It can be difficult to truly appreciate the challenge of James to “count it all joy” as we consider the impact that COVID-19 has had on the state of our ministries over the past months. We know that we cannot afford to stop ministering just because we’ve had to stop meeting. We know that sometimes God grows things by breaking them. Still, lockdown does not seem like something to be thankful for. It can feel like an impenetrable barrier to ministry. Many of us have felt severely restricted in our ability to reach and teach and worship and influence. In some parts of the country, people have started to meet again, but we may still be weeks or months away from being back to anything that resembles the normal that we took for granted just seven months ago. Is it really realistic to think that anyone could have an effective ministry during a time when they can’t gather together in person? Paul did.

Paul must have experienced frustration similar to what we feel now, only his situation was due to actual imprisonment. After going to Rome in about 60A.D., Paul was put under house arrest and held for two years (Acts 28:30-31). But a lack of proximity and personal freedom didn’t hinder his ministry. Although he was not able to travel freely to visit churches in person, his ministry was not hindered—it was amplified! Paul didn’t stop doing discipleship or serving the church during his imprisonment. Instead of preaching and teaching in person, he wrote letters. Aren’t we glad that he did! The things he wrote at that time have influenced people for centuries, and continue to speak to the church today; people that Paul would never meet, in places he would never go. God sovereignly used Paul’s imprisonment to exponentially increase the reach of his teaching over both space and time.

Paul wrote four epistles during his imprisonment: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. These four letters contain powerful and influential spiritual truths, including: 

• Salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:4-10)
• The Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20)
• All is loss compared to knowing Jesus (Philippians 3:7-11)
• Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable (Philippians 4:8-9)
• I can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13)
• Putting on love and a heart of forgiveness (Colossians 3:12-14)
• Doing everything in the name of Jesus (Colossians 3:17)
• Principles of repentance, forgiveness and restoration (Philemon)

Paul wrote letters because that was the most effective tool he had available to do ministry from lockdown. I suspect that if he had the option he may have also used email, or made YouTube videos, or hosted FaceBook Live sessions. Paul is a wonderful example of a minister with a message that could not be deterred by distance or deferred because of inconvenience. He should serve to provide great encouragement to us as we face the potential distraction and discouragement of our current crisis. 

Like Paul, may we not be hindered by our present inability to meet in person. Like Paul, let’s not be shaken by our circumstances . Like Paul, let’s choose instead to find alternate ways to do ministry from anywhere. Who knows–like Paul–God may use us to reach people we’ll never meet, in places we’ll never go, to increase the reach of the Gospel for His glory.

Chuck Peters is Director of Operations for LifeWay Kids. Before his role at LifeWay, Chuck had an extensive career in television and video production. He is a 3-time Emmy Award Winning producer, director, writer and host. A graduate of Columbia Bible College, Chuck, and his wife, Cris, have served vocationally & voluntarily in Student and Children’s Ministry for many years. They have four amazing children: Tally (21), Tristen (20), Tyson (14) and Tate (11). 

For a lot of us ministry has always been connected to spaces and places. A lot of kids ministries — and churches in general — find a lot of their identity in where they meet. — Some of us have cool large-group gathering spaces with stages, screens, lighting & theater seating.  You may have a kids hall with murals on the wall. You might have classrooms with TVs and technology, or resource rooms that are filled to the rim with glitter and glue and rolls of colored paper. You might have a gym or playground, or a ball field… or maybe you have little classrooms for each age group that your teachers have decorated with a personal and individualized touch. Maybe it’s formal. Maybe it’s casual. Maybe it’s traditional. Maybe it’s modern.

Find Kids Ministry From Anywhere Resources Here.

Whatever your space looks like, you have a space. And whatever space you have has likely played a large part in defining the way that your ministry feels and functions. I know a lot of you who put a LOT of thought into choosing your paint colors, and arranging your rooms and making your kids areas attractive and appealing and fun and conducive to whatever kind of kids ministry you like run — 

But right now…  you’re probably not using those spaces very much. Even if you have begun meeting again, it’s likely at a reduced capacity. — Because of COVID our spaces are emptier and quieter than they have ever been.  

For a lot of us Kids Ministry has always been something that kids COME TO. And largely, coming to our places and being in our spaces has been prerequisite to ministry happening. Ministry happens when we are together in the same place at the same time. Ministry has been about those moments. Those regular touchpoints. Those real-time interactions with the kids who SHOW UP. 

