And yet, so often we try to minister to children through a primarily educational ministry instead of a relational ministry!  Yes, Jesus had a message to communicate and did a great deal of teaching - but He delivered His eternal message within the culture and within a relational context.  In Children’s Ministry we must do the same!

Jesus ministered within the culture.

Jesus could have made a ‘grand entrance’ as an adult – much in the same style as when He left for heaven.  From one perspective, some might say this may have helped his reception as the Messiah, but instead, He chose to come as a child.  Jesus chose to grow up within the culture.  No one could say of Jesus that He didn’t ‘understand’ or had never ‘walked in our shoes.’  The book of Hebrews teaches us that He suffered and was tempted in all ways as we are.  He knew whom He was ministering to, not only as their Creator, but as One who had experienced it first hand as well.  Perhaps this made His ministry more difficult, but it certainly made it more effective.  Ministry to children is not much different!  We need to be willing to get into the culture of children and minister to them from within that culture.  Yes, this will make ministry more difficult!  Some will even misunderstand and accuse you of untrue things (being immature, childish, a clown, etc.), BUT your ministry WILL be more effective!

Jesus ministered to felt needs.

The multitudes that Jesus was ministering to were in desperate need of spiritual salvation and freedom from the bondage of superficial religion and the eternal consequences of trying to work themselves into God’s favor.  However, their focus was more on their temporal aches and pains and political struggles.  Jesus could have rebuked them for worrying about the wrong things and tried to redirect them toward the things that truly mattered in the scope of eternity.  But instead, He graciously and patiently chose to attend to those temporal concerns, all the while drawing them to the things they should be thinking about.  The same is true in a children’s ministry!  Are kids thinking often about spiritual things?  Their eternal destiny?  How they can please God in day-to-day life?  The salvation of their friends?  Probably not.  It’s more likely they are thinking about toys, television, the next time they will get to play outside or some other activity that is fun and certainly eternally irrelevant!  That’s O.K.  (Adults are not much different!)  It is the children’s minister’s job to accept those ‘less than spiritual’ concerns and while addressing them, be continually drawing them up to the more important eternal concepts they should be thinking about.  That is why church needs to be fun – but a strategic fun with a purpose.  Not merely entertaining, but engaging the kids so as to lead them on to more essential concepts.

Jesus made disciples who would carry on the work after He left.

While Jesus certainly ministered to the multitudes, He focused the majority of His time on a few men we know as the disciples.  It was these twelve men and those they in turn trained, that turned the world up side down for the rest of history.  Without the development of the disciples, Jesus’ ministry would have only been a great show for three years.  Instead, His ministry was the stone that was dropped to start a tidal wave of ministry that has only grown larger over time!  Yet all too often in ministry, you see people who put on a great show for awhile – some fantastic kid’s program, for example – and then when they are gone, all that is left are great memories of a wonderful time, instead of a lasting memory.  This need not be!  In children’s ministry, it is essential that we continually build a team that will outlast us – not only in our particular church – but outlive us in life.  This means not only training fellow adults – but also enlisting and equipping children to serve as well!

This is why later, we will address in detail how to start a “Kids Church Crew” of children who can learn to plan, organize, lead and minister in the Kid’s Church program!

IN SUMMARY…

A PRINCIPLE-DRIVEN MINISTRY

1. Jesus ministered within the culture.
2. Jesus ministered to felt needs.
3. Jesus made disciples who would carry on the work after He left.

THEREFORE CHILDREN’S CHURCH MUST ….

1. Be kid-centered. Minister from within the “Kid Culture.”
2. Be aimed at kids’ interests and contemporary needs.
3. Be disciple – driven. Equip kids for ministry after you are gone.

ASK YOURSELF

1. Is your Kid’s Church service kid-centered?  Does it minister from within the “Kid Culture?”
2. Is it aimed at kids’ interests and contemporary needs?
3. Is it developing disciples?  Are there kids being equipped for ministry after you are gone?

- Karl Bastian
Founder Kidology.org
Blog: Kidologist.com

Share This

This is part 7 in a 12 part Series on D.I.S.C.I.P.L.E.S.H.I.P. - Twelve Tips to help you become a more effective discipler of children.

There isn’t a discipler who wouldn’t say they love their students and what more than anything for them to feel loved and KNOW that they are loved, unconditionally, just as they are. But what does it truly mean to show unconditional love? And how do you show love like this?

