Whatever ministry we are considering, it is profoundly important that we ask the children. And after we ask them, it is even more important to listen.
This week I have been with a cohort of nine churches. We are considering over a three years what it means to prioritize the well-being of children. The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) invited us into a thriving congregations cohort to help us recalibrate our ministries by listening to young people. We also assessed the context of our congregations, neighborhoods and cities. Now we are constructing and giving hands and feet to new theologies of child well-being.
Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, president and chief executive of CDF is asking us to prioritize the dignity, hope and joy of children in all our work. He is asking us to participate in “unleashing the joy of growing up.”
Don’t just ask about the children
Of course it is important to ask questions about children but even more important is to ask young people themselves. Then we need to stop and really pay attention to what they tell us. Children and youth are not yet fully conditioned to curb their feelings or hold back their ideas. They are in touch with what it is to play and dance and laugh and sing and become totally absorbed in what they enjoy.
At this moment faith communities in the United States need to pay attention to our collective grief, and we also need to pay attention to the ways joy continues to show up, especially in our children. We need to hear the cries of joy and also the cries of pain, where joy has been hindered. The cries of every child hold God’s attention. Will they capture our imagination? Will they shape our ministries?
Here are 12 questions you can ask the children in your ministry world. When we hear the shouts of joy and the cries of pain from our children, we are hearing the presence and voice of God.
Questions to Ask the Children
What do you think?
How do you feel?
What do you enjoy?
Where are you going?
Can you tell me a story?
What makes you smile?
What should we do?
How did you learn that?
Can you show me?
What do you need?
Who should we pray for?
Do you have any questions?
