A Little Effort

Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2013 by glenys

Last week I attended a special evening at our church. It was our ‘Community Ministry Awards Ceremony’, an annual celebration of all the children who attend our Community Ministries Program. Our drivers went out and gathered our children, their parents and grandparents. We came together to share a free meal, and to connect with our community. These children do not attend our Sunday school. They do not worship at our church. They do not belong to our youth group. Which, in a way, makes them even more important to us.

Forty children attended this event. And forty children went home with an award. It was simply a sheet of white card-stock bearing their name, a little picture, and a single line denoting their award. The awards ranged from Best Big Brother to Biggest Smile, from Most Improved Reader to Encourager of the Year.

After their names were called, and their awards announced, the children received a round of applause, and then posed for their photographs, which will be displayed on one of our church bulletin boards. Every child clutched their award proudly and smiled for the camera, even though they have little to smile about. For most of these children, these awards may be the only ones they ever receive. And along with those awards, they took home the knowledge that someone cares about them, that they are special, unique, loved, that the people with whom they spent that evening love a man called Jesus, that church is a place of warmth, and welcome, a safe haven where they can be celebrated, where they can laugh, and be listened to.

Are you cultivating that kind of place for the children in your community? And if you are, consider holding an awards ceremony for those children. It will be a little effort that goes a long, long way.

Faith Cheerleading

Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 by Matt Armstrong

In January and February, I am making a point to visit each of our Crossroads Kids Club sites at least one time. I enjoy seeing what God is doing at each school, and every one is so different. I learn and grow from my time visiting the clubs and the visits keep me connected to the “street level” ministry.

As I have been visiting clubs, I have noticed that a number of them are using the Crossroads curriculum series called “Passing on the Torch of Faith” (a.k.a. Heroes). This material sets before the children heroes from the Old Testament, the New Testament, church history and today. It concludes by challenging them to live as God’s heroes of faith today. The key Scripture passage for this series is Hebrews 12:1–2. In the NIV, these verses say: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

This past Sunday, my pastor, Tom Severson, preached a great sermon from this passage. Tom painted a picture of the cloud of witnesses as spectators who are cheering us on. He had each section of the church chant a cheer on his cue—left side, right side and balcony. Our cheers were cheers for Jesus and the victory that he has won. I realized something as we did this. Cheering is fun! Even as adults, we love to get emotionally engaged and cheer for something important or about which we are passionate, don’t we?

Not only is it fun to cheer, but I have learned that it is encouraging to have others cheer for you. As some readers may know, I am a runner. Last October, I ran a half marathon in Detroit that crossed over the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor, Canada. The return to the U.S. went through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. Running through a tunnel with the fumes, the darkness and the temperature change from the outside air was not particularly fun (especially after having run 6 or 7 miles prior to that point). However, I knew that my family was going to be just past the tunnel to cheer me on. This encouraged me to keep on running. As I passed my wife, Adriana, she said something like, “No way!” which I knew meant that I had exceeded her expectations for pace. I was running strong and fast, and her words encouraged and challenged me to keep running with perseverance.

Back to Tom’s sermon and then to an idea I want to share with you. Tom shared that the image in Hebrews 12 of the cloud of witnesses is a picture of the great men and women of God watching our lives and cheering for us as we live for Jesus. Abraham, Moses, Sarah, Joshua, Rahab, and David are cheering for us! They are cheering for the kids in your ministry, too! What would David say to cheer us on? (“Worship God with all you’ve got!” perhaps). How about John? (“Love one another!” maybe). Paul? (“God is for you and his grace is enough!”). Here’s the idea: What you might do is ask the children to create a cheer for themselves from each biblical character they study. I think that the kids would have a fun time thinking about and creating a cheer from each hero. What would this person in the “cloud of witnesses” say to cheer them on as they run the race with perseverance? As they chant the cheer what they have come up with, I believe they will be encouraged, will have fun and will remember the stories of these heroes better, too. Try it, and let me know how it works.

Lucky Children?

Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2013 by glenys

One week before Christmas our Church’s Community Ministries Program took 40 lucky children to the local bookstore, where they could each spend up to $20 on books. My excited litte group jumped in the back of my car and hurriedly fastened their seat belts. This was a wonderful adventure for them…not just because they were going to be able to own their very own books, but because they were actually going somewhere in a car. They were actually being taken out of their environment…something that happens to them very infrequently. These children are trapped in a world of poverty, illiteracy, and hunger. But this evening, they escaped.

