[notice]Musings around children’s ministry.[/notice]
I have yet another conference story to share…Last weekend the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) invited our ministry (Reaching a Generation) to one of their provincial conferences. I cannot describe how inspiring it was to see teachers share so passionately about what Christ is doing in their schools.
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As each school got up to share, most shared about the big things that had happened. The funds that the Lord blessed their school with or the strategies the Lord had given them that were positively changing the atmosphere of the school. It was wonderful to hear that all these schools testify about how the Lord is active in their schools.
Then a gentleman from Rabboni Christian School got up to share about his school. He started by encouraging the teachers to be faithful to do their work diligently and with integrity. He said that it is in doing the little things with excellence that we honour God. As he exhorted his peers, something he said stood out for me.
“We can never underestimate the power of prayer in our work. We must continually pray for the children in our classes and schools”
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It’s an ongoing thing! While there are times that we have big testimonies about what the Lord is doing, I find that some of the most special times we share with the Lord are in the mundane, ordinary parts of life. It’s in the valley that we understand just how deep the Father’s love is for us. In those moments when things aren’t necessarily grand and exciting I am often overwhelmed at how interested the Lord is in the small, boring details of my life.
Whenever I read Luke 16 I confess that I am tempted to consider ‘being faithful in the little things’ as a means to a prosperous end!
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can be trusted with much…”
But when you consider the rest of the chapter, Jesus ends by saying that we can’t serve both God and money. The Lord interprets our faithfulness with the little things as devoted service to Him! To come back to what the teacher from Rabboni shared, I felt encouraged afterwards to continue to serve to see these little ones come to Jesus.
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.”(Matthew19:14,NLT)
Let’s do everything we can to make sure that the children in our lives experience the Kingdom of heaven that the Lord says belongs to them. Often we overlook the fact that children need discipleship too. Yet the Bible says they are perfectly positioned to live the fullness of a Kingdom lifestyle; in fact adults are encouraged to be like children in that regard!
What I took from that teacher from Rabboni’s testimony is that our greatest impact on the next generation is seen when we do the little things well…now. When we do that, we naturally see that the Lord blesses us with more. Psalm 112:2 says that the generation of the upright will be blessed. It is in our little sacrifices to please the Lord that we secure the future of our children.
To end I want to encourage you with the lyrics to a song I wrote this week. I was so taken with this notion of ‘little movements’ that I wrote this worship song:
One Step Closer
V1.Teach me to walk out this journey
Lead me as I stumble through this valley
Save me when my soul is failing
Draw me closer to you…
Chorus
So I bring my offering to you
It’s not extravagant or huge
I take one step closer to you
The moments I take your breath away
Are not in over-the-top displays
They’re in the little movements
Little movements
V2.Hold me, as I press on this journey
Give me strength, when my soul is weary
Yet I know this will end in Your glory
I set my face towards you
Bridge
One touch and I’ll never be the same
So I’ll push through this crowd
I’ll push through this crowd
I will come
I will come
So I bring my offering to you
It’s not extravagant or huge
I take one step closer to you
The moments I take your breath away
Are not in over-the-top displays
They’re in the little movements
Little movements
