One of the things I love most about this church family is our commitment to children.
This is so immensely important to me, not just because I have three beautiful girls, but because I believe that is what Jesus would have us do.
If we are not intentional about our ministry to children then we are unfaithful to what God has called us to be.
It is imperative to us that our children learn of Jesus and the love and grace that He offers to each of us.
That is why I am so excited about what our children’s ministry has done in such a short amount of time to make the Northside Church of Christ the place to be for children.
As you arrived here this morning (Sunday) you saw our hallways teeming with smiling faces. You probably noticed some people wearing aprons that feature different animals. Those aprons let our children know who there teachers are: The animals are each connected to a specific class.
Not only are our children immediately greeted when they arrive, they all meet together for the first few minutes of class to sing songs and to experience how special they are to us. They then dismiss to their respective, age-appropriate classes.
We don’t forget our children during our worship service either. When you hear us sing “Jesus Loves Me” you will see a sea of children (all ages welcome) descend upon the pulpit for a short “sermonette” designed specifically for them. (People tell me I shouldn’t ask them questions up there because I don’t know what they are going to say. But that is exactly why I ask the questions!)
After the sermonette they are dismissed to their very own children’s church. Children’s Church is for ages 3-7 (We also have an attended nursery for ages birth-3.)
The room that we use for Children’s Church has recently been remodeled and redecorated. If you haven’t seen it, make sure you go by and check it out. It’s amazing. I hope that we can do something similar in each of our classrooms.

Every week our children learn a memory verse that ties in to that week’s lesson.
Every week our children study God’s word and begin to learn the importance of application.
Every week our children sing songs of praise to their God.
Every week our children learn the importance of giving.
Every week our children learn the most important truth they will ever know: Jesus loves them.

I am so thankful for our children’s ministry and the sweet and precious ladies who have invested so much of themselves to truly make Northside a place where children long to be.
I think we see that in the visitors that we are attracting.
So, thank you Angela
Thank you Missty.
Thank you Jill.
Thank you Tracy.
Thank you Mandy.
Thanks to all of you who have invested time, money, love and prayers to make our children’s ministry so effective.

The book of Judges is a cautionary tale about failing to instill in the coming generations a love for God and an understanding of who He is. Because of the dereliction of the Israelite people their children drifted from God. Horrendous consequences resulted.
As Harold Korver has stated, “If you don’t make a habit out of going to church each Sunday, you shoot yourself in the foot, your children in the leg, and your grandchildren in the heart.”

Because of the work of these special people and our commitment to children in this place we can ensure that they will be taught the love of God.
We can find no higher calling than that.