The Kidz Pastor: Called to Die, Transform, and Empower

What does it mean to "called"? Well, the simple answer is that being "called" means that God has specially chosen an individual to do a certain task. It means to be set apart. Numerous volumes of books have been written on "The Call", but what does the call of God look like when you narrow it down to a specific ministry? What about Kidz Ministry? What exactly is a Kidz Pastor called to do?

The answer to that questions varies depending on who you ask. I would like to take a few moments to share with you what my calling means to me personally. As it relates to the ministry, God has called me to do/be three things...

1. To be a crucified servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, kidz and their parents.


First and foremost I am called by God to put to death anything that seeks to exalt itself above the Glory of Jesus Christ. That means my dreams, my goals, my desires and ambitions. The Ego itself must be crucified to the point that all that remains is a humbled servant of Christ.

Leadership in the Kingdom of God does not model after the pattern of the world. In the world, leadership is about position, power, and success. It's about climbing up the ladder, doing just a little bit better, and always moving foreword with the understanding that the higher you go, the better life gets.

Leadership in the Kingdom of God is not about power but service. To be a leader in God's Kingdom means to take on the humbled position of a slave. It can be compared to a drink offering being poured out as an act of sacrifice. The higher you go "up the ladder" in leadership, the more of a servant you must become.

2. To be an agent of transformation in the lives of children

My calling as a Kidz Pastor is not simply to facilitate kidz services or to oversee a children's program. The fruit of my labor should be life change. This is not to say that I am the one who changes children's lives. The Holy Spirit through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the transformer, but it pleases Him to use ministers as His agents of life transformation.

3. To build up, equip, train, and empower children whose lives have been transformed by the Gospel to go out into their world and do like wise.

This third part to my calling can be summed up in one word; Discipleship. While it is fulfilling to watch kidz come to the alter week after week and watch their lives changed by encountering God, that must not be seen as the over all goal. Life change and transformation are essential and important to the ministry but we must move beyond that initial moment of transformation.

Those who have been transformed by the Gospel must then be discipled and helped to integrate this new found life change into the rest of their everyday lives. We must show them how the power of God applies to life outside of the four walls of the church or the safety of the small group.

Once this has been accomplished, then they must be empowered to go out into the "Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria" that God has called them to and do the same thing. Twelve individuals had an encounter with Christ. It was a life changing moment of transformation for them. They spent three years with Him learning from Him, being trained and discipled by Him. After He had risen from the dead He told them to go out and do the same thing. Lead people to God, and disciple them. Then tell them to go out and repeat. 2,000 years later, here we are.

There is an unwritten fourth element to my calling. It isn't so much part of my calling but more a method of applying my calling. That is "by any means necessary". The Body of Christ is known abroad at times for being traditional. There is a certain way ministry is done, and its done that way because we have been doing that way for a long time. Thats just the way it is. Its tradition.

God is challenging me with that line of thinking as of late. God is challenging me to throw off everything I know about church and how it works, to throw of all traditions that have been engrained in me since birth and simply accomplish the mission set before with whatever method that works. If that method looks like nothing else ever seen in a church before, then so be it. Its not about the methods, its about the mission, and the mission is people. The mission is kids.

This aspect is challenging for me because I have at times been described as traditional and even "old school". But if I have to throw away generations of tradition and "church culture" in order to do and be all that God has called me, then I must let it go. I must die so that I can transform, and transform so that I can empower.


Joseph Reeder