DISCIPLING KIDS FOR MINISTRY
Doing What Jesus Did
Inspired by Stacey’s story and want to
release the Holy Spirit in your children’s
program? She increased the hands-on
aspect of Kids on a Mission by adapting
lessons from Doing What Jesus Did, a book
by longtime Foursquare evangelists John
and Sonja Decker. The material has been
adapted into a free seven-week course,
available from the Ministry Training
Network at ministrytraining.org—click
on “Begin the Course.” And stay tuned, a
children’s version is currently in the works!
Stacey Argueta
One Foursquare church teaches kids about the power of the Holy Spirit in its
children’s program, and the impact is far beyond the church walls.
F
or the past 10 years, Mill Creek Foursquare
Church in Lynnwood, Wash., has trained kids
to live intentionally and sent them into their
communities through a midweek ministry called
Kids on a Mission (KOM). Our hope is that we can
equip kids for a lifestyle of ministry and send them
out to their schools, neighborhoods, sports teams
and world to reach people for the kingdom of God.
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F O U R S Q U A R E Leade r
However, this year we have taken this preparation
to a new level by training kids in grades 3-5 for
more practical ministry. We teach them lessons
such as leading people to Jesus, Holy Spirit baptism
and praying for healing.
Our kids have really run with it, and, as their
younger brothers and sisters observe what’s
going on, they are being affected. So are families,
since they participate in our monthly community
service projects. It’s been incredible to watch our
children pray for the sick, pray that others receive
the baptism with the Holy Spirit and take the
gospel into their neighborhoods.
In the spring, as we prepared for summer break,
one boy told me how thankful he was for having
KOM in his life. He felt
God wanted him to
draw closer to Him,
make new friends and
learn how to share his
testimony with others.
“I loved reading, ‘I am a kid on a mission’ and
the mission statement of Mill Creek every week
because it inspired me to grow in my faith and
trust in the Lord,” he said. “I want to follow Him all
my life. One of my favorite parts of th e group is
worship. Every time, I felt a touch of God through
my heart. I loved hearing about missionaries, and
now have a heart for everyone in the world to
know God.”
There’s more, such as the girl who decided
she wanted to create a newspaper to write
about things God is doing in their lives and
place it on neighbors’ doorsteps. One mother
told me about getting up and preparing to read
Scripture and finding her fifth-grade daughter
already reading her Bible.
Every year for our Valentine’s Day party,
the kids run the program. They’re the ones
preaching, leading worship and inviting
unsaved classmates. Last February, one of our
kids invited the person who had been bullying
him. After that boy came and heard about Jesus,
he stopped bullying others.
Our children are sharing the gospel at school.
One girl started a worship service for kids in her
neighborhood, where they sing songs to Jesus
and pray for each other.
If this sounds exciting, that’s because it is! But it’s
not because we’re special or unique. All you have
to do is start tapping into the spiritual hunger of
the future pastors, evangelists and missionaries
sitting in your pews.
Start by asking God to help you equip
children for witnessing and helping spread
the gospel, and then get ready to see Him show
up. Elementary-age
children are excited
about learning
and eager to
try new things.
Having an adult
who believes in the empowerment and gifts of
the Holy Spirit as a role model and teacher can
launch them into a ministry that will continue
as long as they live.
Our hope is that we can equip kids for a
lifestyle of ministry and send them out to
reach people for the kingdom of God.
Stacey Argueta is the assisting children’s pastor at Mill Creek
Foursquare Church in Lynnwood, Wash. She is part of the team
collaborating with the Ministry Training Network to create a
children’s version of curriculum based on Doing What Jesus
Did by John and Sonja Decker (Foursquare Media).
Written with Ken Walker, a freelance writer and book editor
from Huntington, W.Va.
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