Jesus said, “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14
We don’t mean to hinder children in the church, but if we view children’s ministry as an auxiliary ministry of the church—something that happens “over there” out of the sight and mind of church leadership and the church body—we are unintentionally hindering their spiritual growth.
This doesn’t mean that peer-based ministry isn’t important or needed. But fully fostering a child’s spiritual growth requires more. We are already seeing an increasing dropout of church attenders among each passing generation. According to a Pew Research study, 31% of Millennials have no faith affiliation.
If we expect young adults to participate in the body of Christ, then we must start with the participation of children. Research by Barna notes that by age nine, most children have their spiritual moorings in place, and their spiritual identity is set by age thirteen.
What does this mean for the church? If you want to have an impact on the next generation, then we must begin with children. And if we want to impact the next generation for a lifetime, we must view children’s involvement as more than a separate peer-based ministry and instead, include and empower them to participate in the mission and ministry of the church.
