Hard Days in Children's Ministry

Today was a hard day in children’s ministry. Not because of bad news or a failed program, not because of a loss of a volunteer or a slash of a budget. In fact we had good news today and a shimmer of hope for a hard situation we thought we were going to have to swallow. It was a hard day because we are in the midst of transition: program transition, staff transition, age level transition, IT transition. Transition leads to confusion, confusion leads to frustration in me and my staff. Frustration in ministry is hard. We know our purpose, we know our plans, and we know how we will communicate. But that does not mean we do not have hard days. Hard days are what we are called to. No one who has been in ministry long thinks it is an easy profession. Even good days can be hard and sometimes hard days stretch too hard weeks-months or even years. But that is what we are called to. We accept transition, confusion, and frustration. We accept them because it is the cost of ministry. That does not make these days any easier. Patience, scripture, prayer, a mentor, a team, a colleague; these are the things that the Lord uses to help us weather ministry. These resources lead us to the truth: frustration, confusion, and transition- lead to transformation.