Children’s Ministry – Paula Kay Spear

April 6, 2020April 6, 2020

Perseverance – Part One

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT

One of the many virtues I learned in seventeen years of children’s ministry is perseverance. Being a Children’s Pastor is not for the faint of heart!

I recently took a trip to Phoenix, Arizona with a childhood friend. We went to a Christian conference. It was a chance for me to connect with my friend, hear some great Christian teaching and to see my son.

Before the conference, I took my friend on a hike around Fountain Hills. It’s near the church I served in Scottsdale. I loved hiking around the fountain when I was out there. It was a great start to our trip.

The Monday after the conference, my friend and I decided the first hike was so fun, we wanted to take another hike. I asked my son if he would join us. He was off on President’s day, so it was perfect timing. We weren’t specific. We figured any old hike would do. Garrett mentioned that he had wanted to hike Piestewa Peak. I was ignorant, and said, ok.. Sounds good to me! Well… I had no idea what kind of hike it would be. I had done some hikes around the region when we lived out in Scottsdale, but I had no idea what I was in for!!

What I didn’t know… Is that Piestewa Peak is the second-highest point in the Phoenix Mountains, after Camelback Mountain, and the third-highest in the city of Phoenix. The trail climbs over 1,200 feet in 1.2 miles. Just over a mile sounds easy, right? I went into this hike not expecting the challenges that I faced. When we finished the trail we saw this sign:

Honestly, I am so glad I didn’t see this sign until the end… the description of the trail said: Long rocky segments with possible drops and exposure. The surface had loose rock with continual unevenness and described the trail as a steep incline with some rock climbing. Rock climbing? My friend and I wanted a nice, leisurely hike. We’re moms with adult children! She’s a grandmother. What did my son talk us into???!!!

When my son was ten-years-old, we sent him to church camp. The boys’ cabin was in the woods and about a half-mile uphill hike from the rest of the camp. My son nicknamed the path to the cabin “The Trail of Tears.” I’m pretty sure he took us on the Piestewa Peak hike just to get back at me!

All of us have trials and sorrows, yet if we saw those obstacles ahead of us, would we really sign up for life’s hike? Much like what my friend and I faced on our hike, I don’t believe we would have taken the risk, much less step out in faith if we knew what we were in for.

So let me ask you, what are some of the mountains are you facing?

For some of us, it could a health crisis
For some of us, it could be a job loss
For some of us, it could be the loss of a loved one
For some of us, it could be that you are home-schooling your children during this pandemic

God wants to walk with you during this season. He wants you to continue to hike that mountain and face that mountain knowing He is with you.

Stay tuned for Perseverance, Part Two…

November 10, 2019November 10, 2019

A Step Of Faith…

I have been in full-time Children’s Ministry for 17 years. During that time…

I have loved the calling God has had on my life.
I have loved leading teams and growing the children’s ministries in three churches in Indiana, Arizona, and Ohio.
I have enjoyed connecting with parents while loving on babies and children of all ages.

It has been amazing—God has been so good!

However, over the past year, I sensed God calling me to something new. God has continued to put this passage from Isaiah before me.

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)

While Kevin and I were on vacation in late August, I was listening to a podcast. The speaker talked about the attributes of Jesus. When she said Jesus surrendered to the will of his Father I began to weep. I knew it was time to surrender to what I have known and step into the unknown. I came back and told my pastor I would probably transition in June of 2020.

Then, while on a personal retreat on October 10, I spent time praying and listening. I heard the Lord say, “Do you trust me?” I heard him say it several times that morning while sitting on a cabin porch.

Another time when I was sitting on the wooden dock at the pond. He said, “I am calling you out on the water. Are you going to step out?” I went home and told Kevin that knew it was time to submit my resignation and step out on the waters of uncertainty. in faith and trust that God will lead me forward.

Therefore, I submitted my resignation effective December 31, 2019. No, I am not leaving Salem Church of God to go be a children’s pastor at another church. I am simply stepping out in faith and trusting God will lead me where he wants me.

December 31, 2013December 31, 2013

Our time is short

Ah, winter sunset! Good night. #snow #sunset #... — Ah, winter sunset! Good night. #snow #sunset #clouds via speartoons

This post originally appeared in the December 16, 2013 Madison Park Church blog: Pastor’s Column – Our Time is Short

When I was younger, I would roll my eyes whenever my mom would say, “My how time flies!” Now, as I celebrate ten years as your children’s pastor, I find myself saying the same thing. Our time in children’s ministry began before I came on staff. Kevin and I helped in preschool and elementary classes. When North went south to Anderson High school, I got to coordinate some of the children’s classes. During that time, we’ve seen babies become teenagers. Children have become adults. Some of those kids we first taught are bringing their own babies into the nursery.

When I came on staff, my son was eleven and my daughter was seven years old. Today, Garrett is twenty-one years old and a junior at Anderson University. Mariah is seventeen and a junior at Pendleton Heights. We have our children for just a minute, and then they’re grown!

Time is so precious! If a child came into children’s ministry every Sunday and Wednesday for the last ten years, he or she would have spent 1,000 hours in ministry. That seems like a lot of hours, until your realize that is equal to just over forty, twenty-four hour days. Out of ten years, TRAKs has less than two months of time to teach our children about Jesus! (And that’s if the child is at church twice a week, every week we’re open!) We don’t have much time!

And parents have little time as well. Between birth and graduation, a parent has 940 Sunday’s with their child. Parents need to get serious with the time they have now! It will be gone before they know it. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

Psalm chapter ninety is a prayer of Moses. The Bible says Moses lived to be 120 years old. Yet, he is talking in this chapter of how we are so fragile and gone in an instant. It isn’t the kind of thing you’d expect from an old guy that didn’t get a new career as deliverer and law giver until he was eighty years old! Moses knew that time mattered.

Take the time to teach your kids what matters most. We at TRAKs love to see your children come through the door. We also know we have even less time with them to teach them about what matters than you do.

Parents, may your prayer be that you realize how short you have your children. We live in a world that distracts us from the things that matter most. TV, the internet, academic pursuits and sports all compete for a child’s time. Parents have those distractions and work and family. It can be easy to let spiritual pursuits take a back seat if you aren’t reminded how short time really is.

We must fight for what’s important. We tend to make what matters—matter more. If we truly believe Jesus saved us, then we owe it to the children to share that good news with them. God knew our time with our kids is short and how easy it is for us to get distracted. He spoke through Moses to all generations in Deuteronomy, chapter six: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4–8 (NIV)

Our relationship with God is just too important to let it become a low priority. Even more important, our children’s relationship with God is too important to let it become an afterthought.