Looking Up – God at Work in Children’s Ministry

I’m sure you’ve noticed, perhaps by the young voices in the hallway or the bottleneck of children at the snack tables, that the nursery and children’s ministries are exploding. Frequently, I am finding the need to add chairs and tables and rearrange the rooms to accommodate for our growth. God has really blessed us at Hope! He is entrusting so many young lives under our care. What an amazing and awesome responsibility!

A picture being worth a thousand words, I thought the following might convey how God has blessed Hope over the past couple of years: 

The growth is clear and growth leads to more students in classrooms. My plan and desire is to reduce the teacher to student ratio. Just one example of this happened recently where one teacher and assistant endeavored to teach Worship Class to 21 preschool children. We need to reduce the teacher to student ratio and create more classes for the Fall.  In order to achieve this, I’ll need more volunteers to staff many more additional classrooms.

Below is another sobering picture. This year alone we needed around 500 volunteer slots filled for Children’s Ministry. Starting this Fall, I anticipate that number to jump to over 900, if we want to create class sizes that are safe, enjoyable and conducive to learning. This will keep the classroom ratios at a safe and enjoyable level.

Clearly, we need more individuals to join those who have already given so much of their time, if we want to fulfill our commitment to nurturing the spiritual health of our children. Most of the responsibilities are extremely light with no at home prep time needed. Some responsibilities require certain skills, like musicians for Hope Kids Worship and large whole group teaching. Some responsibilities require more prep time, like teaching Sunday School.

Together, God can use all of us to impart not just the truths of the Gospel, but support the social and emotional growth of our children. I’d love for you, and frankly, need many of you to be a part of this ministry if we hope to fulfill Hope’s calling.

Would you the button below and pray over our needs? Would you consider helping out?

Gratefully,
Lisa Applegate
Children’s Ministry Director