One of the greatest gifts we can give others is an invitation to serve God. But this gift doesn’t have to be limited to adults—with thoughtful care and support, kids can participate in ministry with their parents.

More than once I have been asked, “Why are you creating so many roles for people to fill in Kids ministry?” My answer is, “Because I love them!”

Consider your own walk. Think about how richly you have been blessed by the calling to serve Jesus. It is where you learn dependence on him, see prayers answered, and see your faith grow. It is where you have matured and been given the unfathomable honor of partnership in God’s kingdom. Serving him has probably been difficult at times, but looking back, you can see what a gift it has been in your life.

Is service a burden?

One of the greatest gifts we can give others is an invitation to serve God.

What about kids?

So often we look at service as a burden that one must be old and mature enough to undertake. But this is like saying that riding a bicycle is only for people who can ride bicycles. It’s sort of true, but again, incomplete. A two-year-old can ride a bicycle. It just looks different. They don’t go very far, they make mistakes, and they may require training wheels. But they are still riding a bicycle, and it is a joy for them and others!

Think about how richly you have been blessed by the calling to serve Jesus.

So it is with service. Children can have meaningful service. A while back my 8-year-old daughter and her best friend ran a lemonade stand to raise money for orphans in India. They raised $60 in two hours! I was floored. If I didn’t love my job so much I would have quit it and gone into the lemonade business (it’s apparently lucrative).

The girls’ signs were not professional. Their tactics were clumsy. But they served and raised enough money to feed an Indian orphan for two months. It was service to God and others, and a joy to my daughter and her friend.

Service starts with parents

How do we call kids into service at church? Begin with the parents. At Mars Hill we have created an application for the parent to fill out. It asks, among other things, about their child’s gifts and the roles the parent sees best fitting their child’s current developmental and spiritual needs. This honors and invites parents into further leadership of their children. It helps us follow their lead. And we are able to give kids the great gift of service to God.

Younger and older kids can participate

Some examples for younger kids include helping their parents hand pagers out to parents at check-in, handing stickers out to new kids, and helping with setup and cleanup. One second-grade girl at our church has expressed a love for babies, and her mom just joined our Kids Hospitality team. We are creating a way for her to serve alongside her mom, with the responsibility of giving a special gift to any family with a baby.

Some examples for older kids include serving alongside their parents in a room, opening doors as a greeter, parking strollers, handing out fliers, singing in the Kids band, helping with the staging and décor teams, and so on.

One of the greatest gifts we can give others is an invitation to serve God.

In every role they get to start early with the adults, join in praying for the kids and families they are about to serve, and then see some of the impact of their sacrifice and service.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” This training ground is like the training wheels mentioned above: Over time they will grow and mature. And by God’s grace, he will use it to draw them closer and closer to him for the rest of their lives.

We invite adults and children into serving God because we love him and we love them.