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Oftentimes in children’s ministry, I come across a blog or a magazine articles that laments the fact that people think of children’s ministry as childcare.
Well, I am here to tell you that that is exactly what is.
Yes, yes, if you are committed to it and doing it right, children’s ministry is all about leading kids to Christ and discipling them to follow him. That is our mission. That is our goal. That is our passion! But, when it comes right down to it, we do provide child care. We provide a kind of child care more valuable, more foundational and more absolutely necessary that any other. Let’s see why.
Proverbs 4:23 tells us:
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
We provide child care because we care for the hearts of the children that are entrusted to us. By helping them to build a relationship with God and showing them how to seek Him with their whole heart, we care for those little hearts.
Proverbs 3:20-21 tells us:
My son, do not lose sight of these—
keep sound wisdom and discretion,
and they will be life for your soul
and adornment for your neck.
We do provide childcare because we care for the souls of the children who are entrusted to us. By giving them a solid foundation in Jesus Christ, we give them the tools to withstand the storms that life will send at them. By teaching them sound doctrine and theology, we give them life for their souls from God. So, yes we do provide childcare because we care for their souls.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to:
test everything; hold fast what is good.
We provide childcare because we care for the minds of the children who are entrusted to us. By teaching them that faith is built on a solid foundation revealed to us in the Bible and not on blind acceptance, we teach them to engage God with their minds. By encouraging them to question what they are being taught, we care for those burgeoning minds.
Finally, Ephesians 6:10-17 is a familiar passage on the whole armor of God. It reads:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
We provide childcare because we care for the strength of the children that are entrusted to us. By teaching them the Bible, truth, righteousness, and the gospel, and by helping them to build their faith in God on a solid foundation, we care for their strength.
So next time you tell someone that you work or volunteer in children’s ministry and they ask you about providing childcare, raise your head high and tell them the truth:
We do provide childcare. We care for the heart, soul, mind and strength of God’s children on a weekly basis so that they may love him with all their heart, and all of their soul, and all of their mind, and all of their strength.
See, there is no shame in providing childcare!
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I think the bigger issue is educating the parents. I’ve seen too many treat the ministry as babysitting. They’ll stay really late in their event, not thinking that the people who are ministering to their kids may have a place to be now that it’s 20-30 minutes past the scheduled end time. It does tend to be demeaning to those who are really in it for the care/ministry part because too many treat it just as babysitting. If they just want a place to drop their kids off and don’t care what happens, then we may as well just hire some people to sit there with magazines. If they are dropping them off for ministry and realize that, it’s a whole different story.
Speaking up mainly because I’ve seen too many treat it flippantly. I agree that it is important and useful for many parents, but I don’t think a lot of them get the fact that it can, and should, go beyond that. :(
I have always been ‘insulted’ by the fact that church looks at CM as child care…this article adds a new insight to me…I like it…
Thanks! I needed that. Also, to add to it, we provide child care so the parents may be fed without distractions so that in turn, they can minister to their own families. …another helps ministry :) glad to be a part of it.
I think people who bristle against the term “childcare” have a misguided image of what that means – they picture a room full of screaming 3 year olds running around like crazy people while a teenage girl flips through a magazine. No wonder they don’t like being associated with that! But I don’t know of a single church that does “childcare” that way.
In reality, most of us who care for children, whether at church or elsewhere, are doing more of what this article talks about, caring for the body, mind and spirit of each child we interact with.
That being said, as the mother of children ages 2 and 4, I desperately need someone else to care for my children once in a while so that I can listen to a sermon without fighting over Cheerios or sing a song without someone pulling on my shirt. Parents need the encouragement and edification that comes from corporate worship, just as much as young children need to learn what the Bible says for their lives.
So, as a teacher, I do my best to provide each child with the very best spiritual experience possible. As a parent, I just want some time away from my precious angels:)
As a parent, a church that provides “childcare” is OK by me – absent of the magazine flipping teen, of course!
Heather,
Thanks for your comment. I think you have hit on something important. I think another problem with a vitriolic response to the term childcare is that sometimes that what parents want. They just want a break so they can go ans worship. We can, and should, take advantage of that time to disciple their kids, but even if they only view it as childcare for a while so they can get away, their kids are still getting the benefit of God’s Word. Thanks again!
