Recently our Sunday School class of young children experienced their first real ministry assignment. It was both exiting and challenging.
We made angels for 38 residents on the 4th floor of one of the local old folks homes. My father had been a temporary resident this summer on the floor and we wanted to be a blessing to the staff and the residents who meant so much to Dad for the time he stayed there.
The first lesson I learned was that the heart is willing but often continued encouragement is needed to keep us on tract. I believe this is true of adults just as it is with children.
The children were excited to make the angels when I first explained what we were doing. They even added that they also wanted to minister to homeless people and those who didn't have resources. I was so blessed by their heart to give to others. Half way through the Sunday School class some of the children began to ask about "their angels" and were they going to get to take some home to their families. I assured them that we would try, but our first job was to make 38 angels for the residents. Their enthusiasm waned a little as they began to wonder if they would ever get to make angels for their home. It was a roller coaster of emotions for them as they teetered back and forth between wanting to bless others and wanting to make a gift for themselves or their family members instead.
The second lesson I learned was that I had to pick up some slack.
I found myself finishing up the angels at home. The children worked hard on them, but finishing touches still needed to be made. Granted starting early enough is essential to success, but one helping others to reach out to others must expect to pick up some slack. Attitude is important because if the extra effort is begrudged those you are helping will pick up on it thus marring the experience. When we handed out the angels my comment was always about the work the children did....not the time I spent finishing up. This helped the children take ownership of their project and was a blessing to the residents.
Lessons I learned through follow-up questions after the ministry event.
First, Stepping out and making a difference is something we want to do as Christians, but there is a certain amount of wonderment or "fear of the unknown" that we must overcome.
Second, working through those fears brings blessing for both others and ourselves, a feeling of accomplishment and trust in God to see us through situations as we walk outside our normal comfort zone.
The date was set for the event and arrangements made with both the children and the home. I arrived early and waited for the children to arrive. One of the children had backed out yet to my surprise arrived with the others and took part in the event. She was shy throughout but did a wonderful job.
The following Sunday I asked some follow-up questions that revealed the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives through their ministry opportunity. I believe that adults might go through some of the same emotions as my Sunday School Class did.
"How did you feel when you first arrived?"
"Afraid. We didn't know if the old people would like us or be mad at us for bugging them."
"How did you feel when you delivered the first angel?"
"Hoping that they liked our angels and did not yell at us"
"How did you feel after you had handed out several angels and prayed for residents?"
"We really like it. The old people liked us and they liked our gift."
"Tell about one of the residents that touched your heart."
"I liked the lady who grabbed Grandma's hand (Grandma came with the children) and cried. She was so glad to see us and have some company. She said, "God will bless you."
" I liked the man that was in the room your father was in. He was a Christian and glad to see that we wanted people to know that Jesus loves them."
Are you glad you went and ministered to others?
"Yes"
This year we will have opportunity to minister. We will have to overcome obstacles by setting our own desires aside for the needs of others. It will be important to prepare and do the best job possible. We will certainly have to overcome getting out of our comfort zone to reach out to others. If we are leading...we might have to pick up the slack in some ways. We will have to resist getting a bad attitude or glorying in all the work we had to do. After all the focus of a leader is to encourage others to go beyond their current limits...often this kind of encouragement requires leaders to go beyond their limitations as well.
I'm excited and ready to find other areas of ministry for the children and adults of our church. It's time to put your God given dreams into actions. Start one step at a time.
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