Children Who Love the Church

Children’s Ministry is Our Mission

Jesus calls us to make disciples, teaching them to obey all that He has commanded. That’s what we do every week in children’s ministry.

On Sunday, we heard a testimony of how children’s ministry changed one young lady’s life. Read Natalie’s testimony below.

Good morning!

My name is Natalie. I'm a college student now, but back in the day, before we had all this fancy Grove stuff, I was one of the original children in our children’s ministry. And let me tell you, it made a difference in my life.

Pizza parties. Goldfish. Crafts. Bible lessons. My time in the garden was not only fun, but also spiritually enriching and impactful. I can still remember. I look back on those Sundays and see how God used my teachers and all of their efforts to plant the seeds of faith. I know not everyone has fond memories of being dropped off by your parents into a pen of crying kids, but I do. Let me share why.

First, I learned new things in children’s ministry. While sometimes it was just a repeat of what I heard at home, sometimes you just need another voice. Or goldfish.

Children’s ministry sparked a curiosity and thirst to learn more about God in me. And this continued as I grew older. My small questions about Jesus have turned into bigger questions. And the answers are leading me to pursue truth and understanding and, from this, I’m experiencing a joy that, in some ways I can trace back to the lessons I learned out there in the garden.

Second, the lessons themselves. I really appreciate how everything our children’s ministry teaches is grounded in the Bible and centered on Christ.

One lesson that I remember in particular was where we were learning about the attributes of God. We were going through the alphabet and each week we introduced a new word that described God. I learned new words such as Yahweh and omnipotent through these lessons. And while the lessons were filled with crafts, activities, and goldfish, they really have made an impact on my faith.

Anyways, I remember learning (for example) about how God calls himself a jealous God. That he wants our worship for himself. This still sticks with me and I regularly think back to it. It is still changing how I think about the Lord, even while a college student.

One last thing I’m grateful for as I think back upon my time in the garden. It was the love I was shown by the church. The care and attention I was shown by the volunteers made a real impression upon me as a little girl. I felt blessed to be loved by the whole church…not just some of the church but the whole church.

This was an invaluable lesson for me. For as the church loved me, I was being taught that even more so, Jesus loves me. In fact, the relationships I had with some of my Children’s Ministry teachers have continued. They don’t offer me goldfish anymore, but instead I enjoy their friendship and mentorship and fellowship. I think this may be the most underappreciated part of why we do Children’s Ministry. For if the Lord blesses the Grove, many of today’s teacher-student relationships will turn into deeper relationships in the years to come. I am so thankful for the effort they put into sharing the gospel with me as a child and continue to nourish now as an adult.

Our children’s ministry not only offered me Jesus, it gave me a love for the local church.

This is why I’m happy to serve in our children’s ministry, even when I’m only back for a few weeks on break. There are a lot of kids out there. And what you are doing out there is making a difference in here among the new grown-ups like me.

So thank you. Thanks for missing sermons to share Christ with the children and to teach them that the happiest place in Old Towne Orange is the church.

We hope and pray that God does for more kids what He’s done for Natalie.

Will you join us in our passion to spread the joy of Jesus to the next generation? Contact the church office and we’ll get you all the information you need to serve.