Ministry Connections: Worship/Arts
by Nancy Beach

Volume 14 Issue 2, 2007

Passing the Ministry Baton

There’s one gift of ministry I honestly didn’t see coming, one that brings me tremendous joy. When life comes full circle and a leader sees his or her daughters or sons engaging with passion in the local church and using their own gifts for God, well, it hardly gets better than that! Both my girls have contributed on the creative teams of their age-based ministry, one in middle school and the other in high school. They come home from a meeting bubbling with opinions and ideas. Recently my younger daughter rejoiced because the title she suggested for a new series was embraced, and she tasted the joy of seeing her creativity make a difference. Both girls have been blessed with dramatic gifts, and seize opportunities to act in scenes for our children’s ministries as well as in what they used to call “Big Church.” When they talk about serving the Lord, they almost giggle because the fun factor has been so high; it certainly doesn’t feel like serving in a sacrificial kind of way.

As we adults serve and engage in church work — no matter what our role may be — we sometimes forget that little eyes are watching. I’m learning that some of the most significant “leadership development” I’ve ever done or will do takes place in my own family, modeling values and sharing experience with my girls. From me, I hope they’ve grasped that every one of us has a contribution to make, and we must steward our gifts with care and passion. They’ve also witnessed from both parents that ministry is sometimes hard and even disappointing, but we keep persevering anyway and seek to work through the seasons that aren’t as much fun but still demand our best.

I have friends in ministry whose sons or daughters are now leading worship, heading up a small group, teaching the Bible, playing drums, running the sound system — and for all of us, this gift of seeing a legacy passed on and observing the fulfillment of our kids in ministry surpasses anything we hoped for or expected. Parents reading my words, you know what I mean. Some of our kids make other choices, and we agonize over those who have wandered from the faith. But we can hold tightly to the hope that one day they will return to a love of their heavenly Father and a devotion to the church, drawn home by their early memories and positive influences.

As Bill Hybels taught me before I became a mom: “Don’t ever lead in church in such a way that your own kids grow up resenting God and the church because mom or dad aren’t around enough or focused enough on caring for their own children.” How grateful I am for that wisdom, and for the unexplainable joy of seeing my girls pick up the baton of ministry and run their own races! Thanks be to God.

Nancy Beach is executive vice president of the arts for the Willow Creek Association

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