“TURNING A GENERATION TO GOD”
I. ROMANS 12:5-8 …SO IN CHRIST WE WHO ARE MANY FORM ONE BODY, EACH MEMBER BELONGS TO
ALL THE OTHERS. WE HAVE DIFFERENT GIFTS, ACCORDING TO THE GRACE GIVEN TO US. IF A MAN’S GIFT IS
PROPHESYING, LET HIM USE IT TO THE PROPORTION TO HIS FAITH. IF IT IS SERVING, LET HIM SERVE; IF IT IS
TEACHING, LET HIM TEACH; IF IT IS ENCOURAGING, LET HIM ENCOURAGE; IF IT IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE NEEDS
OF OTHERS, LET HIM GIVE GENEROUSLY; IF IT IS LEADERSHIP, LET HIM GOVERN DILIGENTLY; IF IT IS SHOWING
MERCY, LET HIM DO IT CHEERFULLY.
1. Psalm 8:2 NLT You have taught children and nursing infants to give you praise. They silence your enemies who
were seeking revenge.
II. MOBILIZING MALACHI 4:4-6 ALL ACROSS THE EARTH
A. A Brief Overview of Malachi 4:6
1. In Malachi’s time, the Jews had been home from Babylon about 100 years and were prone to neglect the House
of God. The Priests had become sloppy in their practice of ministry and tithes were being neglected. The people reverted
back to old practices and became lethargic while waiting the coming Messiah.
2. Malachi assured them that the Messiah would come, but that it would mean judgment would be coming. Four
times Malachi refers to “The Day Of The Lord”. (1:11, 3:1-6, 16-18; 4:1-6)
3. Malachi 4:6 speaks literally about restoring/returning the fathers heart upon children and the heart of children upon
their fathers.
4. The point is that fathers and children would no longer live self-serving lives, but fathers will take their children to
heart and children will take their fathers to heart, considering the effects of their actions on one another in the course
of their lives.
B. The Unavoidable Need for a Paradigm Shift in Children’s Ministry: God is pursuing us as leaders and parents,
and He desires to awaken our heart to His heart’s cry for change in ministry to children.
1. Paradeigma – Greek word from which Paradigm derives its meaning. It simply means patterns. Example: Tissue
paper patterns used by seamstresses
2. Paradigms do more than just reveal to us patterns, they help shape the way things look to us. Note: Everyone
who views an accident brings a different perspective to what happened.
3. The Word Paradigm: A slippery term that many have a hard time getting their hands around. Paradigms exercise
power over us. Convictions of right and wrong are often anchored in our paradigms. They are an integral part of our
identity.
4. The real culprit in the fight for change is rooted in the often mentioned, but little understood, word paradigm,
says Doug Murren in his book Leader Shift.
a. Paradigms are subconscious. Most of the time, few of us know we have them.
b. Paradigms can also be the rules by which a ministry and church function. Ministries and churches have rules that
dictate how they walk out church life.
5. Sometimes churches and ministries change the way they plan and organize. It is usually during these times of
change that we need to reexamine our rules.
a. Often, it is in this changing environment that we need to renew our understanding of our leadership role in
ministry.
William Cary, the famed missionary, stood on the docks of England watching the Hudson Bay Company send out their
agents to trade for fur and precious metals and other items. A thought hit him. This could be a new “pattern” for
spreading the Gospel. The church needs representatives as well.
Eventually these representatives would be called “missionaries.” Carey became the greatest missionary pioneer in
church history. When Cary began presenting this idea/pattern to Christian associates, it was not readily accepted.
They had no mental maps or paradigms to aid them in a discussion of missionizing the world. Cary kept up the
pursuit even knowing there was little doctrine or experiential interest in missions.
Patiently and persistently, Cary kept saying, “why not send national representatives from the church to the nations of
the world?” Eventually, his new paradigm won acceptance and a “pattern” for missions was established that would bring
countless millions to Christ.
6. Elisha and his servant when being pursued by their enemies. The servant could only say that he saw the enemy
troops and chariots surrounding the city. Elisha had on a set different lenses with a different perspective. Elisha had
lenses of faith. After sharing that perspective with his servant, he then looked and saw hills full of horses and chariots
of fire all around Elisha.
7. Godly Motivation Needed: God motivated leaders who incorporate a strategy to maintain a balanced level of
motivation.
a. Avoiding the pitfall of complacency is critical to success.
b. Knowing how to stay motivated without synthetic stimulus insures long-term success. We need to finish
strong.
8. The Heat of The Battle is Intensifying: To continue to build as we have built in the past while the world we are
trying to reach is drastically changing would mean that our religious blindness has put us out of reach with reality.
a. Changes in Economic Structures.
b. Changes in Social Behaviors.
c. Changes in Technological Approaches.
d. Changes in Church Life.
e. Enhanced Awareness of End Times.
9. The Fathers Love - Prayer
10. Bridal Paradigm - Praise
11. The Kingdom of God - Power
12. Forerunner Message – Prophetic
C. It’s Time To Be Victors, not Victims: We are in need of obtaining relevant tools and strategies that produce victorious
change. The Father wants us to be shaped into victorious leaders not victims. It’s time to move on, move forward, not
looking back. Basically for most of us we need to bury the past.
1. The leader’s God is reshaping, retooling, and retraining today, must understand that change must work for us
rather than against us.
2. Though change can cause discomfort to us, it does not have to become a tool for enemy invasion.
D. We Need to be in Pursuit of A Greater Outpouring of…
1. Kingdom Authority!
2. The Presence and Love of the Father!
3. Passion and Anointing to Run With A Forerunner’s Heart!
4. Prophetic Perspective and a Godly Attitude!
5. An Understanding of the Bridegroom God – Bridal Paradigm
E. 1 Chronicles 12:32 – And the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should
do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsman were at their command.
1. We must seek to understand the times like the sons of Issachar, apply biblical and heavenly patterns without
compromise, and adopt strategies, methods, styles, paradigms of thought patterns and attitudes that will prepare
and equip children.
2. Humanistic philosophies of ministry adopted by the church are a tool of the enemy and a rut of deception that
is meant to keep us lament on our past failures and inadequacies.
3. When children’s leaders pattern their ministry around humanistic philosophies they will compromise on it’s
original callings and purpose.
4. “The forerunner ministry announces ahead of time the unprecedented activities of the Lord that are just
around the corner. They will declare what is unprecedented and uncommon in this generation. They declare these
truths in order to make sense of what is happening to the people of God.”
III. CHANGES IN LEADERSHIP PARADIGMS - CHILDREN’S MINISTRY
A. The Need for a Spiritual Change in Children’s Ministry is Obvious. Why?
1. We are to Assist children with…
2. We are to Equip children with…
3. We are to Empower children with…
4. We are to Mobilize children in…
B. Being influenced by Kingdom Patterns will break the limitations of our own inadequacies and weaknesses and cause
us to draw upon the supernatural power of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
1. We need to be leaders that seek to be renewed daily with Kingdom thought patterns and strategies. These
kingdom thought patterns need to bring us to the reality that we should draw our spiritual resources from God first.
2. Complacency that comes through comparison with others and their programs is the most deadly venom in
ministry to children.
3. We should desire to be leaders that cannot be dominated and fashioned by the environment. We need to be
men and women that are not products of the environment, but vessels made and fashioned by God’s grace and power
to influence.
a. We sometimes find ourselves searching for the newest strategy, product, curriculum or principle of leadership
instead of seeking the Lord.
4. Successful leaders in the days ahead will develop strategies that release individuals into their full potential in
God.
5. We need to develop and embrace a model of leadership that builds and blesses.