Image (c) depositphotos.com/ sibgat
This summer the staff at our church is taking time to answer our invitations to visit and share a bit about what they do and how second graders can be a part of the work of Christ through our church.
Last Sunday the Associate Pastor came to visit. We were all pleasantly surprised with the kids’ responses when he asked them what it is he does. (Honestly, I don’t think some adults in our church could correctly answer that question for this behind-the-scenes servant.)
- You’re the assistant pastor. (Close enough.)
- You take over for the pastor when he is gone. (In many ways, yes.)
- You preach when the pastor is gone. (Not exactly. The youth minister likes that more, so our Associate Pastor is further down the list of fill-in people.)
- You disciple people. (Yes. He also coordinates disciple groups and adult Sunday school classes. Wait. Adults have Sunday school classes like we do? That is so weird.)
- You do missions stuff. (Yup.)
- You organize service projects. (Indeed! This may be what he is most known for in our church.)
All in all, a pretty accurate picture.
The kids were surprised by how much prayer went into all of these things. Prayer goes into deciding what to do. Prayer goes into deciding where to serve or go on a mission trip. Prayer goes into the planning. Prayer happens during and after events. Prayer is threaded through the entire process.
The kids in my class were then encouraged to continue serving as they had been in the past. They had each been part of one or more service projects. Several parents were plugged into disciple groups.
Before he left, the Associate Pastor gave each child a picture and asked us to pray for him and his family. They left on a mission trip with a group from our church this week. I was so proud when one girl in my class suggested we put it on our class bulletin board so we remember to pray for them next Sunday.
Before the Associate Pastor left to go back to his class, my kids, co-teachers, and I prayed for him, his family, and the mission team.
I hope the kids in my class took away what I did. They have an important role to play in our church. Their prayers are important and they are valuable in God’s work.
Associate Pastor, if you are reading this, thanks again for coming to encourage my kids to not wait until they are grown to serve the Lord.
We look forward to visits from other staff members later this summer.
