This Article is Not Just for Kids
On January 8, 2023, as lots of children were making their way to the front of the auditorium during the Evening Gathering, Pastor Conley said this:
“You know, it does my heart (and actually it does the heart of the other people here) a lot of good to see all of you coming up here... And, in fact, if the truth were known, probably the favorite part of morning and evening service might be just now, and it’s in part because of you. And the reason it’s important is [because] sometimes we think that to serve God we have to be a grown-up. And the fact is, to serve God, you can be a kid. It’s all about whether you know Jesus or not and the light that he has given to you.”
This kind of heart reflects the heart of Jesus for children. Jesus said it this way:
“Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Luke 18:16-17
Since it became a regular part of our Evening Gathering in 2018, Not Just for Kids has been a highlight for…well…not just for kids! And we don’t just do this so that kids have some wiggle time during our Evening Gathering (though that’s a side benefit, for sure!). We believe that it is a valuable thing to talk directly to the children of the church. And we see great value in the children of our church getting to know the teaching pastor of the church. We want to communicate to our children that corporate worship is for them, too. They do not have to wait to be an adult in order to be a meaningful participant in our services.
Since 2018, we have recorded over 120 episodes of Not Just for Kids. And now, all of these episodes (generally around 5 minutes in length) are available on our website for you to watch with your children. You can find them on the homepage of our website by hovering over the Members tab. Our hope is that these will be useful to you, parents, as you disciple your children, and that they will be useful to you, grandparents, as you spend meaningful time with your grandchildren. We’ve recorded over 10 hours of Not Just for Kids, and we’ll continue to add episodes weekly.
Some in our church might find these useful for family worship. You could watch an episode, discuss it briefly, sing a song, and pray in about 10-15 minutes. Certain episodes will address topics that you want to discuss with your child. For example, if you want to talk to your child about authority, you might want to go back to September 2, 2018, and watch “Awards and Authority” together. Or if your child is struggling with thinking that the world would be much better if he could just do whatever he wanted, you could watch “Traffic Lights and Humanism” from January 26, 2020. Or if you want to just stand in awe of how awesome God is, you could watch “Turkish Fabric and the Manifold Wisdom of God” from February 27, 2022. Of course, there will be all-time favorites, like when the life-size Roman solider showed up on February 5, 2023!
However you choose to use these, our hope and prayer is that they will serve you as you continue to pursue your God-given role of bringing your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In a modern culture that cares little for children, Christian families have a great opportunity to raise a generation of children who understand the truth, love the gospel, and serve the church and the world. May God do this in our church family.
…and that’s not just for kids!