Kid's Church Altar Times

We started our series in Kid's Church yesterday on Thanksgiving. We talked about being thankful before God did something. Told the story in Daniel 2. We talked about how we control our decisions but God controls our situations. I told them we can trust God in all situations because he is in control. We need to thank God because he is always going to do us right. Then, I asked the kids if they had something they were praying for like a unsaved family member or friend. I had them respond for prayer to give thanks for things they believed God was going to do. We had 20-25 kids respond. They came filing out of the bleachers and I told the rest of the kids if they had friends down they could come pray for them too. We had about 40 kids in the altar praying for the next 20 minutes. There is something special seeing kids praying for other kids. I know in many situations, "Altar" time is lost because of time or small groups or many other reasons. Altar times are important to the spiritual growth of kids and the church in general. 

Salvation, healing, baptism in the Holy Spirit, forgiveness, and any number of other supernatural things can happen in an altar setting. I see it happen at camp every year. I see it in our kids church all the time. Altar times teach kids three major things though. 

1. It is okay to pray for someone. 

I try and specifically tell kids that worship time is between them and God. So often, kids will start hanging or hugging on each other during worship songs. We tell them all the time that isn't the time for that. That time is designed for them to sing to God themselves corporately. If we don't create altar times for kids then they never understand the importance of laying hands on someone as they pray for somebody. 

2. It creates a community.

It is impossible to get mad at someone when you have to turn around and pray for them. We want to create communities inside our church. Altar times where kids pray for kids can create that. Many times, kids will let barriers down to pray for others. Kid's that may have thought no one cares about them will completely change their minds when someone prays for them. 

3. It teaches intercession. 

It is important to create times where kids are not rushed through a prayer. Times to cry. Times to wait on the Lord. Create times to sit in the Lord's presence. Way to often our prayers for meals and even in service for offering or service opening become robotic. Intercession becomes lost on kids in this instant gratification society. 

Many times pastors are bad about saying something is important to them but never take valuable time to put toward it. I believe kids innately understand this. My own kids understand they are important because I take time for them. The kids in our kids church will pick up on that too. We must find times to allow the altar time for kids or it will be lost on this generation and that would be a shame. 

The Thing That Struck Me Most This Weekend

This weekend had so much going on I really had a hard time writing about it. Friday night, we had a great "Festifall".  We moved everything outside. It was a great, the best attended Halloween event since I have been at 1st. Saturday, I competed in my first Crossfit Competition, the Power Output Challenge. It was so much stinking fun. I need to work on rope climbs but I did come in 6th in one of the events. It is so much fun to be apart of that community. Sunday, we had a great group of kids and Kid's Church ran smooth. Ate lunch with some friends that were here visiting from out of town. Then, Sunday afternoon I attended the funeral of one of our former staff members. That funeral struck me most today as I contemplated my weekend. 

Pastor Cecil was our visitation pastor when I moved to SanAntonio. Since he has been sick the last few weeks I have thought of the different times we spoke. I always really appreciated his wisdom in staff meetings. I knew when I spoke in Bible Study if he complimented me it really meant something. I won't ever forget teaching in Adult Bible Study and him looking at Opal during my closing prayer and telling her to turn her phone off because it rang. 

I was struck yesterday though not by my memories, they are very special to me. I was struck by the heritage his family presented at the funeral. His granddaughter spoke of ministry and his sons spoke of his relationship with Christ. If anyone ever says generations are not effected by the witness of parents and grandparents they are truly mistaken. I knew Pastor Cecil lived it. His kids and grandkids knew that too. They knew when they needed prayer they could call him because he had a direct line to God. They understood when he spoke, he understood the will of God.

I pray my kids know that of me. I pray my children know the moment struggles come they can come to me for prayer. I pray that my family sees me as a light. I hope that when I am older I can look at the generations of my family and they see me as a real follower of Christ. I think that's the important legacy for anyone. Thanks Pastor Cecil for being such an example even after you reached your goal, heaven. 

Not The Conversation I Thought I Would Have In A Duggout

I have coached youth sports for years. I coached kid's basketball before my son was old enough to play. Honestly, I enjoy it. I get to hang out with kids. I love coaching my son's teams, too. I have always been sitting on the bench or in the dugout. I have wrote on this blog about how I love just playing catch. Well, sitting there with kids can create great opportunities not just as a parent but as a Christian. 

Sitting in a dugout with a group of kids you hear many different conversations. You have many different conversations. You try your best to keep it about baseball. Consistently telling kids to keep their heads in the game. It is inevitable though, you will have conversations about farts, TV shows, stupid pranks, and just about any other topic 10 year old boys live for. I had an unexpected conversation the other day in the dugout that wasn't anything normal.

