A Christian Education Casserole

This morning I had the opportunity to make a casserole with someone not well enough to make it herself. There were specific instructions and implements to use as well as specific ingredients.

The ground beef had to be browned, the onions added to the fat from the cooking meat so they didn’t burn to the bottom of the electric frying pan. The water had to be boiled so that the pasta could cook to just past el dente. The condensed soup had to be added to the frying pan once the beef and onion were cooked. Freshly ground pepper from the pepper mill was sprinkled over top. The pasta had to be drained and stirred in fully and the whole thing left to simmer for a while so everything blended together into one.

It got me to thinking about how we approach ministry, and Christian education for young people and families in particular. Like a good casserole, there are steps that need to happen in order for a good result. There are many ingredients that make children’s and youth ministry tasty to the participants and to parents and the rest of the congregation. But, a casserole with uncooked pasta, burnt meat or onions, too much pepper or made in a blender just doesn’t turn out well.

So, what are the essential ingredients? Where do we start? The raw materials include:

a) a congregation that is willing to embrace a ministry with children and youth. They may not all be able or gifted to assist, but at the very least they need to offer prayer, warm welcome and other support to those in the front lines (think of meat and potatoes or pasta that undergird the other ingredients and tend to take up the most space and fill us up)

b) a designated group of people to flesh out what needs exist for this age group, both those within and outside the congregation, and a discerned vision about what God is calling the congregation to do in response to these needs (think of spices that need to be carefully chosen to work together to season and enhance the other flavours present)

c) willing volunteers and perhaps paid staff with gifts and a passion to share Christ’s love with this age group (think of the soup or sauce poured on top that mixes through the rest, holds it all together and adds flavour)

d) children and youth and their parents and caregivers who are valued, who are already part of the congregation or would check it out if warmly invited (think of other vegetables that add colour and body like carrots, peppers, mushrooms, celery and zucchini)

Notice that the essential ingredients do not necessarily include Sunday school, a mid-week youth group or VBS. This is because church looks different everywhere. Not everyone’s casserole has jalapeno peppers or even meat in it. The family that eats it chooses things that suit their tastes and budget, not to mention the amount of dishes they are willing to wash and how much they need to make. But the four raw materials listed are all essential no matter the size of church or context for ministry to families to flourish. Anything else is just the particular model that works best for that time and place.

So, do you have all four essential ingredients in your church? What happens when you don’t? Does this mean you can’t effectively minister to children and youth? More to come next week.