Children’s Ministry Seminar

Episode 002: Introduction Part 2 Part Time Ministry

Children’s Ministry Seminar

EPISODE 002: INTRODUCTION PART 2

PART-TIME MINISTRY

by Steve Karges

Podcast Release: January 12, 2022

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (I Timothy 4:12, ESV)

After serving as a children’s ministry volunteer in my home congregation for three years during high school, two small churches in southern California invited me to serve as their part-time Youth Director.

I worked at the first church on Sundays. This congregation met in an elementary school, and each week I would pack the trunk of my car with equipment and supplies to set up at the school. And each week, I would remove the equipment and supplies from the classroom we used and loaded them back into my car to store at home.

Over time my responsibilities grew to lead four children’s programs each Lord’s Day. First, I taught a Sunday School class for Junior High and Senior High students, immediately followed by Junior Church, which I led for children ages 5-12.

A kind family in the church would feed me lunch and let me rest at their home in-between morning and evening youth programs.

At 4:30 PM, I would lead a youth meeting for teens, and then at 6:00 PM, I led the Fisherman’s Club for children in elementary school. Because there was no church building, we held these programs in rented spaces at a bowling alley and athletic club, and we also met in homes.

The second church I worked for part-time was 25 miles in the opposite direction, and that is where I served on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. On Mondays after school, I led the Ever-Ready Club for children in grades 5-8.  When school was over on Wednesdays, I taught children in grades K-4 at the Fisherman’s Club. The kids walked or rode the bus from school to the church.

At the peak, I was in charge of planning, organizing, and overseeing six programs each week, with children ranging in age from 5-18.

Because each church had very limited resources, purchasing expensive curriculum was out of the question, so I developed my lesson plans.

I remember this as a very creative time in my ministry. I constantly had to come up with new ideas for Bible lesson plans and activities. As a result, I gained valuable ministry experience that would prove helpful in the years ahead.

Juggling college and working at two churches simultaneously was a challenge.

I learned some early lessons on how to interact with the children and their parents. I also grew as a teacher, teaching kids between the ages of 5 and 18, which was a stretch.

In addition, the two pastors I worked with had very different personalities, and each church was structured differently in how they governed, which was all a part of my learning curve.

I was 19 years old and single when I begin working at both churches. Looking back at those years, I realize how young and inexperienced I was, but I was enthusiastic and wanted to grow as a children’s ministry leader.

I became acquainted with several older Youth Ministers whom I looked up to. Some of them taught at Christian conferences I attended and gave me counsel. I relished each opportunity I had to spend with those Youth Ministers and to learn from them.

I also look back in horror at some of the dumb things I did. I made many mistakes along the way, but God used me to minister to the kids at these two churches by His grace.

In children’s ministry, we don’t always see the fruit of our labor. We sow lots of seeds, but often, someone else reaps the harvest years later. So I am thankful that God has given me a small glimpse of what He accomplished in some of those boys and girls over the years.  I praise God for the kids at these two churches who placed their faith in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. But, on the other hand, I grieve for those children who heard the gospel but did not believe.

Today, the children I ministered to more than 42 years ago are now parents and grandparents.

FOR YOUR MINISTRY TOOLBOX

1) If you are a young children’s ministry leader, set an example for other Christians by how you live and lead your ministry. Meditate on I Timothy 4:12.

2) If you are an older and experienced leader, find a new children’s ministry leader to mentor and encourage.

TAGS: I Timothy 4:12, Introduction, Getting Started, Small Churches, Mentors

Visit www.cmikids.com

© 2022 Children’s Ministries International, Inc.

Episode 001: Introduction Part 1 Church Volunteer

Children’s Ministry Seminar

Episode 001: INTRODUCTION (PART 1)

CHURCH VOLUNTEER

by Steve Karges

Podcast Release: January 5, 2022

 

As I write this introduction to the Children’s Ministry Seminar, I am in my 47^th year of ministry to kids.

I began as a volunteer when I was 15-years-old at a church in southern California where my father was the Senior Minister. At that time, the church was without a Youth Minister, and my Dad recruited me to lead Junior Church on Sunday mornings for children in the congregation ages 5-12. Junior Church took place in the chapel while the adult worship service was going on in the Sanctuary.

I was familiar with Junior Church, having attended worship services designed for kids a few years earlier when I was in elementary school. So I was happy to lend a hand and help my father.

When I attended Junior Church as a kid, the Youth Minister taught one Sunday on “God is Spirit” (John 4:24). I have never forgotten that truth.

Junior Church, commonly known today as Children’s Church or Kids’ Church, was simply a church for juniors. It provided a place for children to worship God together and to be taught at their age level. Junior Church also prepared children to attend the adult worship service later on.

We never had a purpose statement for Junior Church back then, but Psalm 78:4 (NIV) would be my choice to guide us today. It says, “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.”

Being a young and inexperienced leader, I copied what I had witnessed in the adult worship service and did the same with the children in Junior Church.

The children and I used old dusty hymnals to sing hymns over recorded piano music which blared from a large reel to reel tape recorder on the platform.

We also worshipped the Lord by reading Scripture together and praying. There were responsive readings from the Bible in the back of the hymnals. I would read a passage of Scripture, and then the kids would read another in unison. Back and forth we would go until the responsive reading was over. Junior Church also provided a place for children to learn to pray and to pray in public.

Usually, a church Elder sat in the back of the chapel to observe. He also oversaw the celebration of the Lord’s Supper for the children who were Christians.

The kids always enjoyed serving as ushers while receiving the offering. Then I would teach the boys and girls from God’s Word, just as I was taught by the Youth Minister years before. (The unchanging Word of God continues to be what kids need to hear today.)

Sometimes we would have Bible drills or play trivia games when the adult service ran long.

It was always a joy to see one of our Junior Church kids repent of their sin and receive Christ as their Savior and Lord. Whenever a child was baptized by immersion, I would walk the group over to the Sanctuary to observe the baptism, which illustrated the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Occasionally, a boy (always a boy!) would misbehave, and I would talk to his parents after church. I never liked doing this because I was a teenager and nervous about how the parents would respond. (I also remember getting in trouble at Junior Church when I was a kid. My mother heard about it from the Youth Minister before our car left the parking lot that Sunday. It was a long ride home.) Nevertheless, the unruly boy returned the following Sunday knowing that I would not put up with his shenanigans.

There were no snacks or recreation during Junior Church. It was a worship service for boys and girls that we treated with reverence and respect.

One of the blessings and joys of a long ministry is watching the kids I once ministered to grow up. One of those children is Rebecca. “Becky” and her younger brother were regular attendees at Junior Church. Nearly 50 years later, Becky is a believer in Jesus, a godly wife and mother, and a children’s ministry leader at a megachurch in southern California. She is telling the next generation about the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.

I served as a volunteer leader in Junior Church for three years while I was in high school. This is where God planted the seed in my heart and laid the foundation for all that followed.

FOR YOUR MINISTRY TOOLBOX

• Take a few minutes to write your ministry testimony and save it
• Meditate on Psalm 78:4. Could this become your new children’s ministry purpose statement?

Tags: Psalm 78:4, Introduction, Getting Started, Junior Church, Mission Statement

Visit www.cmikids.com

© 2021 Children’s Ministries International, Inc.