It was the top of the 2nd inning and our team was in the field. We have 12 players on our team so each inning 3 of our boys have to sit on the bench. I was sitting talking to one of our boys about keeping his head down and stepping towards the pitch as he swung his bat through the strike zone. He told me that he has had a problem with that for a while and that his Dad used to work with him by putting a bat behind his foot. Then, he explained that he hasn't worked on that since his Dad passed away last winter. I was caught off guard. We talked for a few minutes. I was on the verge of tears. He told me where he went that day. He spoke about being brave. He told me everything that happened. I told him if he needs to talk then feel free anytime. The inning ended. I went back to coach third base and we didn't talk about it anymore. The thing is, he knows I will talk with him. He feels safe talking to me. This isn't one of my kids from church. This is a kid that may never walk through the doors of my church. I still get to be a Christian influence in his life. I get to be his coach. 

It is important that we find places for us to speak into kid's lives. It is important that we put ourselves into situations where we can be Christian influences in kid's lives. Coaching gives me that. Coaching gives me an opportunity to create a witness to kids outside of the four walls of our church. I can mentor kids that have nothing to do with our church. It is important that you find places to speak into peoples lives that aren't from your church. It is important that as parents, kids pastors, or even Christians that we put ourselves into places where we can speak hope and life into kids. I want God to use me not just as a Kid's pastor but as a Christian that can set an example for others. 

Why We Do What We Do.... Small Groups (Part 2)

I remember being 9 or 10 and sitting in my Sunday School class in Houston. The teacher was talking about how they had just got a dog. She started talking about how cute it was and all kinds of stuff. I think she was just telling us a story. She didn't know that my dog had died that week. It may have been a few weeks later but recently my dog had died. I remember bawling like a baby. That Sunday School teacher, bless her heart, didn't know what happened. I do remember her staying after class and talking to me and praying with me about my dog. It meant more than she will probably ever know. That couple were awesome Sunday School teachers and I am still a fan of theirs. They did small groups for kids the way they should be done. 

As a kid, you don't realize you are going to small groups. Really, I don't think many adults realize it either. We attended Sunday school. We showed up for Royal Rangers. They were just things that we did. We had a few boys in our class. Every once and a while we would go on a campout or have a field trip. We did sword drills (races to see who could find scripture the fastest). We quoted memory verses for candy. We heard Bible stories. We found stuff on the maps in the back of our Bibles. We looked in the concordance for different scriptures. We asked questions. We prayed for each other. Small groups taught us what it means to be a church family. Our small groups should be a lot like that still. 

We have two different kinds of small groups at our church, Sunday School and Clubs. I know these are traditional. Many churches won't do them because they are "traditional". I know that if they are done right they can be effective. You don't think so, come visit. Each small group has a different purpose in our ministry. Sunday school is a just that discipleship for kids. Royal Rangers and Mpact Girls are mentoring/ gender specific ministry for our children. They both are needed to have a balanced kid's ministry. These are the ministries that are for our kids. They are the ministries where kids are able to go beyond basic stuff. They are able to ask questions and do hands on stuff. It isn't kid's church where that is designed for visitors. 

Sunday School classes are designed to be age appropriate. If it is a preschooler it should be hands on stuff. They learn from playing with stuff and short lessons. If it is an older kid it should be discussion and reading. They are emergent readers in older elementary. Kids should be challenged to get into their Bibles and find stuff. This is why we do JBQ and Bible Study classes during this same time. We want our kids to know certain things when they go to Student Ministry. This is only possible through a small group discipleship. 

Royal Rangers and Mpact Girls ministries are for mentoring kids. Everyone needs someone of the same gender to look up to. I can think of different Rangers Leaders/ Commanders that I worked with as a kid they were big influences on me growing up. I know the commanders I have now are the same to my church kids today. They teach things about being young men of God and our ladies share about being young women of God. No where else can guys be guys in a class. It is important for each gender to have this. I have said and will continue to say, "Badges don't matter, mentoring boys and girls that is why we do this." It amazes to see kids come in excited about these classes. It isn't about camping or crowning. It is about the leaders we have connecting with our kids.

I know many feel these programs are dated or you may not see have the logistics to do them. I can tell you this, if you are going to be effective as an entire children's ministry then you will have small groups that have both of these functions. Our leaders and parents have bought into these programs and that is why they are successful. We still have about 70% of our Sunday morning kids attend Sunday school. We also have larger attendance on Wednesday for our Clubs than we do for both services on Sunday. 

