Kids are pretty stinkin’ amazing.  It blows my mind what they are capable of.  In fact, if you asked me what the biggest mistake I have made in children’s ministry is, I would tell you it is underestimating kids potential.  Whether it is memorizing scripture, raising money for missions, serving in ministry or whatever else, I don’t think kids are pressed to their full potential.  Too often they are simply minimized and marginalized.

That being said I also realize that kids also need help, and lots of it.  They need people speaking into their lives.  People coaching them.  People teaching them.  People mentoring them.  Sometimes, like the kid in the video below, they need someone to give them a little help…

If you can’t see the video click here.

Again, sometimes kids need that extra push, the extra encouragement to do their homework, or read their Bible.  They need involved moms and dads, and children’s pastors who care about them.  They need Sunday School teachers, and Royal Ranger commanders.  They need people who will help them reach their full potential and to figure out their problems.

The trouble is most people don’t take the time to speak into children’s lives.  Maybe it is because they don’t feel like they are good with kids, or maybe it is because they think they are too old to relate to kids.  Whatever the reason, it’s wrong.  The reality is kids need introverted non-wild people speaking into their lives just as much as they need the super kid friendly people.  They need more than just their friends and their parents generation speaking into their lives, they need to hear about the experiences of people from every age in the church.

In Deuteronomy 6 Moses states, “Hear O Israel, The Lord Our God The Lord is One….These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.”  Did you notice how this passage starts?  Moses begins by saying “Hear or Israel.”  Yes, this would have included parents, but it would have included everyone else in the community as well.  Raising a kid, although primarily the parents responsibility, was designed to be community event. But, again, too often often it doesn’t happen.  The trouble is most people in the church don’t take the time to speak into children’s lives.

What about you, when was the last time you spoke into a child’s life?  When was the last time you gave a kid a little help and guidance?