Life Changing Teaching in Children's Ministry

Taking a break from publishing parts of my thesis to bring exciting news

As part of EQUIP 010 the Children's Ministry Task Group brings you 3 seminars which will help you reach kids for God's kingdom. Ian & Yvonne Fletcher from Children's Bible  Ministries will lead sessions on Child Evangelism and Life Changing Teaching in Children's Ministry.


Then to end the day we will gather for a Children's Ministry Forum - an opportunity to learn from and help each other as well as thinking about how we can apply what Ian & Yvonne have taught us.

See you at EQUIP 010 at Papakura Wesleyan this Saturday 30 November.

For those not attending the whole National Conference the cost is $15 for the day which includes morning and afternoon refreshments and lunch


Blessings in Christ's name
Pastor Pete

Lesson One Seek help!

Following on from last week - more from my thesis looking at what John Wesley can teach us about reaching children in the 21st century

In order to provide some insight  into how it is possible to learn from Wesley for ministry in the twenty-first century, I will focus on six of the lessons we can learn. In doing so I will develop them with those involved in children’s ministry, whether as a Children’s Ministry Leader, Children’s Ministry worker, local church Pastor or local church leader, in mind. These six have been selected as they have, I suggest, special significance for children’s ministry in the twenty-first century as it seeks to define its role within the wider mission of the church, being that of fulfilling the great commission. They are also of importance as the church seeks to determine the nature of the ministry God requires of it in respect of children today. Most importantly, I believe they are significant for the twenty-first century church to learn as it decides what its role is in the nurture of children’s faith.

With that said I must declare here that, with Wesley, I believe God requires that the church train children in holiness thereby fitting them to be in right relationship with God, both in this world and the next. Therefore, whilst it is impractical to consider these lessons in any great depth the detail provided here is, I believe, sufficient to enable the church, and in particular those called to be involved in children’s ministry, to consider and adapt them for their own situation. Having done so it is my hope that they will feel better equipped and empowered to fulfil the trust that God has placed in them to train children in holiness as Wesley defined it.

There is one final comment that I need to make before proceeding to outline these lessons. That is that I deliberately take a very emphatic approach in discussing them. I make no apology for that as I believe that if we are to follow in Wesley’s footsteps and train children in holiness as Wesley defined it (and I believe that we should) then it is imperative that we learn and apply these lessons. It is not a case that we “should” or “can” learn them, I believe we “must” learn them if God’s purposes for children are to be achieved in the twenty-first century.

Lesson One: Seek Help

The first lesson is one which happens not just at the beginning but throughout the whole process including review, or at least it should do. In Wesley’s case we know that he sought help, and was prepared to learn, from others. We know, for instance that he spoke with a number of sensible men as he considered the state of eighteenth century education. Wesley was also heavily influenced by educational thinkers of his time and those who had gone before including his mother, Comenius,  Locke, and Law for it was from these that he synthesised his ideas.

There was however one source of help which overrode all others. That source being God, who we saw, was pre-eminent in Wesley’s theology. It began, ended and was permeated throughout with the grace of God, emanating from the love of God. In response to that love Wesley required that all whom God calls, and entrusts with the responsibility to minister to children, must rely on God to be empowered for the task, must seek God’s help and guidance, and must remain accountable to God.

That call is as relevant in the twenty-first century as it was when Wesley made it over two hundred years ago. Likewise his example of seeking help, and learning from others is one that all involved in children’s ministry today would do well to follow.

Blessings

Pastor Pete

Children in the theology of John Wesley (Part 2)

Part 2 in my series from my thesis "as a little child: Children in the Theology of John Wesley. Today the rest of the Introduction to the chapter presenting lessons for the 21st century church.

There are also lessons of character. By this I mean that, throughout the development and implementation of his educational views, Wesley displayed qualities which included strength of character, perseverance, authenticity, initiative, a willingness to do what had to be done, loyalty to his ideals and in particular to his theology, and above all a total reliance on God. Each of these could be outlined in considerable detail as his character traits would serve as a model for how we should act in the twenty-first century. Wesley would possibly consider this appropriate, given his requirement that parents, preachers, and teachers model good Christian behaviour as an example for children to follow.

Furthermore he has much to teach us about working with God in the missio Dei in the world. In particular we can learn from his belief that “whenever the Holy Ghost teaches, there is no delay in learning.” This has, I believe, salutary lessons for how our theology impacts the development and nurture of children’s faith in the twenty-first century.

No doubt others will be able to identify additional lessons which emerge from this brief contemplation of firstly Wesley’s theology, secondly the place of children in that theology and finally how his educational endeavours were informed by his view of children in his theology. If that is the case then another of the aims of this thesis will have been achieved.

Each of these lessons can also be thought about from a number of perspectives. We could, for example, focus on the lessons as they are applicable to that part of the body of Christ which traces its ancestry, so to speak, to the ministry of John Wesley. At the other end of the continuum we could consider these lessons from the perspective of the individual. In between there are ministry, local church, national church, international church and other perspectives which could, and should, be focused on.

In order to do so, that is consider all the possible lessons which Wesley can teach us from all perspectives, would however require a volume of work which is not feasible within the parameters of this thesis. As such they must wait for another time.

More food for thought ??

Blessings

Pastor Pete

Children in the Theology of John Wesley

As many of you following this blog know I have recently completed my MTh. My thesis focused on John Wesley and children. I will publish that in full shortly but to give you a taste of what is to come I will drip feed much of my last chapter out here over the next few weeks. This chapter is titled Concluding Reflections and Potential Applications and presents 6 of the many lessons I believe we can learn from Wesley which may be useful for those called to children’s ministry in the twenty-first century.


Today - the introduction - Lessons for the Twenty-first Century (part 1)
The second major aim of this thesis was to identify lessons from Wesley which may be useful for those called to children’s ministry in the twenty-first century. It is to this which we now turn. As we do so we recognise that his recognition that God works with children as children and not as “little adults” provides the basis for the most important of the many lessons this practical theologian teaches us. We will discuss that lesson later but for now note that with Wesley as a “theological mentor” we have the advantage of being able to learn from both his theology and his practical implementation of that theology.

For instance and perhaps not unsurprisingly given my project management background, I see that Wesley provides us with a planning and implementation framework which, at least in most respects, could serve as a model for planning and implementing any facet of children’s ministry. Indeed it is a model which would be useful in many situations because Wesley, probably without knowing it, followed a reasonably standard project methodology covering planning, implementation and review.

However, not only can we learn from the process he employed, we can also learn from the actions that he took particularly in implementing his educational views. We could for instance discuss his lack of understanding of the value of play in childhood. There is also value in considering his willingness to wait for the right people rather than rushing to appoint someone for the sake of getting things happening. Lastly, his willingness to tie his expectations as regards education into the wider requirements he placed on members of the Methodist movement, and in particular those he placed on his preachers, provides further valuable lessons for us.

Food for thought I hope

Blessings
Pastor Pete