From cute little kids...to the leaders of tomorrow

When we reach out to the kids of our community, the goal of our efforts is not to see them grow up to be volunteer pew warmers. We don't hope to reach them with the gospel so that they can just become comfortable Christians until they cross over into eternity. Instead, we hope that many will grow up to become leaders, teachers, pastors, small group leaders, etc. so that they can continue on with the work and reach the next generation.

As the bus ministry matures, we are starting to see this goal being realized. We have a number of teens who have grown up through the bus ministry and are now reaching the next kids through different roles in kids ministy.

Metro Ministries has an amazing vision statement: "To see leaders, teachers, and pastors raised up out of the street of the cities worldwide. Then, they in turn will minister to the next generation." Although our ministry doesn't have a global presence or deal in quite the same extremes of life, this could be a model for our own vision statement. How's this for a possible vision statement? "To see kids in the community touched by Jesus and raised up to become leaders, teachers, pastors, and mentors who can then minister to the next generation."

To help us realize the vision we are trying a slightly different bus leadership structure this year. Instead of having two bus captains there will be one per route. This makes room for taking up and coming leaders along for visitation, since we've found that three really is a crowd when it comes to visiting. We'll also be looking for ways to gradually give more responsibilities to the leaders as they grow and mature, learning by serving alongside the captains. It's not a perfect model, because now there's greater pressure on the captains to be totally committed every week. When we had pairs, one captain could cover for the other. Also, we'll be in a grey area as far as Plan to Protect guidelines go, and that means we'll have to get consent forms signed by the parents of young leaders. I believe the pros greatly outweigh the cons though, and I'm praying that the next few years will prove me right...