The Missing Piece

I had no idea that saying yes to the command “Get your guitar and your Bible and go back to Children’s Church” from my Pastor in 1977 would change my life forever. Not only has it changed me as a person and a Christ follower, it’s changed me as a husband, a father, an employee, a minister and has changed the lens I view everything through. It began a journey that at fifty-six years young and counting I’m still on, “to know God and love His word and help sons and daughters do the same.”  I’ve told this story for years but it bears repeating for the readers who have never heard it. I had been working with teenagers for the past 3 years serving in churches and playing in a Christian rock and roll band when my pastor came looking for me and told me to go cover children’s church for the teacher who called in last minute and informed him that she was not coming back. I wanted to help my pastor so I did what he had said. I grabbed my guitar and Bible and I went back to the old fellowship hall with seven kids. “How hard could this be?” I thought. The answer came just minutes into the hour and a half that turned into a month all in one day. It was the hardest thing I had ever done on short notice. I was not prepared and the kids could smell the fresh blood just like a group of sharks. They ate me up! I went to find my pastor as soon as the last child had been picked up and I wanted to know how long I was going to have to do this. I’ll never forget Brother Wilson’s reply to me, “You’ll need to do it until God raises up someone with a vision.” Immediately I began to pray, “Lord, give someone a vision for children’s ministry! Open their eyes Lord, and let them see the importance of reaching and teaching kids from your viewpoint! After praying that prayer and working with the children over the next several weeks I soon realized I was the someone that Jesus had given the vision to. How did I come to this realization? I had begun to see children’s ministry from a different viewpoint a Biblical view point. For the first time ever as a young Christ follower I began to see that children and the importance of ministering to them was in the Bible. I’ve tried to do other things in ministry but that vision, that view would not let me. I believe what’s missing from so many ministries and families is an understanding of life from a Biblical world view.