Commitment and Passion

[George Jamison]

Question???
Why in some churches if not all, are God's" grown children", afraid of committing themselves to serve right where God has planted them in their own church, and have been members for years? Especially in the children's Sunday School?

[Stephanie Salvatore]

You think it's fear? Maybe exhaustion... I do serve in that way at my church, but I've found I enjoy it a lot more when I'm teaching in classes OUTSIDE the age range of my own kids. When you've been dealing with poopy diapers, or not sharing, or whatever the age-related pitfalls you currently have at home, it's really hard to commit to tackling that on Sunday as well! Personally though, I confess that I would have some fear of teaching kids older than my own. I think I'd fear not knowing how to relate to that age group.

[Michael Stover]

I know for myself I had always said I could not work with kids, I was not cut out for that, etc. I have 5 of my own and people thought it strange when I would say I could not. But a close friend conned me into working at a children's camp 3 years ago and God showed me that I could work with kids and He would bless it. Now, I have worked this camp for the past 3 years! For me, I was saying I could not, without having tried. There may be many like me, who have not stepped out in faith to see if God could or would use them in children's ministry.

[James Jackson]

It's a great question. I also wonder if it is because church leaders aren't asking, or if they aren't asking the right way. My brother-in-law is a highly successful, very wealthy, and very busy businessman-- the kind of guy that a lot of pastors would immediately write off as "too busy" to volunteer his time at the church. But Chris's pastor, through a lot of mentoring and investing in him personally, gave him such a strong vision for how he could build the kingdom of God through his local church that he got him to give his time in several key areas of the church's ministry.
Sometimes church leaders are so desperate for warm bodies that they just put the cattle call out there and wait until someone is "guilted" into volunteering their time. One of the things I think we learn from Nehemiah is how effective workers will be when they feel personally invested in what they are doing. And that comes from casting a compelling vision.