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Family Ministry Moments - August 2024

IS MY CHILD READY?

Recently I have had the joy of meeting with several parents and their children as I follow up on VBS decisions.  It is one of the greatest privileges of my life to help parents lead their children to Christ.  Some of the children I have met with are ready to follow Christ and some need more time.  Parents ask the question, “How can I know if my child is ready?”  A few years ago I published an article in the Oakleaves Newsletter and I thought it would be helpful to run it again.

Originally Published June 2019
One of my favorite parts of being a family minister is seeing little children become followers of Christ.  This is such a special opportunity! It’s truly a wonderful, God-glorifying decision. I love getting to help parents counsel their children in this process; however, many parents struggle to know when their child is ready.  This can be difficult but don’t worry, I have listed some important steps to help you know if your child is ready.

Start with Prayer – Never, never, never underestimate the power of prayer.  Pray that God would speak to your child and call them to be saved.  Pray for wisdom to know if they are ready. Just pray for your child in general.  We can never pray for them enough.

Be Patient – The last thing you want to do is rush this process.  If your child is not asking questions or doesn’t seem interested or even if they say they are not ready, don’t
worry.  They should make that decision on their own rather than pressure from you. However, if they are asking questions and seem to want to know more then don’t wait!

Salvation vs. Baptism – Often kids equate salvation with baptism.  Baptism can spark an interest in the child, but they need to understand that being baptized is not the same as being saved.  We make the decision to follow Christ prompted by the Holy Spirit apart from baptism. Baptism is that symbol of spiritual cleansing that unites us with the church.  It is the first step in living out our new faith publicly. We want children to be baptized, but only after they have made a
profession of faith.

Use a Good Resource – Find a good resource that will help you share the gospel.  I love “God’s Plan for Me” from Lifeway. It is designed for children to know and understand the timeless truth of the gospel.  It is also easy to use and helpful for parents who may not be comfortable with sharing. Lifeway also has a workbook called “What is a Christian?” that I find fun and helpful.

Use Scripture – It is very important to take the time to look up the scriptures from “God’s Plan for Me” in the Bible and read them out loud.  Kids need to connect their faith back to the Word of God.

Avoid “Churchy” Words – Be careful saying things like “lost”, “confess”, or “ask Jesus into your heart”.  Kids are concrete thinkers and can be confused with these words. Try to brainstorm ways to say these things in plain language they can understand.

Ask Open-ended Questions – Make sure to avoid yes-no questions.  We can falsely lead children to make a decision they are not ready for.  Ask them things like “Can you tell me why you want to do this?” or “Tell me what you understand about how to become a Christian?”

If They are Ready – Lead them to pray a prayer of commitment, then rejoice with them!  Share that decision with your pastors and schedule an appointment to talk about baptism.

I hope these steps help you as you talk to your children about following Christ.  Please feel free to reach out to me anytime with questions or to set up a meeting.  Email me at

Student Life - August 2024

Man, Middle School Mission Week was tough! And there is something I do not understand - how is it that after hours of work, mostly in the sun, how do some of these students still have SO much energy? I was repeatedly blown away by the pure stamina these guys have and quickly became overwhelmed by it. So, if you have a child or have children that meet this criteria, then you have my prayers and have earned my respect. 

But, on a serious note, MSMW was a great time! We had around 40 people each day come to church to help serve during the week. This time looked like setting up and hosting two bible camps in the morning, one projects team sent to McGary Middle School in the morning, then service projects in the afternoon such as care packages being made and delivered to church members and working around the church in areas that needed some physical labor. We certainly kept busy during the hours of each day and I am so grateful to share that our students were quick to volunteer and serve! As we served two communities, a school, church members, and strangers, our students were quick to love, listen, care for and serve others. Man, what awesome marks to see in people who have been changed by Christ! They also got to have some fun afternoons as well. We got to enjoy time at a pool party, went bowling, and finished the week off at an arcade. 

While these service projects and fun afternoons were great times to look back on, I really enjoyed our morning meetings together. At 9am, we would gather the students around and talk shop for a couple of minutes explaining what the students can expect the work day to look like. Then, we would have a devotion time for everyone to benefit from. I recognized and understood that a few of the middle school students in the crowd were promoting 5th graders and would soon be entering 6th grade, thus
promoting to the student ministry and no longer attending AWANA. So, with that being said, I wanted to share some info about me to the new guys and share some of my heart for ministry. One of the mornings, I taught on what biblical love was and why we needed it. I explained that while we seek to serve others, especially this week, service means nothing if we do not love the person we are serving. But not just any type of love, I explained what the bible tells us about God’s love. I pointed them to
1 John 4:19 - “We love because He first loved us.” and John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” I explained to them, and I now explain to you, that in this student ministry that I serve, any and all of this work done in this ministry is solely because God first loved us. Because of this love, we now have a secure and permanent relationship with God the Father. And with this love, we then must go and share this love with others! We must go and follow the instructions God has given us when He tells us to serve others, serve the poor and needy, serve the broken in spirit. We must do this now because the Kingdom of God is at hand and Christians should not stand idly by!

I explained this to the students to then conclude with this point on Friday morning: this service that we commit to during the week, it is all for the glory of God. I explained that in 1 Peter 4:11 we see that God gives us strength to serve others but it is ultimately service and strength that is used for God’s glory. And that is the mission that I served each day during MSMW and each day that I am your student ministry director. My existence and goal in this life is to make God’s name known and to help be the hands and feet of Christ. After that, I couldn’t care less if you forget my name. I meant it when I said it on stage to the students and mean it now as I write it here. I hope that one day people forget my name and take any glory that might have gone to me and instead ALWAYS give glory to God the Father and to Christ the Son. There is nothing special about anything I say, it is only the grace and love of God that I am able to be here and work in ministry alongside you guys. 

And, with that being said, that wraps up our Middle School Mission Week. Huge thanks to everyone that served during the week. We had a great turn out of middle schoolers each day as well as student leaders and adult chaperones. I am truly thankful for everyone’s partnership in ministry. May Christ be glorified in the work that was done during MSMW! 

His Glory Alone 
Alex Kilgore