I have to evaluate these ministries differently than Kid's Church. Sunday School, I want to keep the attendance a high percentage of my Kid's Church kids. I want to see kids excited about learning scripture in these classes. I want to see relationships being built with leaders of my clubs. I want to see stuff happening outside of the classroom too. Relationships may be built in classes but solidified outside of the classes. I should see numbers on Wednesday larger than my Sunday numbers. Wednesday nights, I don't have split family kids that miss every other week gone one weekend or the next. These are the classes for our church kids. They are designed for that. If you are a parent and only bringing your kids to Kid's church you are missing out on these other valuable times. Small groups are for everyone but if we just expose our kids to a main service we are limiting our ability to partner with parents in the discipleship process of a child. 

Why We Do What We Do (Part 1)

Being intentional is super important. So often, we do stuff because it is what we have always done. We do stuff just because with no real apparent reason. It hurts our effectiveness. Every once and a while, we need to really sit back and evaluate all the aspects of our ministry. Make sure we know why we do what we do. We have 3 major ministries in our Kid's Ministry and each has a very important role. Over the next couple of posts, I want to share why we are doing what we are doing. Each has a reason. Each has a purpose. You may look at the stuff we do on the surface and say some of it is old fashioned. I know we do them for a reason. 

The first thing we do is Kid's Church. Kid's Church has a couple of very significant purposes. When I began in Kid's Ministry, my view of it was much different. I was confronted by a friend that attended another church who could not understand why you would want to have church without your entire family (I run into the exact opposite opinion of many people now). I remember at that point in my career responding to her by saying, if my Pastor wants to talk about sex or adultery it makes that sermon much easier without 6 year olds asking questions. That was never more evident than the time when a previous pastor I worked for asked why none of our families were coming back to church on Sunday nights. I remember talking to several of my leaders and encouraging them to join us for church on Sunday evenings. I told them, "It will be a great experience! You can worship with your kid" That of course was the night my pastor was talking about the end times and shared that the AntiChrist would be Pervert. I hear the question behind me, "What's a pervert?" The last time that family came on a Sunday night. Over the years, my reasons for doing Kid's church have evolved and become more defined than protection from a potty mouthed senior pastor. Kid's Church has a two real focuses and we try to plan them with these things in mind. 

First, we want to create an environment for the visitor. I want to make Kid's church a place Kid's want to return. We play games. We sing songs with fun motions. We tell Bible stories in fun ways. We tell jokes. We act silly. In planning kid's church, I want it to be a place where kids want to come back every week. I have to remember this is not where we are mentoring. I have to remember this is not where we are discipling. We are being evangelistic in our thinking. I want kid's to be able to bring their friends and know they have a chance to meet Jesus for the first time any week they come. Kid's church is for the visitor. I want that kid to tell his parent, I want to come back next week or I'll miss something huge. The thing is, if the visitor wants to come back and sit in a room full of kids he doesn't know yet then your regular kids will want to be back too. If you are creating an environment that is fun and exciting for the visitor then you will have less discipline issues because everyone will be having a great time. Kid's Church is for the visitor. 

The Second reason we do Kid's Church is to teach kids how to worship. Since kid's in most churches have been banished from the sanctuary with the decline of Sunday night worship and creation of Sunday night programming for kid's ministry, they rarely worship with parents. Kid's church is our opportunity to explain why we raise our hands. We can teach the importance of losing distractions by closing our eyes. Kid's can learn that worship is a time between them and God. That as they sing songs to God, he truly is pleased with that. In classes and small groups you rarely have the resources available to teach worship adequately. In Kid's church, I can teach these things and worship with the kids. It becomes a powerful experience each week. 

When I evaluate kid's church, I ask myself these two things: Were my visitors excited about it? Did my kid's worship? I teach a Bible story. I make a kid's sermon. I want every kid every time they come to our church to hear God's word. I know though in a large group setting, they will not get the best discipleship they can get. They will not be mentored by leaders the way every kid needs to be. Kid's church is just a grabber. It is a place where we can teach worship. If you only bring your child to that one thing, they will not get the big picture. They are sitting down for a complete breakfast and only eating the Fruit Loops. 

What is Family?

Over the last couple weeks, I have been bombarded with this question in my own heart. I spent last week, my vacation with 36 of my family members at another epic Wickert Family Reunion. It was great watching my kids get to hang out with cousins they never really get to see. I loved spending time with my Grandma. Doesn't get any better than that. The beach was great and it all was fun. 

