Four years ago as I was teaching 4-6 yr. olds on Wednesday nights, it felt like the time, energy and effort I'd put into teaching was so behind the scenes. No one except the kids in my immediate care and two other workers were aware that I loved these children and wanted to, was passionate, to pass onto the next generation God's Word. It was a hidden work, but I knew it was an eternal investment! (I realize, these were just feelings and feelings are often, not an accurate picture of reality.) from time to time God would bless me with feedback from parents letting me know their child remembered the things I'd taught. If you attend Canton First Church of the Nazarene just ask any 8-10 year old that was attending during that time about The Fruit of the Spirit! We had 9 months of school and there are 9 Fruit of the Spirit so it worked out perfectly! We had a lot of fun singing our Fruit if the Spirit song and learning about Love, joy, peace. . .
During that time the leaders of our Children's Bible Quizzing had stepped down and somehow my husband and I were approached about leading CBQ. I turned it down initially. Steve on the other hand, was like if we don't step in, this ministry will die. For the sake of our son neither of us wanted to see this program come to an end in our church. For the sake of your own flesh and blood it is amazing the great lengths you will go to as a parent! I was not teaching my own son on Wed. Nights, but wanted him to be grounded in the Word of God, none the less! So for the sake of our own next generation, Steve roped me into teaching CBQ with him on Sunday afternoons!
Now I confess, if what I was doing on Wed nights felt behind the scenes, this was an even greater step behind the scenes. And I do want to say, the service I do, is my offering to God. I'm not in it for any recognition, but it is nice to know from time to time that what you're doing is sinking in! Steve had either 2 or 3 Blue level quizzers and I had 2 Red level quizzers. I'm just thankful for those two Red Level quizzers because they were a part of keeping CBQ alive in our church! Honestly, I let the numbers get to me, only two! And it was all new to me. I'd never taken part in anything like this or taught it, so it was all new territory really, for both of us! Today, looking back, I feel that I didn't give 100% (I'm sad to admit that). The first two years were like that!
But then something happened in the 3rd year. Andee Hanson, took over as the Children's director at CFNaz. She was meticulous in doing what was needed to help this ministry blossom. Things like placing people where they could best serve and countless of details that I as a teacher miss! As she and I talked we compared notes and felt some changes were needed for CBQ. We changed the time slot to Wed. nights and began a campaigning process to get more children involved. That Fall we had 9 kids sign up for Quizzing! That was exciting to go from 2 to 9! We also recruited some more workers and that year we had 3 of us workers and one parent. All of them were an immediate blessing and a help in leading and sharing responsibilities! Then she was able to get us into a room that was equipped so that we could use a large screen TV that I could hook my laptop up to and incorporate power point! That was a game changer for me as a teacher! Andee I can't THANK you enough for how you've helped to craft this ministry into what it is today!!
At the time our church was seeking to find a new pastor. By Jan of 2014 Pastor Chad Current became our Pastor at CFNaz. As a side note, we as a church have been blessed to have a pastor whose heart and passion is to seek the Lord and lead our church through some changes to help us be more effective to reach out of the four walls of the church and answer the call of the Great Commission that Jesus gave! Thank You Pastor Chad for being obedient!! To my amazement both Chad and his wife Kimberly, were passionate about CBQ. So much so, that their own daughter, Anna, finished up the quizzing year with us, though she competed with her original church that she'd spent the majority of time studying with. (I think that was a wise decision on the part of her parents!) And Kimberly immediately stepped in and offered to help in any way she could! Wow, talk about feeling appreciated! That was HUGE, to have that kind of support! Thank you Kimberly for being my right hand and a dear friend!!
This past year of Word Warriors - a name change that Andee helped to put in place, has been the best year yet, and is the beginning of something new and wonderful! Something that had almost died has been revived and new life has come! On Saturday our Word Warriors went to the zone quiz meet, our first quiz meet for the year. We had 20 children attend and 15 of them will be moving on to the District Quiz meet at the end of March! It's honestly not about the numbers and how many move on ect. It is all about seeing a group of kids and their parents as well as a team of 9 of us leaders join together and teach the next generation that God is a compassionate and gracious God, (loving and kind- sounds an awful lot like the Fruit of the Spirit)! It is all about being faithful and not giving up. It is about seeing prayers answered and it is about passing on, to the next generation the Word of God which will equip them to face a world that is turning away from God. It is also about being united as the body of Christ and that unity is something that God can flow through and use beyond our wildest dreams!
Simply and Honestly I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be used for such a time as this! I marvel that He can use someone like me, but if He's willing to use me, then here I am Lord send me. Whether behind the scenes or known to all, what matters most is that God sees and He remembers the things we've given to Him! He in turn blesses and multiplies our efforts. Pretty amazing what God can do with a cracked vessel! This past year I have been blessed personally with the 8 workers that I believe God handpicked to be here! Each of them brings their gifts to the table and gives to these precious children and in turn it is being given to God! One tid bit from this years study of the book of Exodus, when Moses was following God's directions on how to build the wilderness Tabernacle, each person who felt compelled were to give an offering from their heart. That is how I feel this tremendous group of workers have given to these children and to God. God is doing great things in the hearts of these children and in our hearts as His servants! What an honor to be a part of this ministry!
Exodus 25:1-2 "The LORD said to Moses, 'Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give.'" The commentary offered in the leaders manual has this to say: "The Lord wanted His people to do certain things, but He wanted them to act willingly too. He welcomes the unique responses of individuals. Willing obedience forms godly character."
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