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Since the summer break is ending in about a week I’ve spent a few days evaluating my summer ministry opportunities (what went well, what didn’t) and refocusing on what needs to be done before some of Tabernacles ministries begin again.

Most of the changes that come from this time of evaluation aren’t very surprising

1. I need to work on a more organized teaching style instead of reading quick Bible-stories like the summer
2. I must begin launching new ministries and trust God to bring the people instead of trying to get everything perfect right away
3. I need to start working from home again instead of the Church (this allows ministry to happen, but strong Bible teaching requires privacy and intense study)
4. And I need to return to curtain

That last one is what gets me and its probably going to be the most difficult

Continue reading “Returning to Curtain” →

It’s been just over a year since the Lord brought me to Barrouallie Saint Vincent as a missionary, so recently I began looking back on some of the lesson that He has taught me here.  One of the first learned (and most important) is explaining the difference between a privilege and a right.

In my ministry with children many things are given out such as water, candy, koolaid, games on my tablet, bible stories , peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or toast.  While some of these things are always given out to everyone (like water or a story) the other items are used as rewards for positive behavior.  For instance in Bible club the best behaved student gets their choice between a glass of juice, a piece of candy, or tablet time.

Beyond these daily rewards there’s a second level based on the amount of good marks (ticks) children have for good behavior.  The general rule is once someone gets twenty good marks they are rewarded with an extended amount of tablet time (5 minutes).  Then there is the highest level of rewards given to children who exhibit an attitude and testimony of excellence.  These are allowed to drink my coffee, watch Netflix  (supervised) for 10 minutes, play a game inside the house if it’s more than two people, and even share a meal!

I love offering these rewards to children and encouraging their positive behavior (would give candy, koolaid, and tablet to everyone but it would be overwhelming).  However it’s necessary to explain these rewards are special things earned by their obedience instead of privileges that they always deserve to have.  In other words if someone decides they don’t want to listen or obey during Bible Club, they have no right to demand a glass of juice.

I realize this may sound harsh to some of you so let me clarify my first response when a child asks for a reward isn’t to ask what they have done to deserve it ?”   Instead I try to take into account other things like how hard the child is working, if something like answering questions is harder for them than others, and when is the last time I rewarded them?  Unfortunately I’m not in the position to reward everyone.

At the same time it must be made clear these rewards are privileges (things earned) instead of rights (things you can can demand)

Earlier this week I had to take drastic measures to explain that difference to a boy who is normally EXTREMELY well-behaved, and is used to having a cup of my coffee almost every day.  A few weeks ago he began to develop a bit of attitude problem, this continued growing till day three of VBS last week after which he was a perfect angel.  On Friday when we announced winners of prizes he was confused (and a little upset) about not receiving one and asked me about it; in his mind being there every day and saying all the verses entitled him to one.  I calmly explained he was in a tie with some of the other boys and they received prizes because he had a  bad attitude.

I thought after that experience he realized rewards couldn’t be expected for bad behavior…I was wrong

While with me Monday he decided to directly disobey one of my rules and afterwards felt like saying sorry was all that needed to be done.  Now I’m a kind-hearted soul but realizing he hadn’t learned his lesson (he wanted to come to my house and hang out afterwards) I banned him from any special activities.

1. No coffee
2. No water with lemon
3. No peanut butter and jelly sandwich
4. No games
5. No feeding the cat 🙂

Today in mercy I allowed him to come and sit on the porch for 10 minutes but that was it.  When he asked why I wasn’t letting him do all the things before (he asked to help me make sandwiches, and play inside) I informed him he had broken my trust and had to work his way up to that level of rewards.

I don’t know this probably makes me sound like a cruel heartless person, but I can guarantee after he earns those special rewards in about two-weeks he will think twice about doing the wrong thing.  And Lord willing he will know they are privileges  not rights

One of my favorite movies is based around the phrase “if you build it they will come” (Field of Dreams), and  the Lord is teaching me that phrase has ministry implications as well.

In mid-June when the school year ended I decided to have a summer break for some children’s ministries, in particular the Bible Club that was held on weekday afternoons at 3:00 since children weren’t coming home from school during that time.  While there  may have been one or two attendees sometimes usually  it wasn’t worth the work since often nobody came.