It starts by understanding how God loves us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:6-8

Think about it - God did not wait for you to get your act together, to start being good, until you started being religious, to save you. You save you while you were a mess and completely undeserving of his attention, let along his mercy and grace. He loved you when you were unlovable. And he STILL LOVES YOU no matter what. Years ago I saw a T-shirt my friend Steve Greer was selling at CPC. They said:

NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY, GOD LOVES YOU.

I still have my t-shirt (I think that was around 1995 when I got it!) and every time I put it on it makes me smile. Whew. God loves ME, of all people. Pretty amazing stuff. OK, so God loves me, after you get over your shock, you might ask, but what’s that have to do with your disciples?

EVERYTHING.

Just as you disappoint the Lord regularly (I was being nice by not saying every day!) so your students, or disciples, will disappoint you. They will leave church. They will take up smoking. They will get pregnant. They will get into witchcraft. They will be victims of this sinful world. They will shock you, disappoint you and at time break your heart. Many others, perhaps even most, will escape much of this in large part BECAUSE you discipled them. But there will be some who disappoint you. And when they do, all you need to do to keep loving them, believing in them, and investing in them…. is to look in the mirror.

If God hasn’t given up on you, there is no reason to give up on those you are discipling. And if you think you’re pretty good - you may have a rude awakening coming your way. We all will fail the Lord in a wide variety of ways. But the good news is, HE will never cast you off. Friends may. Christians will. But the God who laid there unflinching when the nails were pounded in, will never give up on you!

DISCIPLESHIP IS NOT ABOUT MAKING PERFECT KIDS, IT IS ABOUT INTRODUCING THEM TO A PERFECT LOVE THAT WILL NOT FAIL THEM.

In fact, many kids will never truly believe in the Goodness of God until after they have failed and experienced grace and forgiveness and unconditional love. From you.

So teach them doctrine. Have them memorize Scripture. Help them understand the Bible and navigate it with confidence. Show them how to live a godly life. But above all else, let them know that you love them and that there is NOTHING they can do to damage that love. Friendship, perhaps. Trust, certainly. But love? Never.

If you are serious about discipling kids, your love WILL be put to the test. But I figure, I test God’s love every day, and He always passes with flying colors. So I will do the same with those who disappoint me, hurt me, or fall short of what I hope or expect of them. I will forgive and love and let God do His work in His time.

Just as He is doing with me.

Share This

Do you have a Master Plan for how your Children’s Ministry is forming disciples? Life long disciples are not made by accident - they are a result of careful planning and strategic ministry.

Check out the Discipleship Master Plan PDF on DiscipleLand.com It is sure to stimulate your thinking and help you better plan for the ultimate goal of your ministry - making disciples!

Share This

This is part 6 in a 12 part Series on D.I.S.C.I.P.L.E.S.H.I.P. - Twelve Tips to help you become a more effective discipler of children.

Prayer is one of those things we often talk about more than we actually do! Just to make sure we don’t do that right now, lets both STOP, RIGHT NOW, and pray before going forward. Go for it. Ask God to open your heart to how Prayer could transform and empower your discipling!

(Pssst! you should be praying right now!)

O.K., welcome back! Few Christians, if any, would argue the point that the most important thing we can do for our children is to pray for them… but does our action match our words? If you devotion to children and the cause of Christ were measured ONLY by your prayer life - what would the conclusion be? My goal is not to motivate by guilt, but to challenge you to evaluate how important prayer is in practise in your ministry to children.

When it comes to praying for our disciples - those kids who we are intentionally investing in spiritually - there are two important aspects to praying for them. Obviously, we ought to be praying FOR them, but we also should pray WITH them. Let’s look at both and why they are important.

PRAYING FOR YOUR STUDENTS.

While I could provide a long list of verses about prayer, let me focus on just one and make a few points.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phil. 4:6

This concise verse contains some of the best teaching on prayer and it is very applicable to praying for the children we are ministering too.

