by Josh Liu

Since LKC has been taking a break for the summer, it’s allowed a blessed time of reflection and planning. I have been incredibly encouraged and challenged while leading this ministry.

Looking back on 2010-2011…

From a ministry coordinator’s perspective, I was immensely challenged in how to minister to children, to parents, and to my staff.

Being the youngest child of three boys in my family, single with no children, and minimal experience with children, I was surprised – to say the least – when asked to serve in the Children’s Ministry as LKC’s ministry coordinator. I was humbled that the leaders of the church would trust me with such a seemingly (and true) high calling of ministering to the next generation. Beyond learning how to prepare for a message and to teach it, I had to learn how to do so for children, many of who have yet to learn how to read. I was challenged to begin thinking like a parent – which is much more complicated than how it sounds. I wrestled with how to serve and encourage the parents of the children. I struggled to learn how to take care of and lead my staff.

Yet God continues to be mightily good. The staff, parents, and even the children have all been so gracious and patient. I was blessed by the general knowledge and conduct of the children. I was humbled by the seeds already planted by their parents. And I was incredibly encouraged to see the staff ministering to and sharing the gospel with the children.

It was an awesome time of challenge, encouragement, and study of the attributes of God.

Looking ahead toward 2011-2012…

I intend to take all that I was challenged by and lessons that I learned from with me to the next year. I am very excited for the new term, and the changes that I plan to make. I am blessed and humbled to continue serving alongside some returning staff. And I am honored with another opportunity to partner with parents in the discipleship of their children.

This year’s theme centers on peacemaking, taken from The Young Peacemaker. We will walk the children through understanding conflict, and how to respond to conflict in a God-honoring manner. The gospel continues to be central. Our vertical offense against and reconciliation with God confronts our horizontal conflicts with each other.

While we are not aiming for mere behavior modification, confronting these behaviors and actions grant opportunities to confronting heart issues of conflict. Imagine for a moment that you have an open wound that refuses to heal. You go see a doctor who takes a quick look at you and concludes that you just need a good band-aid. In reality, you have a flesh-eating infection that will continue to spread unless properly treated. Similarly, actions, words, and thoughts are manifestations of the true problem, rather than the source. If the source is not treated, there is no hope for true change. From Scripture, we know that the source of our problems, our sin, is the heart (Mark 7:20-23). In fact, this is our condition: we have an ill heart, bent against God (Jeremiah 17:9-10). More than that, we are spiritually dead beings who refuse to worship God, yet God acts and saves sinners (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 5:8). God grants those who repent from their sins and believe in Christ a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26). This new heart evidences true believers, true citizens of the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:8). Only then can we live a life that pleases God. Mere good and obedient behavior does not save us; solely Christ’s death and resurrection makes us right and pleasing before God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:4-11).

So then, in our endeavor to make disciples of Christ, to serve the parents in discipling their children in the way of the Lord, we plan to confront the heart through peacemaking this coming year.