Do you ever wonder if you are really making a difference when you serve in children's ministry?

Is it really worth the time and effort that you dedicate to it?

Will you see the results of your investment in the kids?

Do the kids really get what you are teaching them?

Don't worry. We've all had those same thoughts.

When those thoughts pop into your head, here are 20 reasons why what you are doing matters. A lot.

1. Jesus has promised that you will not lose your reward when you serve children.

"And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, he shall in no way lose his reward" (Matt. 10:42).

2. Children's ministry matters to Jesus.

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them. For to such belongs the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14).

3. The majority of people who come to Christ do so when they are children.

"If anyone causes one of these little ones-those who BELIEVE in me to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea." Mark 9:42

4. Jesus will bless the church that makes children's ministry a top priority.

"'Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea'" (Mark 9:42).

5. Children can enter God's presence and commune with Him in prayer.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down. And it will be, if He calls you, that you will say, 'Speak, Lord, for Your servant listens '" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

The Lord came and stood, and He called as at other times, "Samuel, Samuel."

Then Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant listens" (1 Sam. 3:9-10).

6. Children bring smiles, laughter and joy to church.

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'" (Ps. 122:1).

7. You are sending a message to a day you will never see. Long after you and I have passed away, children will continue to live and spread the message of hope that you shared with them.

8. Children are the greatest mission field. There are over 2 billion Gen Z children on the planet.

9. A church with no children is terminal.

10. When you reach a child, they can serve Jesus for a lifetime.

"And that since childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:15).

11. God can use kids to accomplish His plans. We see this throughout Scripture. An example is the little maid of Israel whom God used to bring healing to Namaan (2 Kings 5:1-14).

12. Children are a gift from God.
"Children are a gift of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is a reward" (Ps. 127:3).

13. Children need our guidance and wisdom.
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6).
Proverbs 22:6

14. We are commanded by God to teach children His ways.
"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up" (Deut. 6:6-7).
Deuteronomy 6:6-7

15. God loves children and has plans for them even before they are born.
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalm 139:13-16

16. Children are an example of how to enter heaven.
"And He said: 'Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3).

17. Children have a soft heart for the things of God.

18. We are commanded to bring up children in the ways of God.
"Do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).

19. The Bible commands us to equip children for the work of the ministry.
"for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, and for the building up of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12).

20. "Jesus loves the little children/ All the children of the world/ Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight/ Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Dale Hudson has been in children's ministry for over 27 years. He is the director of children's ministry at Christ Fellowship Church in South Florida. Christ Fellowship has nine campuses and ministers to over 25,000 people on weekends. Dale leads a children's ministry staff team of over 70 and a volunteer team of over 2,600. He has authored 100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Children's Ministry, 100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Preschool Ministry, Children's Ministry in the 21st Century, Sunday School That Works, the churchleaders.com Top 100 book, and If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry. You can find more of his helpful resources at relevantchildrensministry.com or buildingchildrensministry.com.

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