One of the things I love about IHOP is that things are always changing; new programs, new teachings, being called to a higher vision, and new people coming in all the time. It keeps you on your toes and makes you wonder what’s gonna happen next! The same seems to be in the Children’s Equipping Center… from having a three year old pray for you to teenagers getting their faces smashed with whip cream, there’s never a dull moment when you run a ministry for kids.
I am really enjoying working with the marketing aspect of the CEC. I am getting to visit and know each department of our ministry, their vision and goals, the children they are impacting, and the fellowship they have with one another as I find ways to communicate the heart behind our ministry. I am so thankful to be using my gift of art and administration together in a way I never imagined! Right now I have quite a few projects in the works, the most immediate being our National CEC Conference in September that we host every year. I’m excited for children’s ministry leaders and directors to come and get fresh vision, to be able to fellowship with one another, and for us as a Christian body of children’s ministers to go forward united as one to impact the next generation.
Another exciting thing happening in September is the Malachi 4:6 children’s prayer meetings that will be starting. For two hours every week, children along with their families will lead worship, pray, and read the Word to fulfill what we believe the mandate of the CEC is “… to turn the hearts of the children back to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers back to their children” (Mal 4:6). Our goal is that within the next two years, a 24/7 children’s prayer room will be established fully staffed by families and modeled just like the Global Prayer Room at the IHOP Missions Base. We don’t want kids to think that they have to wait to be older to do the “IHOP thing”, but that they can do it now at age 5, 12, or 15. We want to empower them to know that their prayers are heard by our Father in heaven and that they have just as much “worth” as grown-up prayers.
My own time in the prayer room has been really good. I like the evening section, especially the worship leaders, my prayer room team, and all of the opportunities to serve. My prayer room team consists of about 8 women who are all on staff in different departments. Together we have been studying Song of Solomon, and meditating on specific scriptures. The Lord has really been teaching me (yet again!) how much He delights in me just as I am. That His love really never changes towards me, and it’s actually His desire to give me the things that are on His heart. I don’t have to guess, or beg, or earn His affections… He delights to give it freely. Being able to realize these things and hear how God is moving on the hearts of those on my team really help to encourage my spirit and solidify truth on my heart. It is such an honor to run with these women in the place of prayer.
Please continue to pray for the children and teens I get to serve everyday – that this next generation would be unlike any other that has gone before it. I also ask that you would pray for my own heart and growth in the Lord – that the things I learn would not just be words or good ideas, but truths that change me from the inside out. Feel free to email me or post here on my blog any prayer requests you, your family, or your church might have.
Have a wonderful month! Grace and peace to you…
