by Lillian Kim

I have had the joy of serving on Fireflies staff for a total of four-and-a-half years. And now I have the joy of serving on Sonlight staff alongside my wonderful husband, Abram Kim.

The decision to switch from Fireflies to Sonlight wasn’t a very hard decision for me to make but it was a hard transition to go through. When Abram and I got engaged last April, we began talking about our future family and how our ministry would look like as a family. When we talked about my involvement in Fireflies, Abram was fine with me continuing on since it fit under the umbrella of Children’s ministry. We’d still attend the monthly children’s staff meetings together and he’d have more perspective from me on what goes on in the life of a Firefly kid so that it could help him understand how all the ministries of children’s ministry from newborns to eleven-year-olds connect. But as we thought about it and prayed about it more, we both realized that I would be a more effective helper for Abram if I served alongside him in Sonlight. I would be able to give him perspective and insight as I served with him on Sundays to encourage him to grow as teacher, to be his biggest cheerleader, to be his biggest critic, and to know how to better pray for him and help him prepare to teach on Sundays and to lead the ministry. Along with that, we would be ministering to the children, parents and staff together and would be able to talk about the joys and struggles and how to pray and watch the ministry grow as the Lord would be the ultimate leader of the group. So with that, it was easy to make the decision because my heart’s desire since being engaged to Abram is to carry out the words of Scripture, to be his “suitable helper.”

However, the transition was a bit difficult to go through. How do you say farewell to a wonderful staff and an energetic group of babies, infants and toddlers? It’s just hard because the staff is so supportive and loving and of one mind in passing on the glory of God to the next generation. And the kiddies are just so cute and impressionable and are very interested in knowing the truths about God—that he is good, big, everywhere, and that God always wins, Jesus is the boss, Jesus is my friend, Jesus is alive…and the list continues.

God is gracious and he made moving from Fireflies to Sonlight smooth. The Sonlight staff is wonderful and the children are great. Also, it’s neat to see how the Children’s Ministry’s philosophy of ministry is consistent and constant with what the church-at-large stands for. It’s not just that way on paper but it’s also that way in practice.

I’m currently working with the yellow table which is the Kindergarten table. The last interactions I had with these kids were in nursery. It’s been fun and a huge blessing to see how much these kids have grown and learned since their Fireflies days. I can see how the foundations laid out in Fireflies has really helped them in their spiritual journey. Some of the things they’ve been learning this year in Sonlight–like adoption, justification and sanctification–are very big concepts, but they are slowly getting it because they have learned truths about God and Jesus over the course of their participation in the Children’s Ministry here at LBC.

Working with the children of our church is such a delight. The parents have been very helpful as they teach and pass on the glory of God to them. As a church, let’s continue to strive in this endeavor to pass on the glory of God to those who do not know Him.