Wade's World: STEP INTO THEIR STORY

Why I Am So Passionate About Children’s Ministry

The Disclaimer

I’ve been challenged today to share a story with you, FB world. So I’ve been wracking my mind to find a story, to find my story. Unfortunately, I don’t have a recent mission trip story to share. (My last real mission trip was domestic, and I was in high school. Hmmm…do have a story there though…later maybe?) My adoption stories don’t seem to fit today. So I asked my hubby before he left for work this morning for help with an idea. Even as I was explaining my story need, a memory came flooding to mind. As I finished my question to him, the first thing he suggested was the same story I was also thinking about. So join me on a journey today as I begin to tell you as story…”Why I Am So Passionate About Children’s Ministry”…Part 1 coming soon…

Part 1 – The Fun Begins

I’m wired differently! God creates and designs us all as unique, one of a kind, masterpieces. We are all wired a bit differently, or a more biblical way of saying the same thing is that we have all been given different gifts and talents.

Several years ago, I would often be asked to help the children’ musical director with the drama kids.

God, in His infinite wisdom, created the two of us differently. Our two styles meshed and conflicted. Okay, I can be flexible, but I LOVE having a plan. This leader often organized the adults for each rehearsal while the kids were arriving. Now with my kid brain, I totally understood why they were misbehaving before we even got started with each rehearsal!

I knew the next big musical was coming, but I hadn’t yet been asked to help out. I attended a worship arts conference the very weekend that kids were being auditioned for parts. Sitting in on a worship about how to use a musical to teach kids was so frustrating and equally exciting that I felt compelled to stay after to ask the workshop leader a question, “What can I do if I’m not really in charge?” Wisely this woman advised me to just do what I could and follow God’s leading.

That very week I was recruited to take over as the drama director! But I hadn’t even seen the auditions? I sat with a group of ladies who had watched all the children as we decided how to assign all the parts for Pam Andrews musical “Cross Country.” Many of the children I didn’t know and had never worked with before so I totally relied on the advice of this small group of ladies. CASTING COMPLETED!

Taking what I had learned at the conference, I came up with a plan to have some fun!

Typically, musical rehearsals were totally separate from the drama rehearsals until the production’s final few rehearsals. Typically, one character was the “Bible Brain” who quoted all the scripture in a musical. So, typically, only one child memorized any scripture when we did a production.

But this was not going to be a typical children’s musical production!

Say “Hello” to the AREOBIC BIBLE MEMORY VERSE!

To fill that dead space before rehearsal, I began to teach the entire kids choir one verse from the script each week . Every week we would review the previous verses and add a new one. But this wasn’t some boring Bible drill…WE ROCKED IT! Each verse we learned had a rhythm and flow and actions to help lock in the meaning. Every child in that musical memorized every verse in that musical! And we had fun doing it too!

In fact, I was having tons of fun with my drama kids! I decided to teach them more than just their lines. We learned a little theater lingo – upstage, downstage, stage right, stage left, and center stage…Tick Tack Toe style. I made them talk with pencils in their mouths to improve their articulation.

In all our fun and games, I was never really concerned about any of the kids learning the real message of the musical we were presenting…Jesus died on a cross to pay the price for your sins and by believing this you could receive God’s forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. See, all our musical rehearsals were on Sunday nights. Nobody drags a kid to church on a Sunday night just for fun. As far as I was concerned, every kid in the production was a church brat, an indentured servant, drafted by their parents. I figured that what I did would have very little impact on their lives, much less their eternal life. They would be in church…every Sunday morning…every Sunday night…and every Wednesday night…for years. Each child would hear the gospel message millions of times. Some day, they would each make a choice to believe or not.

But me?

I wasn’t really part of that. So let’s just have some FUN!

Part 2 – The Unimaginable

Fun…fun..FUN! We had a blast preparing to perform “Cross Country”!

The week before our big Saturday dress rehearsal, my phone rang one day. A friend had called to share some important information with me and ask me to spread the word. Prayer was needed.

One of my lead actors was her daughter’s good friend since preschool days. She had been cast as the character “Faith.” Her family was not a church family. The girls had just wanted to do the musical together so “Faith” had joined in the fun.

“Faith’s” mother was in the hospital. Doctors had just diagnosed her with terminal brain cancer. “Please, pray!”

Tears streamed down my face. I was sick to my stomach as I babbled to my friend, “No! No! This is horrible!”

Her agreement with me was met with my own objections, “No, you don’t understand!”

This little girl was my “Faith.” Her character in the play had these lines, “My friend’s mom had cancer. They prayed and prayed for her, but she still died.”

Now I had the task of calling every adult who was a part of the production, including the Children’s Minister and the musical director, to ask for them all to begin praying for this family. No one realized the impact of the character “Faith” portrayed until I shared her lines repeatedly, on each and every phone call.

Everyone’s shock and grief was met with an equal panic for the musical production – We were less than two weeks from performing, and one of our lead actor’s family was in crisis while she had lines no one could imagine her uttering!

Our only response…PRAY!

