Building Bridges

In my last post I talked about the importance of knowing who you are ministering too as well as some ways to find that out.

Tonight I would like to talk about the why behind knowing who you are ministering too. I believe one of the most important steps in reaching the lost is bridge building. And the way that you can build that bridge is by knowing who your audience is. This opens so many doors.

When I came to NYC I had so many things in my head that I thought would hinder my ministry but as I learned the importance of building a bridge all of those things that hindered me went away.

One of the things that I noticed in the Bronx River Area is that in the summer there are so many kids outside in the playgrounds with their moms. So I took some large bubble wands, Bubbles, and sidewalk chalk to the park. It was not only a hit but it grew my Wednesday night kid's club from about ten kids to fifty every single week.

What are some bridges that you can build in your ministry? They will not be the same for everyone. Think about it and share your bridges with everyone in the comments section. I look forward to hearing all your ideas!

What do I know about Culture?

As I was thinking about where to take this first post I decided I should really start from the beginning. What helps grow your ministry?

I believe one of the most important things in ministry is to know who you are ministering to. This can do several things. The first thing this does it is shows those you are ministering to that you actually care about who they are. Second is that it can help you draw from what they love to actually share the gospel with them.

How do we find this information out? How we learn the culture of the kids we are working with is not going to be found in a book or on TV, we are not going to be able to google it. This information can only be found out by talking, asking questions, and most importantly listening.

One idea you can do with your staff and volunteers is do a children's ministry version of Family Feud. Make a survey and have the kids answer the questions take your top 5 or 6 answers for each question, form two teams and get to playing. The kids can be the studio audience.

Let's look at one question I asked my kids today; Who is your favorite singer? The top three answers in order were Justin Beiber, Rihanna, and Shakira. Do you know who these singers are? Have you listened to any of their songs? What are some of their lyrics? These are very important questions to answer.

In the next installment I will be talking about how we can use the things that we learn about our kids to reach them with the gospel.

As always if you have questions or any of your own insights about children's ministry please feel free to ask them in the comments section.

Who am I?

Nearly 10 years ago I left my life in the quiet suburbs of the midwest, traded life in a house with a driveway and a garage for a 3rd floor 1 bedroom apartment in the Bronx to become a missionary to children and families in innercity New York City.

When God called me from the direction I thought my life was going to the direction my life took now I was definitely scared, nervous, and felt very unprepared. I mean my life was so much different then those of the families I was going to be ministering too.

But one thing I learned is that when God is in the mix that is all you need.

Each week in this blog I hope to share with you the lessons I have learned ministering in the innercity of New York City. If you have any questions for me please feel free to leave them in the comments and I will try to answer them the best that I can in the next blog post.

I look forward to sharing with you all that I have learned in my 10 years of innercity children's ministry.