Expecting the Holy Spirit

This blog is brought to you by Josh Jacobs.  Josh Jacobs has been married to his wife Trisha for over 12 years. He has two beautiful daughters, Eliana and Elisa. On Sundays, he helps teach six-year-olds at Christ Community Church in Leawood, Kansas. During the rest of the week, he is employed as a Juvenile Corrections Officer at the Johnson County Juvenile Detention Center. Though the roles of father, teacher, and officer are different and require varying modes of interaction with children and youth, Josh has experienced God's grace in each setting. He praises God for the chance to invest his life in the next generation.

Several years ago, my wife roped me into helping with her preschool class at church. Having no previous experience with children—either as a parent or a teacher—I was frightened to face a group of three- and four-year-olds. Somehow I mustered up enough courage to go that first night. No amount of courage, however, braced me for my first challenge: helping with bathroom breaks. And my wife failed to tell me that not every child was potty-trained!

The nightmare continued in the classroom, as the kids couldn't do anything on their own. I remember thinking, "Why can't they cut out their own shapes and glue them together by themselves? Why do I have to help?" I had to do everything for them. When it came time for the Bible lesson, I looked around the room and doubted that any of God's Word was sinking in those spastic little minds.

Fast-forward to now. We have two daughters—ages three and four. I've seen firsthand how God can work in the hearts of my little ones when I least expect it. Perhaps God used these moments with my girls to show that His Spirit can move inside my Sunday school classroom of first graders. I don't know why I was so surprised that He would. In John 3:8 (ESV), "Jesus said, 'The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.'"

Do we expect God's Spirit to be working in the lives of the young children we're charged with? Do we anticipate one or more of our kids to trust in Jesus during our time with them? We need to believe that God will be present and working in their lives.

I would challenge you to do three things. First, pray for each and every one of your kids—that they would understand more about who God is and desire to be in a relationship with Him. Second, actively trust God to work in the lives of your kids. This should be the main reason we're in children's ministry. Many times, though, we just try to make it through our lesson quickly and without too many interruptions. This brings up my third challenge: Slow down and allow God's Spirit to move.

No matter what ages our kids are—whether or not they're potty-trained—God can move. Are you willing to let Him?