Part 3 – The Impossible

PRAY! And pray and pray and pray we did!

At the conference, I had met Pam Andrews, the author of the musical, “Cross Country.” I had her email address so I sent out a prayer request to her as well. She responded. As a breast cancer survivor herself, she began praying for our “Faith” and her family too.

Saturday’s dress rehearsal came. Dread, fear, worry, concern! The emotional flood was overwhelming.

What to do about “Faith”? What about her mother’s condition? What about the performance?

Huddled together, the adults pondered how to handle this unimaginable situation. Knowing that “Faith” would be arriving soon, I asked our Children’s Minister what she would say or do with “Faith.”

“Not me! You’re the one who has developed a relationship with her!” left me in terror. I didn’t have any training! What was I supposed to do or say to this precious child? Her mother was in the hospital. The family had been given no hope.

“Faith” walked through the sanctuary doors. All adult eyes turned from her to me. Mingled with their unspoken prayers, I could feel their inner, collective sighs of relief that I was facing this giant and not them.

I sat on one of the back pews alone with “Faith” as the other children began rehearsing songs for the musical. I had no words. So I just sat and listened. I listened as “Faith” shared about visiting the hospital, about her child’s understanding of her mother’s diagnosis. I just listened until “Faith” reached the end of her storytelling. I could make no promises. I had no encouraging words. I could hug her, I could cry with her, and I could listen.

Then my role had to shift. I had to become the musical’s drama director and ask her a question that made me sick to my stomach, “’Faith,’ what about the musical?”

“Oh! I have my lines totally memorized!” chirped a smiling little girl, who then marched up on stage to play her part.

Anxiety and anticipation filled the sanctuary as we waited for “Faith” to deliver her dreaded lines.

Without missing a beat, with flawless articulation and annunciation, proudly projecting for the grandma in the parking lot with her hearing aid battery dead, “Faith” proclaimed, “My friend’s mom had cancer. They prayed and prayed for her, but she still died.”

There was not a dry adult eye in that building.

Rehearsal wrapped up that day. Final week and then the kids would perform in Big Church for their audience. “Faith” was confident in her ability to perform her part. The show must go on!

But another sub-plot was unfolding…another story was playing out behind the scenes for all to see…

During that week, one of the church’s pastors visited with the family. He shared with them the same gospel message found in the musical, “Cross Country,” and asked if they would be interested in praying together. “Faith,’ her mom, and her dad all prayed together, confessing belief in Jesus as God’s Son, who died on the cross to forgive them of their sins! All three lives were changed that day!

This story was not over yet…

Those poor doctors! The cancer seemed to have changed. The large mass from one scan became multiple smaller tumors on another scan. No! Wait! Where did it go? They couldn’t find any signs of the terminal, inoperable cancer!

Sunday morning, watching “Faith” and the whole cast performing “Cross Country” on stage was the culmination of watching the miraculous unfold before my eyes…hearts, lives, and a family transformed.

Even as I rejoiced, praising and thanking God, He began whispering to my heart…with a megaphone. Divine paddling ahead!

I had been goofing around with the kids, having tons of fun. I hadn’t been doing anything bad, but my heart was all wrong. I discounted any influence I might have in their lives. I never considered that I could have any impact on the stories of the lives of the children I worked with every week.

My experience with “Faith” totally changed my approach to ministry! I now realized that God was writing His story! I have the privilege and responsibility of being part of this amazing story!

Now if you were to watch me with kids, you might be scratching your head because it still looks like wild, wacky, FUN. I still love doing Aerobic Bible Memory Verses with kids! I love helping them lock God’s Word into their hearts! The change happened inside me. My heart and passion for connecting children with God who passionately loves them more than I can imagine and pursues them relentlessly is driven by the knowledge that I may never know the whole story He is writing, I may never know each child’s personal story, and no matter what my role in the story might be…I get to be a part of His BIG STORY!

A few years had passed, when my phone rang again. The Student Minister of the church called to share a story with me. Each week, a student volunteer had been sharing their personal testimony during the Wednesday night student worship time. “Faith” had just shared with the group. Her story had surprised him because she had included me as having played a significant part in her faith decision. I easily responded that I was not surprised. It wasn’t an arrogant or conceited response. I humbly shared that I was not surprised because “Faith” had also transformed my life and ministry.

My story is not about traveling far from home. My story is about learning to step outside of myself and step into the lives of children.

We did travel to China, twice, to step into the lives of our two little girls.

There have been times when I have cried out to God asking why my little girls couldn’t have come home sooner. Why did they have to wait so long?

His still small whispers to my heart draw me back to the story of “Faith.”

If my girls had been home, as the mama of two little ones, I would not have been the drama director as part of a children’s musical. My life would have been consumed by chasing toddlers and changing diapers. “Faith” and her family’s story was being written here while God watched over my little ones. Part of the miracle of Keziah and Peiwu’s stories was in how and when they each came home, in God’s perfect timing. Part of their stories is the healing He is working out in their hearts day by day, and I am blessed and challenged to be a part of this new chapter.