Last weekend we had a family ministry pastor from another state visit KidzWorld. His goal was to see everything in action and get some ideas that he could take back with him to implement in his ministry. By the end of the weekend, he was grateful to our team and excited about the ideas he had gotten. He told me that he learned more about ministering to kids in one weekend than he had learned in all his years of seminary.

Debbie and I recently were able to visit a small church plant in New Hampshire and we were blown away by the way that God is working in that church and community. The church is much smaller that NewSpring but in recent weeks they have been given a church property worth over a million dollars plus were able to purchase a historic satellite property for pennies on the dollar. We learned many things from their pastor about trusting God and taking bold steps.

Learning is so practical when it comes in the form of watching others. Sometimes we learn what NOT to do. But many times we can see what is working and even though it might not translate exactly into our situation, it gives us a guideline for how we can craft success in our environment.

Bottom Line: Don’t be afraid to watch others, ask questions, and learn why they do what they do.

If you were at NewSpring this past weekend, you know that Mark began a message series titled You Times Two. The series is designed to help us see how we can double our impact in light of eternity. This week in the devotions that go along with the series, we get to see three important aspects of impact: ability, opportunity, and passion. As the leader of the exciting and growing KidzWorld ministry, I want to take a moment to share how those three aspects can work not only individually but as a team effort.

KidzWorld began as a dream in my mind of reaching a generation of kids who might be indifferent to Jesus and his importance in their lives. I wanted a place where kids could come and be engaged by the truth of God’s Word and see it relevance in their own situation. I wanted it to be fun so they would know that God isn’t boring. I began by sharing my dream with our NewSpring leadership team and then with the handful of volunteers who wanted to be part of a great kids’ ministry.

We started by creating amazing environments that screamed fun. I remember many times hearing kids enter one of the rooms and say, “Are you sure this is a church?” We developed engaging programming telling the stories and principles from the Bible in a way that could be put into practical living for kids.

I had a dream and I had a plan but the people around me is what doubled the impact. People of all talents and abilities began to see how the door of opportunity was opening for them to use those gifts. They began to dream about aspects of the ministry in ways far beyond what I could think. Passion caught fire and inspired a group of now over 400 people from all walks of life and all ages to reach kids for Jesus.

Just yesterday, we loaded 2 tour buses full of those volunteers and took them to Kansas City for a one-day conference to learn more about how to reach kids effectively. Many of those people used vacation days and some students even took an absence from school to invest in kids’ ministry.

Thank you! To every volunteer and staff member who has dreamed and worked to make KidzWorld a reality and a continually growing ministry, you are my heroes. And you are what has caused God to give us an impact far beyond what we could ever ask or think! Let’s keep going!