“Do we have to go to our new church? I want to go back to our old church!” My five-year-old uttered these painful lines just a few short weeks into our church plant. My family had recently been sent out to start a new church in downtown Denver. We left the only church my three young children had ever known. They missed seeing their friends on Sundays, their amazing teachers, and (they’re not too shy to admit) the cool kids’ classrooms with all the bells and whistles of a large, established children’s ministry. Now, they found themselves in a dingy church basement reading the Jesus Storybook Bible under a conference table where they make up 2/3 of the three-person elementary class.
The thought crossed my mind: am I a bad parent? Did I just stunt my own children’s discipleship?
These hard questions pressed me deeper into my convictions that, in order for children to grow up loving and following Jesus, they need more than a well-run, properly resourced children’s ministry. We need to raise children in a family and a church that commits to praying the third petition of The Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).
Reorienting to the Kingdom of God
The first place we see Jesus teaching his disciples to pray is in the middle of the greatest sermon ever written, The Sermon on the Mount. Throughout Matthew 5-7, Jesus is giving detailed insight into the nature of what he called the gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 4:23). This is the good news that, through Jesus, God is coming to personally establish his good and perfect rule and reign on earth. God’s rule means healing for the afflicted, sight to the blind, forgiveness for sinners, justice for the oppressed, judgment on evil, and life that conquers death.
As if this news wasn’t good enough, by grace Jesus invites anyone to be part of his kingdom and to join him in his great restoration project. Motivated by the gospel of the kingdom, my wife and I left the comfort of our wonderful, supportive church community to plant a new church that proclaims good news to sinners and sufferers throughout Denver. We looked at the mission of Jesus, and then we looked at our lives, and we prayed, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Discipleship through Mission
Praying these words from The Lord’s Prayer creates powerful opportunities for discipleship with children. I continue to be a giant proponent of a quality children’s ministry. I view it as one of the most missionally effective ministries of a local church. However, we believe that when kids see their parents taking big, uncomfortable steps of faith, it communicates that the kingdom of God is the most valuable treasure of our lives. It teaches them through experience that the Christian life is not merely about participating in learning environments built around us. It’s about bending and submitting our will unto the greater will of King Jesus. It molds them to treasure Christ and his kingdom over all, which is the ultimate aim of discipleship.
When Jesus is in a moment of intense testing in the Garden of Gethsemane, he clearly models this lesson. Jesus vulnerably approaches God as a son pleading with his father to intervene on his path towards the cross. Leaving a healthy church and strong community is minuscule when we compare it to Jesus leaving heaven to suffer and die on earth.
While facing the anguish of crucifixion and judgment of God, it was years of praying to his Father that prepared Jesus to say, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matt 26:39). Jesus’ fierce commitment to the mission of God formed his resolve to trust his heavenly Father by prioritizing his good plans over anything else. As a result of Jesus praying this way, we get to receive forgiveness, grace, and new life in the kingdom of heaven.
A King Worth the Cost
A few months into the church plant, we were driving to church and I asked my kids,
“Why are we heading to our new church instead of going to the old one?”
The oldest responded, “because there are lots of people who do not know about Jesus and we get them to tell them about him.”
Instead of talking about the church friends they would be missing that Sunday, they started talking about kids in their school who don’t go to church and scheming up ways to invite them.
One of the places they learned this was in a dingy church basement, under the conference table in their elementary room, with their precious teacher, Ms. Angi. From children’s ministry to daily life in the home, the greatest gift we can give our kids is a vision of a King who is worth following no matter the cost. A King whose will for our lives is far better than our own. A King who has invited even the youngest in his kingdom to pray and seek the advancement of his kingdom and the renewal of our broken world.
Interested in learning more about The Lord’s Prayer? Check out our friend Youth Pastor Theologian’s curriculum on it!