Anyone who misses a meeting misses out. 

They miss the moment. 

Miss the message. 

Miss the MINISTRY.

Now… We have all always known that the real church isn’t a building. Every one of us could preach a sermon or lay out a lesson that passionately proclaims that the church is the people not the steeple. Even so… that hasn’t kept us from relying on locations as we serve in our vocations.

Our ministries haven’t only been limited by location, they have been tied to times. It’s not just where we gather, it’s when we gather. We ‘minister’ on Sunday mornings from 8-11, Sunday nights from 6-7:30 — Wednesdays from 7-8:15. We don’t just need to be in the same place, we need to be there at the same time. Those meeting times have become… sacred. 

We are all mourning the loss of gathering. We all want to be back together. So our default tendency might be to wait and watch and wonder what’s going to happen next and when this will all be over, so we can just get back to normal. — But while we wait, time is slipping away.

In Eph 5:16 Paul warns us, the church, to make the most of the time that we have because the days are evil — the implication is that time is short and there’s urgency around the gospel. We don’t have a moment to miss or a minute to waste.

We can’t afford to wait for the old normal to come back. We can’t afford to wait for our kids to come back to our places and our spaces. We can’t wait for them to come to us. — We have to actively, URGENTLY seek out new ways to go to them — wherever they are. 

A lot of people in the business world have adjusted to a new way of working — they have learned to WFA to ‘work from anywhere’ — We need to adapt to do CFA (Church from anywhere)… KMFA Kids Ministry from Anywhere…so we can continue to connect with our kids and to connect our kids with the truth of God’s Word no matter where they are. 

This isn’t all about mastering technology… although, if you can make simple videos, or host a Zoom meeting, or post material online… technology makes this easier than ever before. — It’s not about your personal technical aptitude… it’s about your attitude. It’s about your desire and determination. Virus or no virus, our ministry to kids must not be deterred and it can not be deferred. We have to find new ways to reach our kids and to teach our kids and to disciple our kids. The mission is too important. The gospel is too urgent. Our time to influence is too short. 

If we can’t meet with kids in our churches, we need to meet them in their Mailbox, or inbox, or Online… and when we do we can’t just wing it. We need to stay faithful to teaching trustworthy biblical content. This isn’t a time to change WHAT we teach, but HOW we reach. 

Yes we are facing obstacles. But every obstacle is an opportunity. — Satan wants us to give up and bow out. He wants us to think this is a terrible time for ministry. But he is dead wrong. He wants this to be a WAIT TIME… but God can make this a great time. A great time to minister!

• This Is a great time to review and revisit your mission and vision and values 
• This is a great time to update your policies and procedures
• This is a great time to equip and empower your current volunteers 
• This is a great time to recruit new leaders with new skill sets for a new season. 
• This is a great time to tap into the training on MinistryGrid.com and Kidsministry101.com
• This is a great time to double down on equipping families to do discipleship at home.
• This is a great time to invest more energy than ever into resourcing moms and dads and grandparents. 
• This is a great time to leverage the digital components of your curriculum. 
• This is a great time to teach kids to have their own personal walk with Jesus by spending time in His Word on their own
• This is a great time to reinforce the fact that God knows their names and their situations and that He loves them and has a plan for their lives. 
• This is a great time to remind kids that no matter what happens, God is all-powerful, sovereign and good.

If you need ideas, we are here to help! The LifeWay Kids team has created a webpage dedicated to helping you find new ways to disciple kids. Here you’ll find strategy ideas, eBooks, training videos, and Bible study resources to help you reach, teach, and disciple your kids in new ways. 

Someday soon we will gather again in our spaces at our churches and slowly things will start to feel familiar again. But we can’t just wait until that day to continue our ministries to kids & families. We can’t wait for kids to come back to the church. Let’s invest ourselves in finding new ways to take the church to our kids.

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned ‘normal’ on its head. It has closed businesses, cancelled schools and scattered churches. Many of us feel as though our worlds, and our ministries, have been picked up by the ankles and shaken. As we have scrambled to find our feet, we’ve had to look for new ways to do ministry, and we wonder how long this will last. You may be filled with uncertainty about the future. You may not know how to move forward with any measure of confidence. Maybe you are questioning whether you should scrap everything you’ve ever done and initiate a complete reset on your kids ministry strategy. You’re not alone. These are common reactions in this time of stress and uncertainty. During times like these, we need to encourage one another and lift each other up. As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” While we cannot control the circumstances, we can choose to respond in faith, not fear.

