For the church's ministry to become effective it must recognize the importance of children within the global scope of discipleship making. The presentation focuses on unlocking or tapping talent in these young people

1. Pastor Taurai Emmanuel Maforo
ZEA Board on Discipleship Academy
13 February 2014 @ Resthaven Retreat Centre, Harare

3. 
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Ministering to children is one critical aspect
to the entire discipleship program as it lays
foundations of Christian doctrine in the spirit
of Prov. 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he
should go, and when he is old he will not
depart from it.”
The scope of this presentation therefore is
focussed on exploring ways of unlocking
talent in children for effective ministry
through; discovering, developing, and
deploying the young people.

4. 
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Many children’s ministry specialists have made
immense contributions to this arena and as such this
presentation adds its voice to the existing.
This paper is not cast in concrete, but serves its
purpose of engaging the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area
BOD to widen its horizons in its discussion on
creating a dynamic children’s ministry through
discovering, developing, and deploying these
energetic young people for the greater effective
ministry of the church.
The suggestions in this presentation are not
expected to bring out magical results like
transforming Billy the Kid to Billy Graham in ten
easy steps.

5. 
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Here is a young man who was given an opportunity to
tell the story of their life.
My colour is black and I have been unfortunate that
both the positive and the negative have been marked
for all to see.
Everyone that carried me handled me with leather
gloves and a leather apron. Whenever a person
wearing a suit came and looked at me he paid some
money to the cashier and immediately another guy
with a dark overall would carry me for him implying I
can never be carried by a smart person but however I
can be used by the smart man.
Do you want to even know me?
Does anyone care? Who bothers?

6. 
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After all when people drive their cars I am always
hidden from the public.
But anyway I am not moved by that because the
more they use me the more I get more power.
They want me but they hide me.
My prayer is that I will never be left idle for a long
time lest I lose my energy.
MY NAME IS BATTERY.

7. 
The same story can be said of children’s
ministry in most of our local churches.
Children’s ministry is left to be handled by those
who are least trained and the rest feel too
smart to serve that ministry yet they need it to
function, or to a greater extent help the wheels
of the church’s ministry turn. When there is a
children’s camp pastors and Layleaders delegate
individuals in perceived “lesser” offices.

8. 
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a special natural ability or aptitude: a talent
for drawing.
a capacity for achievement or success;
ability: young men of talent.

9. to open (a lock), to open the lock of (a door, chest,
etc.)
 to let loose as if by opening a lock; release
 to make something available to be used in order to
increase its value or to make a profit from it: e.g. If we
do not unlock the value of this business, someone else
will.
NB – if we apply these definitions to the scope of this
presentation. Unlocking children’s talents entails
opening the door-ways for them and releasing them
for ministry which in the process gives them an
opportunity to increase their value through employing
their God-endowed talents.
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10. 
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Human beings are not blank tablets – tabula
rasa.
They bring to the Sunday school class some
wealth of experience from the play centre,
school bus, colourful classrooms.
They do not all skip ropes in the same way or go
through tunnel crawling the same way.
They do not do the same poems in the same
manner – some do sing-along, some rhymes.
There is need for some unlocking.

11. Children
The children
in the
in church
church are
today are
“Begging
begging for
REAL
for real
church”
church

12. 
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King David in Psalm 37:25 says, “I have been
young, and now am old; yet I have not seen
the righteous forsaken or his children
begging bread.”
Children in the church today are not
necessarily beggars of bread but rather they
are begging for REAL church.
Rev. Joseph Daniels believes a real church is
one that is spiritually mature, alert, and
perceptive and discerning
It is one that says; “We love you just the way
you are, but too much to let you stay there”

13. Getting REAL
R
RELEVANT-Acts 3(The beggar at the beautiful gate begging for the
church to become relevant). Young people, single, divorced,
physically challenged are begging for relevance
E
ENTHUSIASTIC - the term has a Greek origin meaning “possessed of
God”. The church must be a place for leaders with, “...fire shut up in
my bones” Jer. 20:9 who know how to unlock energies in children –
enthused for children’s ministry
A
AUTHENTIC - the church has to be genuine. Carries out the mission as
– missio dei. We need to do away with preconceived notions and
replace them with life-giving interactions
L
LOVING - A real church creates a warm atmosphere of fellowship,
breaks barriers, and builds bridges. Love is not love until we give it
away. How much are we able to adjust adult activities for the benefit
of Children’s Ministry program?

14. 
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The role of the teaching ministry of the is
not just to pass information or facts
It is to help people be formed as Disciples
Those involved in the formation process must
understand that God has already done some
work before their coming.
The child will look at the teacher and “tell”
them – “Before you came God was here”

15. “For you created my
inmost being; you knit
me together in my
mother’s womb. I praise
you for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made.”
Psalms 139:13-14

16. “created”
 “inmost” – where no one can
touch or disfigure
 “knit” – well crafted
 “mother’s womb” – alive
before life – you were before
you were
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18. 
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Mary Shelley author of the famous novel
Frankenstein – “Invention, it must be humbly
admitted, does not consisting creating out of
the void, but out of chaos; the materials
must, in the first place, be afforded.”
Michel Foucault a French philosopher bursts
into laughter at the thought of saying certain
things are impossible. He questions,
“Impossible by whose standards?” and “says
who?”

19. 
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The process of unlocking talent in children
just as in adults is more of un-wrapping your
spiritual gifts.
These gifts have to be discovered,
developed and deployed, as no gift serves
its own ends.

20. 
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The Gift - Eph. 4:11 “And he gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers;”
Take note here of the word – some
This implies that we don't get the same
talents – refer the parable of talents

21. 
Purpose – Eph. 4:12 “For the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for
the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 Till we
all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be
no more children, tossed to and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”

22. Discover
Develop
Deploy

23. 1Cor. 12:7 But to each one is given
the manifestation of the Spirit for
the profit of all. (WEB)
 Each one
 Manifestation of the spirit
 Common good

24.  Allow
children to
GROW into their gift
 Practice makes
perfect

25.  Send
them out
 Release them
 Unleash

26. 
Use the BRING principle for effective
children’s ministry
B
R
I
N
G

27. B
Bless them with Jesus’ love.
Bless them with: finances, time, space, atmosphere for growth
R
Relate to them at their level.
Reach out to children in the ways appropriate to their stages of
development. Remember children are not small adults
I
Involve them.
Apprentice them by involvement in the life of the congregation – worship,
fellowship, outreach
N
Nurture them
Children’s ministry is about positive, supportive and encouraging
relationships in the love of Christ. Create platforms for peer accountability
programs. E.g. schools pick prefects amongst the children themselves
G
Grant them. Children need to be granted increasing opportunities to minister
in the church. As a way of harnessing talent the local church must not only
observe Junior church Sunday as per calendar but rather allocate more
Sundays for them.

28. As we unlock children’s talents through;
discovering, developing, and deploying them the
church must therefore align these gifts with the
church’s mission
The United Methodist Church in the Zimbabwe
Episcopal Area is committed to making
disciples of Jesus Christ through:
 outreaching,
 witnessing,
 networking
 and nurturing
for the transformation of the world.
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