Having a long-term, God-centered, Gospel-focused vision is crucial for discipling children and youth. The fruit of leading and teaching with this vision is illustrated well at North Wake Church in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Stephanie Jackson, children’s ministry director at North Wake, shares how vision has shaped the past decade and a half of ministry to children there:
15 years ago when I first started we were trying to answer the questions "What is children's ministry?" and "What should it look like at North Wake Church?" and so we were looking at things such as policies and procedures. We were thinking about how we equip families for doing family devotionals. We were thinking also about equipping the saints for the works of ministry and having our teaching teams well-equipped to share the gospel. Most importantly we were focusing on how to share the gospel with children—and what scope and sequence that required.
We realized in all that, we were trying to answer one key question: “How do we create a gospel-saturated children's ministry?” How could we have a ministry in which we are praying God’s Word over children as they walk in the door and begin sharing the gospel with them starting from birth? How do we encourage and come alongside our teaching team so that they grow in their love for God and most importantly that our kids come to know Jesus as Lord of their life?
So we began this quest to find something that would answer our question of what is a gospel-saturated children's ministry. And there were lots of things out there that would answer one question for equipping teachers but then the scope and sequence wasn’t good. Or something else would have a fantastic scope and sequence but wouldn't walk alongside families during the week in sharing the gospel with their child.
Then we discovered Truth78 and it answered all these questions for us, providing a framework for a gospel-saturated children's ministry. It gave us a fantastic curriculum that started by building a sure foundation for children from birth where we were able to pray God's blessings over them and speak the Scriptures. Then it built upon that in our nursery and they learned that God is everywhere and Jesus is born. Then our elementary ages got to focus on God's promises and God's attributes and to hear and see the names of God throughout the scriptures. Altogether, it was this beautiful partnership that Truth78 came alongside us in sharing with the next generations that they may know honor and treasure God.
One of the joys of partnering with families for a decade and a half is that you have this opportunity to see rich fruit. We've partnered with thousands of parents and had thousands of team leaders come in and teach Truth78 and we've had this grand opportunity to share the gospel with thousands and thousands of children. It is truly a joy to equip the saints for Children's Ministry at North Wake Church as we share the whole counsel of God using Truth 78 materials.Our Children's Ministries team comes from all walks of life. Our youngest team member is nineteen years old and our oldest is eighty years old and counting. College students, a meteorologist, facility managers, a Seminary Professor, stay at home moms, an accountant, and a host of business men are all a part of our team. We have those who are newly in Christ and those who have walked with our Savior for over 50 years all teaching the Gospel to kids.
We have a lady who received a new physical heart last year while teaching Faithful to All His Promises, a mom of four young children whose husband is currently deployed overseas leading A Sure Foundation, a young Dad awaiting a kidney transplant who rushes to church after dialysis treatment every Sunday to share God's attributes, and a countless number of other suffering saints laboring together in sharing the whole counsel of God with children.Our team knows that the stakes are critically high, we have eternity in our minds, and we partner together in this opportunity to tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of our Lord, the mighty works and the wonders he has done (Psalm 78:4).
Stephanie Jackson, Director of Children's Ministries
North Wake Church
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Equipping Ministry Leaders, Volunteers, and Parents with Free Training Resources
Through the ongoing financial support of Truth78 ministry partners, we are able to provide a growing number of free training materials. These are designed to equip ministry leaders, volunteers, and parents in developing and implementing a long-term biblical vision for the faith of the next generation. These resources provide an explanation of our overall vision and philosophy as well as specific role related training for using our curricula. Below is a sampling of these training resources:
The Foundations of a Vision-Oriented Mininstry to Children and Youth
In this past year, our financial partners enabled Truth78 to produce foundational vision videos and a core training series. In the series of 15-minute videos, Pastor David Michael and Sally Michael explain the foundations and key components of vision-oriented ministry. These videos are a must-see for all parents, church leaders, and ministry volunteers.
- A Vision for the Discipleship of the Next Generation
- A Vision for God-Centered, Gospel-Focused Teaching for the Next Generations
- A Vision for Teaching the Word of God
- A Vision for Encouraging Faith in Christ
Core Training Series
The Core Training Series is designed to help all children’s ministry volunteers be more fully equipped, trained, and encouraged in their roles.
For all children’s ministry leaders and volunteers:
- Developing a Vision Orientation of Ministry to Children and Youth
- The Theological and Philosophical Foundations of Truth78 Teaching Resources
- Scope and Sequence Explained
For children’s ministry leaders:
For all children’s ministry leaders and volunteers:
Specific classroom roles:
- Leading Your Classroom Team (Team Leaders)
- Preparing and Teaching a Lesson (Kindergarten and Elementary Teachers)
- Leading Small Group Application (Kindergarten and Elementary Small Group Leaders)
- Leading Children in Worship
We pray these resources will help everyone who labors for the faith of the next generation. May they have the joy of being well trained and equipped for the classroom, so that more churches and homes will see the fruit that North Wake has seen in the past 15 years.
