at my dad's church

I'll be upfront with you right away.  I'm about to brag on my children's ministry volunteers.  Why?  Well, I can, and because they are worth bragging about.

Recently, a guy from church wanted to share the story of his son's baptism with me.  He was baptized at his mom's church, because that's what his mom wanted, and as a young man, he kind of liked the whole production value of this church's baptisms.  The church records interviews with those that are to be baptized and have them explain what brought them to that decision.  I'm not knocking the idea.  I think it's great.  But when they asked this young man how he came to accept Jesus, he began his answer with, "Well, at my dad's church..."  Most subsequent answers started the same way.  They tried wording questions differently to get a more usable answer from him, but that's what they kept getting.  The day he was baptized, the video was shown, and not knowing differently, the lead pastor said, "When he says, 'my dad's church,' he's talking about this church.'"  Of course, he wasn't, but I really don't think the pastor knew that.

This young man goes to our church every other week.  He has come up through the ranks, if you will.  Our toddler and preschool teachers had him for four years.  He's been in our elementary ministry for about four more years.  When asked what brought him to wanting to accept Jesus as Savior, his answer was, "at my dad's church..."  Why?  Because at his dad's church, he's taught the Bible faithfully by faithful volunteers.  Years before I ever came here, this was run solely by volunteers.  Many of those volunteers are still here, still serving, still giving what they've got, so that boys and girls can come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Sometimes working silently in children's ministry can feel like behind the scenes work, but there is reward.  There are kids who come to know Jesus through their work.  I love my volunteers.  I'm proud to be associated with them.  These volunteers make my job doable, they make my job desirable, and most importantly, they make an impact on the lives of children that will last for an eternity.