Life as a Christian Woman

Children and youth are more precious to our Lord than they are to us. We have a responsibility to care for them, teach them, and prepare the next generation of God’s workers. Churches offer numerous programs for kids and teens from Sunday school to Wednesday night youth groups. But there are many other ways to reach children, and many other skills and lessons they need to learn to truly be successful. This post is going to discuss ways you can minister to youth outside of Bible class.

Get men involved. Not what you were expecting, right? But it can make a significant difference in the lives of children and youth. The statistics do not always agree on the percentage of Christian versus non-Christian marriages, but overall roughly half of all marriages end in divorce, with single mothers far outstripping single fathers. In the group of youngest mothers (age 22 or younger), close to 70% have never been married. Research from the Barna Group shows that women are more spiritual than men. And yet, other research has shown that children who grow up with their fathers also attending church are much more likely to remain in church in adulthood than those who attended church only with their mothers. Another male cannot take the place of a father in a child’s life, but he can certainly make an impact in showing children how men and women differ, how men can lead, the differences between the sexes, and the fallacies in the way men are portrayed in media compared to the way God commands men to live. Don’t short change the man’s influence on children who are not his own. Instead, help get the men of your church involved in youth activities ouside of the recreation ministry. Do some research, get the numbers such as those I listed above, speak to the men’s groups in your church and community about the differences they can make, and help connect fatherless kids with role models. If you can get your husband or male leader in your church on board with you, so much the better. But don’t think that as a woman you shouldn’t point out shortfalls to the men.

Get involved in tutoring. After school tutors can minister to children just as much as teaching them the Bible in Sunday school. You can offer to tutor children any afternoon of the week. Even one afternoon with personal, one-on-one attention can make a big difference for a child who is struggling. Thanks to President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind Act,” many children are being left behind. They fall into the category of having learning difficulties, but not severe enough to place them into a special education program where they would get the one-on-one attention they need. Instead, they are with their peers who do not have difficulties, competing to keep up with an overworked teacher in an overpopulated classroom with a teacher’s aide whose only qualification may be that he or she can work part-time. Granted, a lot of aides are more than qualified, but not all and not in all school systems. The role of the church in not just to bring up Christian citizens, but citizens period. Teach a child to read his science homework, and he is better prepared to read the Bible. Teach a child math, and she is better prepared not just to calculate her tithe, but to balance her checkbook and maintain a household budget. Teach a child the rules of proper English, and she is a more effective communicator in Vacation Bible School and in testing that determines whether she gets into college. Teach children, whatever the subject, and you have given them the skills to be both better Christians and better citizens. You don’t have to know the Bible by heart to help a child explore the world of Johnny Tremain. You simply have to be willing to give your time with a heart for Him. Christian gentleness, guidance, and perseverance will still shine through during a lesson in chemical reactions.

Offer basic computer skills training. Many children and youth live in homes without computers. And yet computers have become an integral part of education, the work place, and entertainment. A few minutes access a day at school is not enough for those children living without a computer to keep up with their “techie” peers. Talk to some of the high-tech industries or businesses in your area. Most of them change out their computers every one to two years in an effort to stay up-to-date and competitive in their fields. They may be willing to donate the computers, or sell at a greatly reduced cost, for a children’s computer ministry. Offer short classes in basics such as keyboarding, word processing, the internet, computer safety, researching, and simple image manipulation or picture editing. Anything more challenging they might want to learn can be handled on a case-by-case basis. But I promise you that by age 10, most children with computers at home already know how to do at least those things I listed, and they are using those skills to their educational advantage. Even if all you know how to do is type a document, print it and e-mail it, you still have something to offer for computer training. When the children have learned the basics, then you can show them how to use Christian websites, play Christian games online, and search the Bible online. If one or two of the older ones gets good enough or shows particular interest, you might even hook them up with the person that handles your church website and let them start helping out.

These are just a few alternatives to the traditional children’s ministry jobs; there are a great many more. You may also recognize a special gift in one particular child that you could help with, such as the ones listed in “Bringing Them Up.” If you are involved with something that doesn’t fall into the mainstream, let us know about it. Leave a comment about what you do and how it helps the kids. There is another church out there somewhere that can benefit from your experience.