GKids: Why It Matters

My girls love to watch their favorite TV shows when given the opportunity. My six year old loves Disney Channel shows such as Shake It Up, Good Luck Charlie, and Jessie. My three year old prefers Nickelodeon shows such as Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, and Bubble Guppies. They love the characters, the music, and how the shows engage them. Especially for my three year old. Each morning after breakfast, you can hear her answering Dora's every question; yes my child talks to the TV. (So do I occasionally when my team is not winning.) One year, we took our oldest to the Nickelodeon park at King's Island in Ohio. She absolutely loved it! There was people dressed as all of the famous characters. There were rides just for her, water parks, train rides, music, dancing, parades, and more! To see the joy it brought her was worth the trip alone. 

I say all of that to say this; what is the church doing to engage our kids and inspire them the way that Disney or Nickelodeon are doing? I have seen too many churches offer absolutely nothing for their kids and then wonder why they grow up and leave the church. Nothing to engage them, nothing to inspire them, nothing to pull out their gifts and talents. My six year old loves Shake It Up because she can stand in the center of our living room and put on her own dancing performance as if she were performing in front of thousands. She expresses herself out of inspiration and joy. The same should be for the church. 

If you're a parent, you know one thing to be true: it's really hard. But you also know another truth; it's totally worth it! You see, some people look at it like we have to "compete" with Disney and Nickelodeon. But that's not true. Because if God, the ultimate creative being, is dwelling inside of us then no one else stands a chance. It's no competition if it's God inspired! 

One of our core values is that 'We Invest in the Next Generation'. Here's what I want you to know about our kid ministry and what we strive to do:

1. The Kids Should Have the Time of Their Life

Most kids that we deal with come from very tough homes. No father, maybe no mother, broken home, abuse, neglect, substance abuse, you name it. They sit at school all week in a seat and are told to be still. Then, many of them go home to an environment that is not very encouraging or inspiring. Then, if they do get taken to church, many of them tell them to be still and be quiet.

I want our kids to come to church and think; "this is the greatest place on earth" because we are extension of what heaven will be like! I want them to express themselves, I want them to be passionate, to dance, to sing, to shout, to be too loud, to be a part of something that's inspiring and life changing! Yes, it's okay to have fun in church and don't let any pruned up, negative, ungrateful, bitter "christian" tell you otherwise! Jesus drew children to Him: 

13One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”15And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.- (Matthew 19:13-15)

Kids aren't drawn to boring people who are not fun. I believe Jesus was fun and loved kids.

2. Kids Can Learn and Serve

The 2 questions we want every kid to answer when they leave GKids is simple: Did you have fun? What did you learn?

If they can answer the 1st question with a "yes" and then tell their parents what they learned then it's a huge win for our ministry. Kids learn better in an environment of inspiration and excitement. Not only that, but kids LOVE to serve! Heck, some of our kids love to serve more than the adults. Why? They have the heart of Jesus. Don't sell kids short, they have a huge purpose for the Kingdom.

3. Be Creative and High Energy

We want Disney and Nickelodeon to pale in comparison to the church. My kids love coming to church. They love GKids. There's no place they would rather be and as a parent that makes me extremely happy. Have you ever been to an animal exhibit or a zoo show? The performers/trainers are so good at capturing kids' attention and engaging them. They speak on their level and with excitement. That's exactly what we strive for in GKids. Creativity, Passion, Love, and Preparation should drive all we do.

4. We Need As Many Team Owners As Possible

We will have hundreds, yes hundreds, of kids at Easter. One thing you see at many churches is that no one wants to work with kids. But they want you to fix their kid. I challenge every person that can to sign up to serve in GKids. I want there to be an army of people serving to make GKids THE place to be each week! Many people don't realize all of the volunteers it takes to make a ministry like this happen. We need teachers, ushers, team leaders, small group leaders, worship leaders, actors for skits, and just people who love to encourage kids. 

In less than 2 weeks we will transform the gym into a Willy Wonka style Fun Factory. Golden tickets, lollipop trees, chocolate fountains, zoo trip giveaways, King's Island giveaways, candy, and more. Not only that, but at each station a different part of the gospel story will be shared and kids will have a chance to respond to the gospel message. It will be the biggest and best service yet for our kids. This Saturday, so many of our kids will be hitting the streets of Portland to "Egg the City". Passing out plastic eggs filled with candy and Easter invites, our kids know the value of inviting others to church. Especially during the biggest celebration of the year, the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus!

So parents, please know that GKids matters. And we have barely scratched the surface in what we want to see happen with this ministry. It's going to be huge, influential, and innovative. Because we believe that we are raising up world changers that will one day carry the legacy that is Generation Church.