If you're in ministry for any amount of time, it doesn't take long for questions like "So how many kids are in your Sunday school?" and "How many students are in your youth group?" Somehow we've come to equate quantity with quality. While that is sometimes true, it is not a hard and fast rule. We are an average-sized church with approximately 300 in attendance on a given Sunday. Our Sunday school and youth group average around 30 kids each on a weekly basis. For some churches, those numbers are very low and "insignificant." Unless you are in the triple digits, you don't really count. Most blog sites and children/youth ministry products are geared for the mega churches that have dozens of volunteers per grade level and hundreds of kids in their ministries. So what's an average-sized church to do? STOP COUNTING! :-)
I'm reminded often that Jesus changed the world with a group of 12! Just 12. He poured His life into them and taught them how to duplicate themselves into and through others. You and I know about Jesus because of what happened with those original disciples! Just think about that. Because of the energies that Jesus poured into a small group of young men, the course of history is forever altered!
Consider Gideon...God purposely downsized his group of soldiers so that God would get the glory for victory. Smaller was better!
So, who's counting? Not me! As for me and my ministry, we will keep investing in the lives that God has put in our children's and youth groups, and we will continue to anticipate amazing impacts on our world because of it!