1. “Do not be anxious.” There is a lot that can worry us about children in today’s world. The dangers to both the minds, bodies, and souls can be terrifying to us who love them. There is great spiritual warfare for their hearts and minds, and without spiritual power and intervenion, most kids will end up chooseing the “broad road” that leads to destruction. But here God tells us, the answer is not to be anxious, it is to pray! If we truly care about the children in our lives, we ought to be praying for them, and often! It is the single most powerful thing we can do to prevent the things that make us anxious for them. Make a list of the kids you care about, and prayer for them by name. Ask God to protect them, to challenge them, to draw them to Himself and to give them a curiousity for the Word of God and a hunger for righteousness. Pray for courage to withstand temptation and patience in the midst of trails. Pray that they would choose friends who draw them closer to God and not away. And prayer for their parents who have such a challenging God. A prayer for parents is a blessing to their children!
2. “By prayer and petition.” I’ve always found it facinating that in this verse God separates “prayer” and “petition.” To many people, prayer = petition. All they ever do when they pray is ask for stuff. God desires for us to make requests of Him, as a Father, he delights in giving good things to His children, but notice “petition” is mentioned secondary to “prayer” - which is simply communication and fellowship with God. Make sure that you are spending time getting to know the heart of God, not just asking Him for things you want - even good things. The first thing God wants is YOU!
3. “With Thanksgiving.” This is a powerful key to prayer! Too often we pray and “hope” God will answer. That isn’t faith. When we pray “with thanksgiving” we are asking in anticipation of what God will do. Are we manipulating God? Far from it! But we are demonstating faith that He will do that is best in the situation. When a child gives a list of Christmas Wishes to a parent, they don’t think for a second they won’t get something - or that they will be disappointed on that morning - but they don’t always get what they ask for. They DO get what Mom and Dad decide is best for them at that age, and probably what they can afford. The good thing with God is, He can afford anything! So ask with thanksgiving! You can even say in your prayer of petition, “God I thank you already for how you are going to answer this prayer because I know your love for this child is perfect and exceeds even what I can imagine. Thank you for loving me, for hearing me, and for answering my prayer!” No need to wait around and see “if” God answers - if you pray according to His Will - He WILL answer! So thank Him in advance!
4. “Present your requests to God.” We do need to actually present them to God! This may seem like pointing out the obvious. But I know as a father, there are many things I am willing to do with or for my son that I only do if he actually asks me. Part of it is that God doesn’t force Himself on us, but it is also that He wants to see what we would like to see Him do. If we don’t ask, we are likely not to notice or thank Him even if He does it. But when we ask, we’ll see it when it happens! I can’t help wondering what things I’ve missed out on in life from both my earthly and heavenly fathers simply because I didn’t bother to ask! So present your requests to God TODAY! What are you waiting for?

PRAYING WITH YOUR STUDENTS

It is also important to pray WITH your students, and I don’t mean just opening in prayer. Skip that if it is nothing but a formality! Don’t be flipant with God. Remember Who it is you are talking to! When you pray with your students, it helps teach them how to prayer. It humbles us as we acknowledge Who we are following. It shows we care as we pray for them. And you can rejoice together when God answers prayer.

A few tips:

• Ask your students for prayer requests. Your job is not just to teach them biblical knowledge, it is to transform them into a disciple of Jesus.
• WRITE THEM DOWN. Keep a journal, use a note card in your Bible, your PDA, something so that you are reminded to prayer later.
• Pray for them throughout the week, you may want to call or e-mail to check in on them. It will surprise them and show you truly are concerned for them.
• Follow up by asking about them later - this proves you really prayed and really care! If you say you will pray about a sick grandma and never ask how she is doing, did you really prayer? Did you really care? How could you still be praying if you don’t even know if she is alive still?
• Share your own concerns with them, so they see you are real. You don’t need to share your deepest struggles, but demonstrate your own dependance on God by sharing the things you are currently praying about. As they see God answer your prayers, they will share in the rejoicing and be all the more eager to make prayer a part of their life.
• Pray for others besides yourselves. Pray for their parents. Ask them how you can pray for their parents. Kids who are upset with their parents will be forced to see their parents in a new light - as other people with problems, worries, concerns and struggles. If they talk about kids they are having issues with, what a perfect opportunity to demonstrate “praying for our enemies!”

Don’t just give prayer lip service - make it an essential part of your discipling and you will see God work because he loves to answer prayer!

Looking for a fun way to remind kids what to pray about?

Check out A Hand in Prayer on Kidology.org. It is a “handy” way to teach young children to remember what to pray for by using each finger on their hand to represent something.

Share This