Wayne
True parents need a break and for the youngest children, mostly what we do is ‘childcare’ as opposed to education. We make sure they are safe, happy, having fun and learn that ‘going to church’ is a ‘good thing”. Children under 3 do not need to be doing more than simple stories and crafts and then mostly free play. They are learning that the important adults in their lives think God and Jesus are important and that is about as far as it goes. As they get older (the age can vary), we start in with actual Bible teaching and by that age they should be able to sit in with the parents during church. If they are in Sunday School, which we would call the classes children go to where they are actually taught the Word and do more advanced learning activities, that should not be called child care. Thanks for your wonderful resources. I love this website! Paula Adams, SS teacher and homeschooling mother of 6
Gotta love provocative blog titles. :)
Wayne, I understand what you have written, and I think it is a clever use of terminology in order to get the attention of childcare critics. However, many people who hear or read this will get stuck at, “We do provide childcare.” They will not have the patience to listen longer and hear, “We care for the heart, soul, mind and strength of God’s children on a weekly basis so that they may love him with all their heart, and all of their soul, and all of their mind, and all of their strength.” So, when they reflect on what they have read or have been told, they will remember the term childcare and associate it with their previous experiences and perceptions, rather than with your eloquent restatement of what it ought to mean.
Mr. Butterfield’s comment seems to be a good example of what I mean. He does not deal with your statement of what you mean by childcare and indeed seems to ignore it. He appears to take exception instead to your use of the word childcare. My initial thoughts were similar, and I agree with his statement that what we ought to be doing is “discipleship.” Yet, a careful reading of your text reveals that discipleship is precisely what you are promoting, although you do not use that term. Further, I agree with his call to disciple “parents to disciple their kids.” What occurs at home is, indeed, of paramount importance. Yet, I would add that what occurs at church is very important, too. Especially since many parents of children that the church influences are not believers, and many who are believers are not yet at the point of maturity to disciple their children intentionally.
However, what happens at home was not the primary point of your post, as I see it. I perceive (correct me if I am wrong) that your point was to respond positively, rather than defensively, to people who call children’s ministry in the local church childcare by redefining what childcare means in the context of the local church.
The problem is that once you use the term childcare, the conversation will be over for most people. This tactic might work for those who know you and trust you. Others will probably get stuck way back at the beginning, wondering why the church is merely providing childcare, rather than training children to follow Jesus and understand the Bible.
By the way, many childcare facilities do much to train children in the Scriptures and to follow Jesus. I know. I used to work at one in my youth.
Good job making us think, even if we don’t always agree on every point. :)
Glen,
What? You don’t always agree with me on everything? I’m hurt! :) Thanks for your comment. I agree about blog titles. I wrestle with them sometimes, and some of the most negative feedback I’ve ever received came because someone didn’t read past the title to see what the article was really all about. I never title things just to get people to read them, but I do sometimes throw something out there because I want people to stop and think.
Thanks again for your comment and your insights. They are always valuable to me.
Take Care,
Wayne
Yikes! This is more than a terminology issue – it is also a leadership and Biblical issue. Honestly, if we are going to just call it Childcare, then we might as well as stop doing all educating of children in the church – b/c what happens at home is far more important anyway…
But again, what we are doing – or SHOULD be doing – is discipleship. We should be discipling parents to disciple their kids – anything else is less effective and possibly un-Biblical.
Dean,
I agree wholeheartedly. I would argue that discipling kids is the greatest care we can afford them. The whole point of my article was that we should be focused on discipleship (though I don’t think I ever used the word). We should care for the mind, heart, soul and every aspect of the child. We should not get hung up on terminology.
2 Timothy 2:14 – “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.”
I get what you are saying, but it is the terminology used. We do provide childcare but we need to get aware from that label. It is more than childcare; it is Christian childhood education, childhood classes. I deal with this terminology on both sides of my career choices: children’s ministry and early childhood center. Many of my students’ parents say daycare. Yes, we keep their children while they are working during the day, but we are teaching them early childhood/preschool concepts, preparing them for kindergarten, teaching them daily living life/social skills.
Thanks for your post. Let’s rally to change the terminology. Let’s make it Christian early childhood education. :)
Brenna,
Thanks for the comment. While I agree that we do so much more than just daycare, and part of our role is to educate parents about what we do, I think expending effort against terminology is a losing battle and not a great use of time. Rather, I would like to see the term redeemed so that when people talk about child care at church they understand that it is not “just babysitting” but so much more!
Good point! I’ve always bristled when someone says something about child care and this is a great way of thinking about it and of helping people see the diffference between what we do and what the world thinks of as child care.
Bethany,
Thank you. I think you really got the point of the article. I think so many people get upset by the phrase because they feel like it demeans the work that we do. I couldn’t care less about the phrase so long as I get a chance to share the love of God with a child. My only point with the whole article is that we do care for kids – heart, mind, soul and strength. Thanks for the comment!