By Eve Crespo
January 17, 2024
I’ve often heard that time is the one thing you cannot get back. Most people, including myself, are very selective about how they spend their time—with family, friends, or just on one’s own. Asking someone for a tiny bit of their free time is often seen as audacious, especially in kids’ ministry.
I truly believe it was a blessing that I stepped into the role of kids’ ministry at a time when the role hadn’t quite existed in my home church. During my first year, I came to a sad realization: adults place a lack of value on the youngest of the crowd. While other ministries were thriving and growing in numbers, the most vulnerable were being overlooked and left behind to fend for themselves. Kids’ church had a total of seven people—including two teachers. It was evident that our church was still holding on to this old-school idea that our kids just need to be kept quiet, in the back, and out of the way. It opened my eyes to the reality of what it was and the necessity of what it needed to become.
While other ministries were thriving and growing in numbers, the most vulnerable were being overlooked and left behind to fend for themselves.
As I began my journey in creating a vision and establishing a mission for the ministry, I knew that my biggest challenge would be convincing others of the worth of our kids. How could I invite people to buy into this insane idea that our kids have something to offer us adults? Well, I narrowed it down to three things: intentionality, leadership, and growth.
Intentionality
The lack of support from those around me affected the work that I was putting forth. I figured, No one else cares. Why should I? I had stopped giving my time because I started to believe that it wasn’t worth it and that no fruit would come from it.
I had also come in with no prior leadership experience. Many times, I found myself in this “fake it until you make it” mentality. I wondered, Am I the right person for this?
And then the light bulb turned on. This wasn’t just a role I was asked to cover for. This was my calling. And I could not deny that.
That lightbulb ignited something in me. How can I expect others to care and believe when I myself lacked what I was preaching? As the leader, it was vital that I lived and breathed the idea that our children were capable of more than what we were allowing them to be and that they deserved all the time we could offer. And so, I invested time.
our children were capable of more than what we were allowing them to be and that they deserved all the time we could offer
I was there for back-to-back Wednesday Bible studies, Sunday services, birthday parties, and baseball games. I embedded myself in the lives of our kids. I didn’t just want to know their names and what grade they were in. I wanted to know who they were and what was important to them. I wanted them to know they were seen, they belonged, and they mattered.
Leadership
I knew very little about how to cultivate relationships with those I was leading. My team was frustrated and lacked confidence because there were a lot of expectations in my head that I was not communicating with them. From that lack of communication came a lot of conflict. I grew frustrated and often asked myself, Is it me? Am I the problem? And I was, but not solely.
I realized that I was expecting people to fully and blindly dive into the ministry like I had done that first year. That was one of the many unspoken, unrealistic expectations I had placed on current and future volunteers.
It was necessary that I started to see my volunteers as people—not as machines to run the service that Eve’s mind had planned. I realized that for them to succeed, I needed to fully empower them to use their gifts and skills freely. To initiate this new way of thinking, I took a visionary and coaching leadership approach. Yes, some need to be guided every step to be amazing, but others are ready and can fly independently with minimal or no backup.
It was necessary that I started to see my volunteers as people—not as machines to run the service that Eve’s mind had planned.
By the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I was able to break the pattern of using people to run a service and instead began to work alongside my siblings who I knew and with whom I did life together. I learned that a simple “thinking and praying for you” text went a long way and helped us connect as team members.
Growth
The belief that working with our kids is just free babysitting is still very real. And while, yes, we are watching and entirely responsible for the children during service, babysitting is often a service that receives compensation right away. This takes us back to understanding why someone would be reluctant to give up their time. However, the fruit of the time being invested slowly but surely grows.
The belief that working with our kids is just free babysitting is still very real.
To the glory of God, C3 Kids’ Ministry currently sees a regular 25 to 30 kids during a Sunday service and has 20 volunteers in rotation! A month ago, I witnessed two of my very first students be baptized and publicly declare Jesus as their Lord and Savior—in front of many who had not believed kids’ ministry was necessary in 2015. And that’s why we plant the seeds. The watering is handled by someone greater than us and the fruit of it comes in God’s perfect timing.
I leave you with a quote from Morgan Freeman: “Challenge yourself; it’s the only path which leads to growth.”
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Evelyn Crespo, Administrative Assistant
Eve loves working with the Polaris network and team. She has a higher education and administrative support background and holds a BA in Organizational Leadership from North Park University. Eve is also the Director of the kids’ ministry at her home church, where she received her calling to kids’ ministry at the age of 25. She believes that it is vital for children to have a space where they can develop and experience the love of God. Guiding their hearts toward Jesus and the truth of the Gospel is her top priority, and she strives for every child to cultivate a strong connection with Jesus. Recently, Eve and her family moved from Chicago to New Jersey, and they are excited to discover favorite spots in their new hometown of Princeton. She loves to unwind by going on long nature walks with her husband Isaiah and her daughter Ellie.