There is a sense where my Bible Club decision was based on a popular principle for Christian Ministries; don’t begin a work until there is a great need or call for it.  In other words, if all the kids are coming home from school at 3:00 then you should definitely have Bile Club at that time.  The flip side of that coin however says if there isn’t a real need for the ministry, then don’t do it.

There’s definitely wisdom in this principle since missionaries cannot meet every need that surrounds them, but it also keeps us from launching new ministries.

Launching new ministries is almost always a step of faith because there aren’t huge crowds clamoring for it.  Instead you start with one or two people (if any) and slowly build from there.

Between you and me I would rather focus on established ministries because they’re a lot easier and people are used to them.  It’s just second nature for kids to race themselves to the Church after school for Bible Club since they are used to it, and of course ministering to a crowed of 12 to 18 children is a blessing.

But launching new ministries brings more Glory to God

1. Since the ministry doesn’t bring glory to myself (no large crowds)
2. It develops patience and requires hard work
3. For the most part the kids who come there will truly want to be there
4. New ministries are almost never launched in our own strength so it will take much prayer

Yesterday afternoon I officially started afternoon Bible Clubs again even though a big part of me didn’t expect anyone to come.

The Lord blessed by bringing four boys, but the fact is faithfully ministering even though the room is empty takes more  character than ministering to a full one.

Yesterday morning we completed the 2016 Vacation Bible School for Tabernacle Baptist Church.  The Lord used this years VBS to help me in many ways, but the most important was pointing out some misconceptions that I have about children’s ministry.

It’s common when working with children for us to  hold them to a lower expectation than adults.  For instance if a twenty-eight year old becomes upset after someone took his chair while he played with friends my response will be a lot harsher than if it was a ten or eleven year old.  In its basic sense this is a good thing (10 year olds cannot be expected to act like adults in my opinion) however I often find myself also holding children to a lower standard along with those lower expectations.

While a lower expectation and standard sounds similar there are MASSIVE differences

1. Lower expectations don’t expect children to obey perfectly right away, but refuse to lower the standard
2. Lower standards believe children cannot achieve the requirements, so rules are lowered to a level they can meet

With the Lords help I have been able to achieve a balance of carefully lowering expectations (not expecting to much right away) while refusing to lower standards.  But last week at VBS taught me there was a blind spot in my ministry when it came to being on time.

Most people in Saint Vincent live by “island time” which basically means lots people come to services and activities at least 15 minutes late.  Now let me say not all Vincentians are this way, and its definitely not just a problem in SVG (Australia is the same way) so please don’t view this as being disrespectful towards the people of Saint Vincent.  This does create ministry challenges though because I’ve grown up with “American time” which for the most part means if a person arrives on time that makes them late, and as any Missionary can tell you, “American time” doesn’t translate very well into foreign cultures 🙂

Over time this cultural difference led me to stop making coming in late a serious problem (I do believe people should be on time, but it isn’t a Doctrinal issue).  Unfortunately that expectation for lateness became a belief that they COULDN’T come in on time….moving from lowered expectations to a lowering of standards.

One of my challenges in ministry is getting children to faithfully attend services at Tabernacle Baptist Church.  For the most part kids want to come, but working with “island time” and its being the summer means its very easy to forget what time Church services are.  So it isn’t abnormal for children to come very late, or just not show up at all.  Experiences like this made me think children COULDN’T tell time (lowered standard) instead of it being harder for them since parents aren’t always there to tell a child when its time for Church, or take them there  (lowered expectation).

Thankfully the Lord used VBS last week to show island children could indeed tell time

Leading up to the last day (Friday) we opened up the gate to Church at 9:00 and there would be four or five kids waiting there.  Imagine my surprise when I came to find ten to fifteen children waiting 30 minutes before the door opened!  Since some special events were planned on Friday so it was decided that the gate would be locked at 9:40 (kids had been coming in after 10:00 on other days) so a crowd of 50 to 60 were expected….We ended up with eighty!

One boy from VBS learned that he was going to get sweeties (candy) at Church Sunday morning for saying a lot of verses and told to be there at 9:30.  Instead he showed up at my house ALREADY DRESSED FOR CHURCH AT JUST AFTER 8:00!  Let me say that again…he came to my house in dress clothes almost an hour and a half early!!!

Its easy to become frustrated when children don’t live up to our expectations and lower our standards for them.  But I’m grateful for God’s reminder that with the proper motivation, they will strive to achieve those higher standards.