The truth is, we do need to re-evaluate our strategies in light of a changing not-so-normal normal. We do need to question what we should continue to do and what we need to do differently. But we need to be careful not to do so out of timidity. Let’s take care not to throw out the things that make our ministries strong. We need to consciously purpose to build our ministries on unshakable ideas that will help them remain strong no matter what circumstance comes. 

The LifeWay Kids leadership team has identified 10 attributes to help you build your kids ministry on an unshakable foundation that will hold strong no matter what circumstances arise, so you can lead with confidence, even in uncertain times. 

Find out what the 10 Attributes of an Unshakable Kids Ministry are by downloading this free new eBook from the LifeWay Kids team at lifeway.com/10attributes.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE EBOOK.

Chuck Peters is Director of Operations for LifeWay Kids. Before his role at LifeWay, Chuck had an extensive career in television and video production. He is a 3-time Emmy Award Winning producer, director, writer and host. A graduate of Columbia Bible College, Chuck, and his wife, Cris, have served vocationally & voluntarily in Student and Children’s Ministry for many years. They have four amazing children: Tally (21), Tristen (20), Tyson (14) and Tate (11). 

8 Ideas for Reducing the Spread of Germs in Your Kids Ministry.

In response to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, many ministries have a heightened awareness of germ-spreading habits and the general cleanliness of their kids ministry areas. Many are taking measures to alter their regular routines to protect against the spread of germs and sickness. While there’s no need to panic, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared and take proactive steps to make people feel more protected. Here are eight practical things you can enact in your kids ministry this week to reduce the spread of various illnesses in your Children’s Wing.

1. Do a Deep Clean – Regular cleaning routines include emptying trash cans, wiping tables, and sweeping floors. Deep cleans use industrial strength cleaners and disinfectants on door knobs, handrails, touch-screens, lightswitches, toys, and tabletops. Deep cleaning is best done during the week when your facility is empty. Deep cleaning takes time, but it is an effective way to kill germs that can spread illness.
2. Prop Doors Open – Dirty door knobs can be touched by hundreds of hands during service times. Reduce the numbers of hands that handle them by using doorstops to prop them open, or by having designated greeters open doors for people.  
3. Limit Screen Touches at Check-in – If you use digital touch-screen stations for check-in, opt to assign volunteers to operate them. You may need to limit the number of stations that you use, but you will reduce multiple touches of germy screens. 
4. Omit Handshakes and High Fives – Temporarily do away with greetings that involve hand-to-hand contact. Instead of handshakes and high fives, opt for elbow touches, “air shakes” and foot fives. Challenge kids to invent creative ways to greet one other without touching hands. 
5. Avoid Passing the Plate or Shared-object Games – If you take an offering, replace passing the plate with a drop box. Choose games that do not require relays or object-passing. Look instead for games that can be played with individual objects and while maintaining space between kids. 
6. Spread Out – As much as possible, look for ways to move kids out of small, closed-quarters spaces into larger open areas. Opt for big rooms and encourage kids to sit with distance between them. Kids love doing class outside. Consider outdoor options if you can do them safely on your campus. 
7. Wipe Down Tables and Toys Between Services – If you have multiple services, and do not already do so, adopt a practice of wiping off toys, puzzles, and tables with disinfectant between groups.  
8. Wash Hands – Encourage all of your teachers, volunteers, and kids to wash their hands before and after service times. Provide hand sanitizer in each room. Make sure that your sinks and restrooms have plenty of soap and hand towels available.  

The overriding principle is to look for ways to limit contact and keep surfaces clean. While these measures are not guaranteed to prevent any specific illnesses, they are good practices to employ in your kids ministry, particularly during seasons of heightened awareness. 

CHUCK PETERS is director of operations for LifeWay Kids. He is a graduate of Columbia Bible College. A creative person by nature, Chuck’s unique combination of experiences in media production, business, and ministry has caused him to become an unexpected fan of strategy, data, and analysis in ministry. He lives outside Nashville with his wife and four kids.