Not everybody has upfront teaching abilities. Not everyone has fine-tuned administrative abilities. Not everyone who sees the vision of children’s ministry wants to work with kids.

Did you hear that? Do you understand that some people can understand the vision of reaching kids for Christ at a young age but they themselves don’t want to be around kids? Think about that. Are you only looking for people who are passionately excited about being around kids? If you are, you are missing out.

Doing Great Things for Kids

I remember sharing this statement long ago at a leadership conference. I asked the question, “Do you have room on your leadership bus for those people who passionately want to see kids come to Christ but absolutely do not want to be around kids?” I had several leaders turn a sour face and pull their head back in disgusted disbelief that I would suggest that someone who doesn’t like to be around kids should seek to work in children’s ministry.

I went on to share with those people that they need to keep an open mind for the next few minutes as I shared how I have leveraged so many people to pull off great things for kids without them ever having to be around kids.

Gifts and Abilities

Listen, there are some people who would love to create a rocket launcher far more than they would like to change a diaper in the nursery. Think about it. Can you tap into the gifts and abilities of people who are introverted and simply don’t want to be around kids?

There are people who get stressed out, begin to sweat, and having clammy hands when they are around kids. That doesn’t mean that they don’t see the vision for kids needing to come to Christ and seeing how the likelihood of someone coming to Christ is far greater at a young age. They can see the vision and they want to apply their gifts towards that vision in a way that does not directly intersect with kids.

Do you have room for that on your leadership bus?

Contributing to the Ministry

You can create roles and responsibilities for people to come in on a Wednesday morning to cut out craft items. They are contributing to the ministry yet they themselves are not around children. You might find a former mid-level executive who desires to plan events and they desperately want to leverage this gift for the kingdom. There are plenty of opportunities to have event planners step into the role of VBS coordinator or coordinator for The Amazing Chemistry Show to come to town (shameless self-promotion: https://kidminscience.com/the-amazing-chemistry-show/).

Different Seats on the Bus

People want to be involved, they sometimes just don’t know how their gifts can be applied if they don’t want to be around kids. Every single gift set can be leveraged in the Kingdom of God and applied toward kids, you just have to be a creative and innovative leader that discovers different seats on the bus. Think outside of the box and get individuals with different personalities to participate in the work of the ministry.

Does your bus have room for those who want to serve kids but don’t want to be around kids?