Are We Seeing Clearly in 2020?

As we approached the year 2020, many looked at it as a year where we would see clearly. Where we would have a clear vision of where God was leading us. My question to ponder is… are we seeing clearly in 2020?

I am often seen as rogue with some of my perspectives as I have defended families over the years if they chose to attend a sporting event over attending church – whether Sunday morning, Awana, or any other church activity. I have not supported the interpretation of Deuteronomy 6 where many share that it specifically states that it is the parents’ role to disciple their child, not the church – no where does the text refer to parents, the entire nation of Israel is being addressed, whether married, single, with and without children.

I may be seen as rogue with this assessment as well. A role I accept willingly. Some will take this personally. It is not specific to any one individual or ministry, so if you have a sense of guilt, then it may be the Holy Spirit stirring something in you. This is written from observations I have personally made, albeit limited as they may be, these are my observations and thoughts. May it initiate discussion and seeking God so we may see clearly what God is showing us at this time.

During this time of COVID-19 when many churches are not meeting together in a building as we are used to doing, many of those serving in children’s ministry are becoming discouraged because families are not engaging in the content we are providing them. While many are producing content to reach families, the metrics we use to determine success in ministry no longer exist and those who are sharing that their efforts are successful are not seeing 100% participation. I cannot confirm the stat, but someone has posted that it seems like only about 20% of those in our ministries are engaging with the content we are producing (this is not a blanket stat, percentages vary by ministry/church).

What I find interesting is that for many years another similar stat has been proliferated, that 75-80% of youth walk away from church when they turn 18. For many years we have blamed youth ministry (6th – 12th grade) for not being relevant. Are the COVID-19 restrictions illuminating that the problem may be with children’s ministry and not youth ministry alone?

If only about 20% are engaged in our content, and only 20% remain after their high school years, then is there a correlation? Have they ever really been connected to God, had a true relationship with Him?

Sure, we can blame families and parents as many are doing. It is easy to the point the finger elsewhere and not look inward. I firmly believe that now is the time to look inward and evaluate our ministries to see if we are doing what God would have us do or if we are following societal and peer pressures. By peer pressure I mean the comparing we may do to try to be like, or copy, other “successful” ministries.

I say it often, my greatest fear is that a child grows up in the church and never comes to know Jesus because we assume they do because they attend regularly. I see people share how the kids were worshiping because they were doing the motions to a song. I can do the hand jive to the Fruit of the Spirit song and not be worshiping. If you gauge my spiritually by how well I know the motions to a song, or how many Awana handbooks I complete, then you are looking at the wrong metric.

As Awana initiates the discussion about making resilient disciples, the question becomes, what about the 80% that we are not engaging now? The reality. We will never reach 100%. That does not mean that we do not attempt, or care, for the 100%, but perfection is an unrealistic goal. How do I know that? Scripture tells us that when Satan was kicked out of Heaven, that one-third of the angels fell with him. If one-third of the angels that live in the spiritual realm rejected God, then what percentage of mankind will reject God?

So again, how do we seek to reach the 80%, knowing many will not respond? From the answers I have seen on Facebook, it is to have fun activities. So now we have them engaged, but are they being discipled? I am not saying that children cannot be discipled using fun methods, but fun for the sake of fun is not discipleship. It may help build some relationships, but a relationship with us does not get them to be saved from their sin… unless our relationship leads them to Jesus. We say that Jesus is enough, but when they don’t engage with Jesus (or how we believe they should engage with our content), we go to fun and use the metric of attendance and participation which help us believe that we are reaching children with the Gospel, when we may just be providing them an activity (i.e. childcare). Yes, I said it – childcare.

The truth of the matter is that people, including children, want you to be genuine. If your main focus is on games and fun events with Jesus as a sideshow, then they will come to expect the show. I have shared with some that the issue some ministry leaders face now is that they built their ministries to be like Disney, and now Disney is closed. They can no longer attract them in with the glitz and wonder of Disney, they only have the wonder of God with an inability to “bring them in” and they are struggling.

There are those who will only read into this that I am against fun in children’s ministry. That is not what I said. When the focus becomes more on fun and activities then it does on sharing the things of God, then the fun and activities can become gods that we are leading children toward and when those gods fail to meet their expectations or needs, then they will be more likely to leave and seek a god that will meet their current need and give them hope.

If we want to see clearly in 2020 what God is showing us and where He is leading us, then now is the time to seek Him as ministry as we have become accustomed to ended. Many are seeking to return to status quo, the way things were before COVID-19, but is that what God desires? What lessons can be learned during this time to help us make resilient disciples?

How are we preparing for the new ministry year beginning in late summer?

How would you evaluate your ministry during this time?

Do you believe that you are being used by God during this time?

Do you see your ministry as ineffective? If so, why?

I will be taking a deeper look at some of these things in the next few posts as Awana initiates the discussion on making resilient disciples. It is a discussion that we all need to be involved.