Often people who are not involved in children's ministry have false assumptions about it. Here are seven of the most common, along with how to respond and help people see the truth:

1. Children's ministry is just childcare. How many times have you heard someone call it "childcare"? Are you like me? Do you cringe when you hear that? We know it's much more than "childcare." It's ministry! It's helping kids know God and follow Him.

The reason most people who call it "childcare" do so is because they're not aware of what happens in the kid's services. Cast the vision for this and help the people in your church see that children's ministry truly is ministry. 

2. Kids come to Christ differently than adults. There is no "junior" Holy Spirit. Kids get saved just like adults do. In fact, the Bible never tells kids to be like adults to get saved. But it does tell adults to be like kids to get saved. That being said, it is important that we have a clear process and plan for sharing the gospel with kids. Here's more help with this. 

3. Children's ministry is just about children. Children's ministry is unique in that you have the opportunity to minister to every age group in the church—children, students who serve, adults who serve, parents and grandparents. Children's ministry leaders have to be able to lead and connect with the adults who serve just as much as they do with the kids. 

4. Kids are the church of tomorrow. Hang on a minute. Kids are the church of today. They have spiritual gifts. They can be anointed. They can serve, lead worship, greet, make an impact, give, go on mission trips and just about anything else an adult can do. They don't have to wait until they grow up to be the church. 

5. You don't have to do things with excellence; the kids won't notice anyway. When people say this, I get irritated. Kids deserve our very best. We should be just as committed (or even more committed) to providing them with excellent worship, programming, lessons, facilities, discipleship and more. 

6. Children's ministry is not as important as adult ministry. Children's ministry is just as important as adult ministry. The early years of a person's life are the most critical, as 85 percent of people come to Christ before the age of 18. When kids come to Christ, they can serve God for a lifetime. Check out this interesting, eye-opening parable that talks about this. 

7. Kids will grow up to love Jesus if you fill their head with Bible facts and memory verses. Learning Bible verses and facts is important but does not guarantee that kids will grow up to love Jesus. The devil knows more Bible than you and I, but hates Jesus. Information without transformation by the Holy Spirit leads to spiritual stagnation. It's not enough for kids to just know about Jesus; they must know Jesus personally.

The renowned evangelist D.L. Moody, who led over 1 million people to Christ in the 19th century, said this at the end of his ministry: "If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God."

Amen, Mr. Moody, amen.

Dale Hudson has been in children's ministry for over 27 years. He is the director of children's ministry at Christ Fellowship Church in South Florida. Christ Fellowship has nine campuses and ministers to over 25,000 people on weekends. Dale leads a children's ministry staff team of over 70 and a volunteer team of over 2,600. He has authored 100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Children's Ministry, 100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Preschool Ministry, Children's Ministry in the 21st Century, Sunday School That Works, the ChurchLeaders.com Top 100 book, and If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry.

For the original article, visit relevantchildrensministry.com.

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