Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. ~ Proverbs 22:6
READING: I Corinthians 12:4-11
I found the model of the family farm to be a helpful analogy as we pondered how much to involve our children in the ministry. On a family farm, everybody pitches in and helps with chores; even the youngest can gather the eggs.
Church planting is a lot like a family farm because the church planter’s wife and children become an integral part of the functioning new church enterprise. In the long run, we found that our sons benefited from our reasonable expectation that they pitch in and help. This began with a light hand when they were about school age of us encouraging them to befriend newcomers who were their own age.
As they grew older, we gave them plenty of leeway to pick ministry “chores” around the church that they felt interested in exploring, and gave them freedom to fail within a safe environment. In Rosamond, our gregarious Andy (age 14) picked greeting as his niche. It cultivated his social skills and gave him confidence in group settings. Zach (11) thought he’d enjoy learning how to run the sound system. He became a dependable technician and had literally years of first-rate experience by the time he enlisted in the Army Signal Corps.
We found that our children rose to the challenge when our expectations took into account such factors as their maturity level, personality, giftedness and changing school obligations.
Come to think of it, what I’ve just described sounds pretty much the way I’d mentor any new believer or core group member!
Dear Father, Please help me to spot the unique personality and giftedness within each of my children and tailor my expectations to meet their individual needs. Amen.
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