IS THE STAFF AT YOUR AFTER SCHOOL MINISTRY PREPARED/TRAINED TO RELATIONALLY MINISTER TO THE CHILDREN?
Imagine that someone came running in yelling,
“Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming! He’s going to be over at the park
on ______________________.”
Some of you would rush out because you would really want to see Jesus. Wow! What an exciting afternoon.
Others of you know this is going to be a juicy afternoon. The Pharisees are going to be there! Will they be able to trap Jesus this time?
Can you picture Jesus sitting there on a rock? The crowd is seated down all around him and there is a sense of excitement.
How will Jesus answer the difficult questions that the Pharisees are putting to him?
The air is filled with tension!
Jesus is calm. He knows that He has the answers and He gives them slowly and deliberately. You marvel at how He never falters. The Pharisees are never able to stump Him.
A baby in his mother’s arms begins to whimper. He has been sick for more than a week. She has taken him to all the doctors. She has done everything that everyone has suggested, but still the baby has become more ill. She looks down at the pain-filled face of her precious infant thinking,
“Oh, if only I could have Jesus lay His hands on my baby.”
The mother looks at the crowd that is between her and Jesus. A shiver runs down her spine; she knows what she has to do, but she is afraid. What will people think? What will the Pharisees say when she interrupts?
The baby whimpers again. The mother knows she must get her baby to Jesus.
She stands and begins to move, cautiously at first.
Then a father on the other side of the crowd sees her and, looking at his sixth grade son thinks, “Oh, if I can just get my son to Jesus, perhaps He’ll pray for him; then I know he
will be less rebellious.
Suddenly others see and join them, pushing forward with their children, wanting so badly to bring their children to Jesus.
BUT – there is a barrier! How do they get past those 12 men?
“Don’t bother Jesus with the children. Can’t you see He is in an important debate right now? Take the children away,” one of the men shouts.
“Move back! Move back! You are disrupting things! People can’t hear with your crying baby. Take it to the back where it won’t be disruptive!”
Can you hear the rebukes of the disciples as they push the people back?
But listen to Jesus’ words:
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Look what happens next! It says so much about the importance of our ministry to the children.
Jesus took the children in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.
Jesus didn’t minister from a distance. He did not hold his hand out and bless the mass of children from afar.
No, He took the children in His arms. He touched them! He held them!
Can you see the mother as she lays her precious infant in Jesus’ arms? Jesus looks gently down at him and smiles. He softly touches the baby’s forehead. What sweet words of blessing is Jesus praying over the child?
Watch for a few moments as Jesus takes one child after another and blesses them.
As you begin a new school year how are you going to bless the children? What does relational ministry mean to you?
Contact me at wanda@kidtrek if you need some help to think this through. How much of a difference do you want to make in the lives of the children you serve in the coming year?
KidTrek - After School Programs 