We were asked one day at our staff meeting what day of the week was the most important to our ministry.

When I said Wednesday evenings, our Executive Pastor almost fell out of his chair. You see, in our church, everything evolved around Sunday morning.

We spent the whole week preparing for what happened on Sunday morning.

But, when I intentionally set aside time to disciple children and train them for ministry, that is when my job as a minister became exciting for me.

It wasn't the fun stuff we did; it was the intentionality of the evening that made it work.

We divided it into two parts: ministry training and small group discipleship.

We would train the children in various areas to offer them a platform for ministry.

It was inspiring for them because they were being equipped for ministry. We had a puppet team, tech team, prayer team, dowel team, and many other opportunities to train.

Then we provided a platform for them to use their training for ministry in our children's church on Sunday morning.

Our disciple groups were being intentional as well. It began when we met with parents and helped them reprioritize their lives to put their child’s walk with Christ first and foremost.

We were having more than 70 percent of the children in our church doing daily quiet times.

When they arrived at church on Wednesday evenings, they had been studying all week, which made the disciple group time more productive.

We trained out leaders to model their faith before the kids.

We also encouraged our leaders to allow children to teach in their disciple groups on a weekly basis what they had learned during their personal Bible studies.

This was the reason why Wednesday evenings were exciting to me—we saw children transform before our eyes.

Sunday mornings many times for children involves just sitting and listening, but when we taught children how to devote their lives to Christ and helped them find God's purpose for their lives, they got it.

They owned their faith and became a functional part of the body of Christ.

You see, discipleship is not a curriculum; it is a process of showing children how to live for the Master and equipping them for ministry in the church.

I encourage you to be deliberate in your ministry.

Set aside time to disciple children in your church who have come to know the Lord.

They need to know more than that they are going to heaven one day.

They need to find the life Jesus promised through following Him.

Remember, Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10). It involves helping them learn spiritual disciplines that will sustain their faith for life.

We would love to help you and support your ministry. Learn more about L.I.T. (Leaders In Training) and our discipleship process by clicking here.