With all my props in tow, I headed to Baltimore for one last service as a Children’s Missionary Consultant. It’s been a wonderful experience and I’ve been blessed by the time spent with the leadership, the kids and the people I’ve met.
Today was a reminder that as leaders we have a profound impact on the kids we teach each week. We need to be constantly reminded that our words our powerful, even more so in the mind of a child. Let me share why I make that comment on this particular day.
As I entered the children church room, I entered with anticipation and excitement. I chose to share a topic about “Simplicity” and how clutter in our lives gets between us and God.
It was my goal to help them understand Luke 18:22.¬† Jesus is asking them to help the poor by giving up or selling ‘stuff’ that clutters and then they can follow Him.
A few more points and object lessons later the service ended with prayer as parents came to pick up their children.
One little girl and her mother waited patiently afterward to ask me a question. I bent over and the little girl said she had brought her mother so that she could buy something from my garage sale. It was a pure and loving request. I had to gently explain to her that I was pretending. She had gotten my point and realized that she could make a difference, if not by selling then by buying from my garage sale. She knew that the money would go to the poor.
Kids take to heart what you have to say and respond to the needs of others. We could easily overlook this lesson for ourselves that’s why I believe in training and the importance it plays in our effectiveness as teachers and leaders. Children have amazingly giving hearts. We can’t dare miss the opportunity to help shape that heart into one that recognizes and acts on that compassion for others.