I came back on Friday and had some of my kids visit from Cleburne. They really aren't kids now. These boys were my boys. When they were in elementary school, I ate dinner with them every Wednesday and we shot videos for Kid's Church announcements. Our "Sunday Morning Update" videos were always fun. I was so proud to see how they are becoming great men of God. They are also becoming very tall. Actually, they already became tall. I had such a great time with those guys being here this weekend. I think they are just as much a part of my family as anyone. (You too Ms. Teresa, you are the best). 

Sunday, just as our evening service was beginning, I received a Facebook message on my phone. One of my kids from Kid's Church was contacting me. He was one of those kids you wonder where he is years after you leave the church. I remember when I was sitting in my office and his grandma called to tell me they had to put him in a mental hospital as a 10 year old. I cried that day. He was contacting me to say thanks for believing in him and loving him. He is doing really well now and is about to start college this fall. He said, when he had bad or sad days he would think back to being in Kid's Church with us and remember it will always get better. That message filled my heart as if it was one of my own kids. 

Last night, I got to go spend the evening with some dear friends of ours, the Steele's. We were celebrating Caleb's "gotcha day". They celebrate the day the adopted Caleb into their family from China. We had dinner at Ghengis Mongolian Grill and ate cake in the restaurant. It was a great time. I thought more about family. Moments like that are meant for family, but we were there.  

See, I don't know if it is because my parents opened our home to so many different people when I was a kid. Shoot, any college kid that came through our church growing up ate at least one meal at our house. So many different other friends that spent the night because it was just easier to stay with us. I don't know if it is because we moved around and our actual blood relatives were in so many different places, but my family has always been bigger than just my cousins. 

I have been blessed to have so many people that I love like family. I couldn't imagine going through life without these people. Come to think of it, they are my family. They have almost all been my church family at some point. I can't imagine going through life without these people that are my church family. I have so many kids that are growing up that I get to call mine, because they sat in my kid's church. I have so many families that I love because they treated us like family. How does anyone go through life without a church family? It has to be lonely. I know there are so many other support systems out there. Things like coworkers and workout buddies and even neighbors will be there in times of need. I will take the people I have served and served with at church any day. They are my family. They are the ones, I get to spend eternity with worshipping our God in Heaven one day. It will be an awesome time. My family is more than just those people I saw at that reunion last week. My family is people I have worshipped with through my life. My family is huge!

My Love Hate Relationship

Certain things in this world can be very frustrating but you still love them. They can make you angry but you can't imagine your life without them. You want swear them off, but you couldn't go a day minus their greatness. Today, I want to proclaim my "Love/Hate Relationship".  I have a "Love/ Hate" Relationship with socks.  Yes socks!

First of all, I love wearing socks. They keep your shoes from stinking. They absorb all that nastiness for you. In the winter time, they keep my feet warm. They don't help Margaret to much, as soon as the temperature is below 80 she starts putting her ice cold feet on my legs. They help me stay warm. The right pair of socks keep you comfortable on a run.  A colorful pair of socks can be a great fashion statement. The wrong pair of socks can be a great laugh (usually at some old guys expense). Socks are great!

Then, I find myself hating socks. I don't know wear I lose sock singles. Is it the dryer? Is it my kids' drawer? Do they disintegrate like a communication to Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible? Who knows? I do know that I have bought a slew of running socks over the past couple of years and I am down to 3, none of which match. On Sunday morning, I go to church early. I usually get dressed in the dark and try to let my wife sleep. Like my running socks, my dark color socks never have a match. I usually end up grumbling, dumping the drawer of socks out on the bed, turning the light on, and starting my day off frustrated. Even if I match them up when before I put them in the drawer, at some point they get separated. Are socks like characters in "Toy Story" as long as we are not looking they move around and have lives all their own?

I went to buy socks last night. I know that I have small feet for an average adult. I am 5'6". It would be stupid if I wore a size 10 shoe. I would look like Peggy Hill or Fred Flintstone. The problem is they usually only have one size adult sock, 6-12. How do they expect a size 6 person (I am an 8 1/2) wear the same size sock as a size 12 person? You end up with this crazy sock pleat sticking out of the back of your shoe. It is really frustrating. So, I can either go buy socks in the women's section (which always incorporate some sort of pink) or I can go buy them in the boys section (which almost always incorporates some sort of super hero). Ugh! Why do I feel like I must always wear socks!?!

It is a true "Love/Hate Relationship". I love to wear socks, but I am so frustrated with you right now socks. I am glad it is flip flop season.