THE POWER IN METAPHORS
Words are metaphors. They represent real things in real time. And those metaphors inform how we view life and the ways we live.
For example, you might have heard the phrase “Time is money” at some point in your life. This is a metaphor — saying two unlike things are actually alike in some way. Time is not literally money. We’re saying time is like money. And from this little phrase grows other phrases such as: “Don’t waste your time,” “Spend your time wisely,” or”Invest your time in what’s good.” You can’t actually waste or spend or invest time. Time just is. It continues, marches on, and nothing we try will stop it from doing so. All because of a little phrase like “Time is money,” we think about time in monetary ways.
This applies to Children’s Ministry in the local church. What we call our kid’s ministry says a lot about what we think about kids, Jesus, and the church. If we call kid’s ministry “childcare,” we are making a statement, whether intentional or not, and saying, “At this church we only watch over children, while adults do the real worship down the hallway.”
No matter what words we use to describe our Children’s Ministries within the local church, we are making statements about it. The real question we must ask is this: “How does Christ view our Children’s Ministry? What would He say about it? What would He call it?”
Valid Members of Christ’s Kingdom
In Matthew 19:13-15, we read what Matthew says occurred one day between Jesus and some children:
One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could lay His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Him.
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” And He placed His hands on their heads and blessed them before He left (NLT).
As the disciples were turning kids away from Jesus, Jesus corrects them and says, “No. Let the kids come to Me. Don’t stop them!” Adults are not the only ones able to come to Jesus. Kids can encounter Christ as well and find their entire lives transformed by the God of the universe. And if the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to kids too, then shouldn’t they be participating in that Kingdom? Shouldn’t they be gathering together with the body of Christ to worship God — either in their own space or with the whole of the community?
If a child is able to put their faith in Jesus, then they receive the Holy Spirit. They don’t receive Holy Spirit, Jr. They aren’t lesser members of God’s Kingdom. They are equal co-heirs of the Kingdom of God. And we should treat them as such.
Your Kid’s Service Is A Worship Service
If the kids in your local congregation break off to their own Sunday School class, Kid’s Sermon Time, or Kid’s Church, they are participating in gathering together as the body of Christ to worship. Even if they stay with the adults in the sanctuary, they are part of the worship service.
Worship in the body of Christ is that act of recognizing who God is and proclaiming that truth through Word (music, preaching, Scripture reading, etc.), Table (participating in community, partaking in communion), and Action (loving one another, serving one another, encouraging one another, and all those other one another’s). Paul says in Romans 12:1, And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him (NLT). Our very lives are called to be worship to our Creator.
How would it change your Children’s Ministry if you change your metaphor to describe it? What if you viewed the time together as worship? How would that change the way you curate the service for the children?
As a global Church, we have to change our metaphors for ministry to children. We have to see it as worship. We have to view kids as full members of Christ’s body. We must piece together a Sunday School class, a Kid’s Church service, a Kid’s Sermon, with the very same care we put into building our Sunday services led by a Lead Pastor. This means investing in your children’s ministry through time, talent, and treasure. This means valuing what happens in every area of the church as worship. As Children’s Pastor Kyle Tyler says, “Holding an infant in the nursery is an act of worship.”
This begins with a perception change.
Lead Pastor, the children in your congregation are not lesser members because they have two pennies for their offering instead of two grand.
Worship Pastor, the children standing before you are worshiping the same Jesus as the rest of the adults in the room. When they sing, when they listen, when they participate, they are worshiping the Creator.
Elder Board, consider the voices of your whole church — including the children. How are your decisions affecting even the least of these? How are you listening to their voices?
Children’s Pastor, never forget your “job” is one of Worship. What you are doing week in, week out, matters deeply to the heart of Christ. Stop viewing your role as “lesser than” or “only.” Own your place as the one God has called to lead the children in your community to worshiping the God who loves, sees, and cares so deeply for them.
Church, let’s change our metaphors. A Kid’s Service isn’t Childcare; it’s worship.