A CALL TO DISCIPLE OUR CHILDREN

In a society where families are devalued and children are seen as a burdensome nuisance, New City Hamilton is a church that celebrates families and children.
Psalm 127 describes children as being a blessing and a reward from the Lord and Jesus desires children to come to him (Matthew 19:14).

Further we are a church that takes Christ’s call (Matthew 28:19) to discipleship seriously. We believe that the responsibility to bring children up in the knowledge of Christ belongs to both the immediate family and the wider church family (Deuteronomy 6:7, Proverbs 22:66).

I love that God has blessed us with an abundance of Children. Currently, children make up approximately 1/3 of our weekly attendance. This means that on an average Sunday, we have between 70-80 kids in attendance. It’s awesome to see so many children in the church, being discipled and nurtured in the development of their faith. Each week there are laughs to be had, hilarious moments to be remembered, and experiences to be shared. We get the privilege of reflecting the body of Christ as a church family together.

More importantly, it’s a joy and a privilege to know that as kids’ ministry leaders, by God’s grace we play an important role in the growth of their knowledge of God and their personal experience of the gospel.

With great privilege, however, comes great responsibility! And we, as a whole church, are called to care for our children and families.

In order to provide appropriate care and instruction for our children, and in compliance with recommended classroom ratios, we need approximately 13 volunteers on any given Sunday. And in order to keep our volunteers in a regular, yet healthy rotation, we would need approximately 78 volunteers to be part of the ministry team.

We currently have 51 volunteers most of whom serve once a month. This means we are in need of 27 new volunteers from the congregation in order to maintain our ratios and get into a healthy and sustainable rotation. If we can get thirty more volunteers it will allow us to:
a) Keep classroom sizes reasonable
b) Keep our volunteers on a sustainable rotation
c) Give margin to the ministry so that the ministry as a whole is not running at or beyond
capacity.

There are multiple ways you might serve in New City Kids. However, our greatest need at the moment is for Sunday School Teachers.

Now we understand that the thought of teaching can be a daunting one for some. If so, I understand! But can I share a few comforting truths that may help?

First, Christ equips his church through the Holy Spirit for the work of the gospel (Luke 12:12) . This includes children’s ministry. We never go alone into a classroom; Christ equips us for the task through His Holy Spirit (Hebrews 13:20-21, 2 Peter 1:3). The thought of managing 10-15 children for an hour, let alone actually teaching them, may feel intimidating. Again we get it. But we also want to encourage you to trust the God who comes alongside you as you come our children.

Second, there is in fact minimal direct teaching involved in our current curriculum. The lesson plans are provided for you and are made available early in the week so you can look through it well in advance. Between the craft, game, and videos, it allows almost anyone to lead a lesson with minimal preparation.

Third, over the course of the summer there will be New City Kids Ministry Training events held to help equip you to feel capable and competent in teaching and helping lead Sunday school. While you may have fears or hesitations, I also want to remind you of the solemn commitment that many of us have made. Every time we baptize a child, Connan or Moses ask the following question: “Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of this child?” If you have verbally agreed to this commitment, I would encourage you to take seriously the commitment that you have made. Please prayerfully Consider what it means for you to be directly involved in the Christian nurture of our many children, though New City Kids.

So what can we do to get to the point of healthy, sustainable serving cycles? The elders of New City, in tandem with the New City Kids team, are asking all fathers and mothers whose children are in New City kids to serve on Sundays as teachers or helpers. We recognize there are special circumstances and commitments that might limit parents’ abilities to serve. However, if your child is being cared for by New City Kids, our general expectation is that you will be involved in some way.

But it is also not just parents of young children we need, we also want to strongly encourage grandparents, seniors, singles, young adults to be involved in the church through New City Kids. At all levels of ministry, New City has aspired to be intergenerational. We hope that this value will be reflected in the ministry of New City Kids as volunteers of all ages contribute their unique perspectives, experiences, and gifts towards this ministry.

New City Church, our sincere hope and desire is to be a church where all kinds of people including children are discipled and cared for well. And we need your partnership in the gospel to do so in a manner that protects the health of our ministry personnel, that promotes the whole-community involvement, and that encourages us to take our commitments seriously.

We are so grateful for the incredible opportunity to disciple many souls who will form the next generation of gospel-centered followers of Christ. Please join us as we carry out this vital work faithfully. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to myself or our pastors, Connan and Moses.