On my way to the bookstore, I deliberately drove through an affluent part of town, because I guessed that my little band of travelers would enjoy seeing the Christmas light displays outside the various homes. As we drove through a neighborhood aglow with reindeers and santas, twinkling wreaths and chasing lights, one of the children, with his nose pressed to the glass and his eyes agog, said, “ This must be where the rich people live.” And of course he was right.

Later that evening, when I dropped those children off outside darkened doors, I thought about the rich, and the poor. I thought about how those little children went home to bare rooms, no television sets, no Christmas trees, no twinkling lights. I thought about them as I unplugged my light up Santa that sits on my porch, as I turned on my flat screen TV, as I opened up my refrigerator door, and was met by so much food that I did not know what to cook. And as I snuggled into my king size bed that night, I thought about our churches, and wondered.…if every church in the United States had a Community Ministry, or an After School Program, how many little children could we help to escape from their world?

Children, The Great Commission, and Spiritual Warfare

Posted on Thursday, January 10, 2013 by Matt Armstrong

Solomon writes, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1a, NIV). Recently at Crossroads Kids Club, we have been working diligently to organize a series of round table discussions for senior pastors focused on the topic of how local churches can bring light and hope into their neighborhood schools. We are carefully planning 16 Spiritual Warfare Image of these meetings around our region and have been very intentional about developing lists of leaders to invite, choosing great meeting venues and crafting the right plan to invite pastors. We have done all this because we believe that the piece of God’s house that we are called to build centers on the transformation of children’s lives across our nation through ministry in public schools. We have worked hard to spread this vision and to build this house! But today I am struck by the fact that unless the Lord builds the house, all of these efforts are in vain.

I have great hope and confidence that the Lord is in our efforts because I know that God loves the children of our nation very much and we are seeking to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus: to “make disciples of all nations.” There is so much pain and despair even among very young children, and Jesus offers hope, healing, salvation and abundant life. We have the privilege of sharing this with kids right where they are.. . in their schools. I know that this brings glory to our Savior.

I also know that we have an enemy who seeks to destroy the work and mission of God. He seeks to tear down the walls of the house God is building. I believe he will be actively seeking to distract pastors from the opportunity to impact their communities through their schools. As the invitations are received, the enemy may well come and snatch away any inclination to participate. So, I believe it is important that we pray “spiritual warfare” prayers.

This morning, I was reading a book by Terry Wardle in which he shares two key characteristics of warfare praying. First, we pray with the authority of Jesus. Second, we pray with the power of the Holy Spirit. These flow from the Great Commission itself. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus states that all authority has been given to him. In Luke’s account in Acts chapter 1, Jesus tells them to wait for the Holy Spirit because when he comes, they will receive power.

Wardle offers a great illustration of the importance of both authority and power. Imagine that I go to my drug-dealing neighbor’s home, knock on the door and say, “You’re under arrest. Come out and let me take you to the court.” Things will probably not turn out well for me. I may get beat up (or much worse!). The neighbor will be wondering, Who does this guy think he is? and with good reason! It would be better not to have gone than to try to change my neighborhood by my own authority and power. However, if I am a police officer, and I knock on that door, I am going with the authority of the state. The question will not be, “Who is this guy?” Instead the question will shift to power: Does this police officer have the power to take me? Now imagine that I approach my neighbor with the authority of the state and the power of 25 other police officers backing me up, the result will be that the drug dealer will decide to surrender or he will decide to be carried out. Either way, he is defeated. The neighborhood is changed!

The bottom line is that I have an increased awareness that apart from Jesus’ authority and the Spirit’s power, we will work hard and accomplish nothing for his kingdom. He must build the house, or it won’t be built. Would you please join with me in praying for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done among the children of our nation? Would you pray that God would spark a passion among pastors and ministry leaders to share the hope of the gospel with children? Would you pray against the enemy’s plans to steal, kill and destroy the work of God? Will you pray with the authority of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit? If so, I believe God will move and that our whole culture can be transformed as his kingdom comes and his will is done.

Bringing hope before a tragedy

Posted on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 by Matt Armstrong

It seems that on everyone’s minds are the images and stories from the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, a few days ago. Some have asked, “Where was God?” and others have pointed out (correctly) that he was and is there in so many ways. I want to ask another question though. Where was the Church?

It is really wonderful to see the churches of the community come together to support the families of the victims after this tragedy, but where were those churches before the tragedy? Honestly, I have no idea. Perhaps the churches of Newtown are on mission with Jesus and loving and serving their neighbors actively on a regular basis. Maybe some of them were even sharing the hope of Jesus inside of the schools. I hope that they were. I don’t know what they were doing. What I do know is that in communities across America very few churches engage actively with local schools, and fewer still engage in ongoing and relational ways.

