A Successful Kids Prayer Ministry

Recently we asked our Facebook Kids Prayer Focus Group to tell us in their own words what they envisioned as a successful Kids Prayer ministry. The Bible says that “where there is no vision the  people  perish.” For a ministry to be truly effective you need to know what your goal is so you can consistently evaluate whether the things you are doing are helping reach that goal.

Here are some responses:

Question: 

“We’d like to have as many of you as possible define for us in your own terms what you see as the end result of a successful kids prayer ministry. What is your goal in specific terms?”

Answers:

Allison Harrison Mack:
I love this question because it’s something I think about often! It’s what keeps me motivated. My goal is first and foremost to see all my kids filled with the Holy Ghost and loving God above all else and that they make Heaven! Second my prayer is that through loving God and what they are learning they will become great warriors in the kingdom. They may not all be preachers or whatever else BUT I pray that they will all know how to listen to God and follow His calling whatever that may be. Third I pray that they pass it on! When the time comes I want them to be able to pass the mantle and know that generations are following Christ because of their faithfulness! 

Annette Jordan:
Success at the close of a child’s tenure in kids prayer is that the end is just the beginning. If we can graduate a child to the next ministry grounded in the foundational principles of a daily relationship with God, and with the attitude towards worship and prayer being “that’s just what we do” we have set up our children to succeed at becoming powerful forces as adults. My goal is to develop entire generations through kids prayer to define the future of the church.

Chris Anderson:
My definition of success can only be witnessed over large spans of time. When I see kids not living for God ten years later, that seemed to be in rapt attention while I was teaching them, I feel my teaching was not successful. But recently I have seen the fruit of some of my labors, which are grown ups living and Apostolic life for God, and I am very thankful that He called me into children’s ministry. I learned you can’t base your success on an emotion. Be faithful to your message and your ministry, pour your 100% in, and that is success.

John Alan Wilson II:
 The overall goal is to help the children to understand the power of having a relationship with God, that can only come through prayer. As far as making it a specific, measurable goal, that is much more difficult to define! I would say that a successful kids prayer ministry would be one that the parents notice at home. If the children start pushing the parents and I start getting feedback that their children are encouraging them and challenging them to evaluate their own prayer lives, that is a success. Also, the results should be seen through the fruit that comes from the children, as far as watching them flourish in ministry and as witnesses as they age.

Michelle Cron:
To me a successful prayer ministry for kids is to see them continue in prayer when they become teenagers. I taught teens for many years, and I have seen too many of them walk away from God once they turned 18 or got to college. While parents livestyles had a lot to do with it for some, I have noticed those who had a real desire for God as a child and had learned to really pray had better success living for God as a teenager. I want to give my kids all the tools they need to survive those years.