As Christians, we believe that God is everywhere. We believe that he is actively at work in the world. He does not cause evil such as we saw in Connecticut, but he can work through evil circumstances to being about good. God is in our schools. He is the one who holds them together, in fact. The question is this: Will his Church take the Good News that there is hope to the community every day? Or will we wait until a something bad happens and then react? Don’t get me wrong. I am glad the churches are responding; however, I am suggesting that it would be best if we brought hope before tragedy instead of only after. Perhaps one of the good things that might spring from this very dark event would be the people of God sharing the hope we have in the public arena.

Working in the Family Business with Our Father

Posted on Monday, December 10, 2012 by Matt Armstrong

I have been thinking a lot lately about the important role fathers play in their children’s lives. I think this may be because I am getting older and watching my own children grow up way too quickly. Or perhaps it is because I am watching my good friend be an amazing foster dad to three young children. Maybe it’s because lately I have observed a deep woundedness in some others—a woundedness that flows from their relationship (or lack thereof) with their dads. Probably it is all of these reasons and more. In any case, a loving and involved father gives his children a fabulous and lasting gift while an abusive or absent father can cause wounds that may last a lifetime.

Yesterday at church I heard an extended personal testimony that focused on knowing God Father and Son as Father. The speaker shared about his own disappointments and hurts related to his human father and how God’s fatherhood had come to mean so much to him. One thing he shared really connected with me: that we have a desire simply to be with our fathers—to walk with them and do something (anything!) together. He spoke about the fact that Father God invites us to work with him on his mission on earth. This seems to me a very powerful idea.

I am not sure if this is just a gender issue or if girls feel the same way, but I think every boy has an innate longing to do something with his father. I think that in ages past societies were set up to allow this to happen naturally. A boy would learn to work alongside his father in the family’s trade. If the father were a blacksmith, his boy would work alongside him and learn that trade as well. It’s just how it was. Today, our society is set up in such a way that men are not required (nor even expected) to spend time with their children. I think this is sad. However, this does not change the exciting reality that God is my eternal Father and he invites me into the “family business” of caring for all that he has created. The amazing thing is that we get to do it together. This morning as I was waking up I thought: “What do we get to do together today, Father?” I wonder how my approach to ministry and life would change if I kept my focus on the fact that I can (and should be) working with my Father at all times.

What About Santa Claus? Reblogged

Posted on Saturday, December 8, 2012 by wanda

Below is a post I wrote to parents a year ago.

I believe it is also important for anyone working with children, who want the children to walk with the Triune God into eternity, must think through what they will tell the children about Santa Claus.

Honesty within your family begins with you.

Do you tell your child that she is the greatest soccer player in the world when you both know she isn’t? What will your child think, or at least wonder about, when she deserves a compliment that you give?

Does Aunt Mildred call and you tell your child to tell Aunt Mildred that you aren’t home? What have you now given him permission to lie about to you?

Do you hear your child bragging about something that he has done when you know that is a lie? Do you later talk to him about what was said? Or do you pass it off that he needs to be able to feel good about something – maybe because that is what you do yourself? What is the consequence going to be when the truth comes out?

What is important to you?

That your kids win the soccer game or that they play fairly.
That your kids get all A’s or that they study hard and do their best – regardless of the outcome?
That your kids are popular or that they are known for having an upstanding character?

What is your family tradition in regard to Santa Claus?

A young mother revealed to her 10 year old daughter that Santa Claus was all pretend. The child looked at her mother in shock and asked, “Now are you going to tell me that Jesus is pretend?”

Her mother assured her that Jesus was real – but could there be a doubt that persists in the child’s mind?

There is a strong emotional attachment to Santa Claus for children who believe that he is leaving them their gifts – not unlike feelings towards Jesus. Imagine what goes through their minds when they learn the truth of Santa Claus. If you have been lying to them about Santa Claus what else have you been lying about?

Santa Claus is a fun tradition; it’s okay to have fun, to “pretend” about Santa Claus, the fictitious character based on the historical St. Nicholas, but be clear with your kids about him from the beginning. Always distinguish truth (Jesus) from pretend (Santa Claus). Kids can enjoy Santa Claus and all that goes with him even though they know that he no longer lives. Tell your kids the history of St Nicholas. Explain that Santa Claus is a way we remember St. Nicholas and the good things he did in serving the poor. He did those things because of his love for Jesus. Search for St Nicholas on the internet to discover the history of this generous man who lived in the fourth century.

What should you do in regard to the tradition of Santa Claus? Ask the Lord what His will is for your family in regard to this tradition.

Santa, Are You For Real? is a simple book that tells the story of St. Nicholas.