Is it the Anointing or Adrenaline?

Kids ministry is all about a high-energy atmosphere because kids have energy that boggles the mind of most adults. As kids ministers, we live on adrenaline much of the time, especially in our services because we know we have to keep things interesting and fast-moving for kids to engage.

I teach my leaders that even though it may not seem very spiritual on the surface, games, and contests at the beginning of the service are very valuable. It’s a time of fun and relationship-building between adults and kids. It tells them it’s ok to be a kid. It also burns off their unlimited energy and in doing so it gives them what they want. Then when it’s time to sit down and listen to the teaching, they will give us what we want—them sitting still and attentively listening.

We in kids’ ministry have been trained in conference after conference. Book after book, video after video, to keep the kids entertained and make sure above all else that they have fun so they will want to come back again. So, we have honed our skills and, in many cases, become professional entertainers. We’re part actors, part magicians, part animated storytellers, part puppeteers, part clowns, and more. We have to do what we have to do to engage the children.

All of this naturally produces adrenaline. It’s just the world we live in.

But have you considered the fact that while there’s nothing wrong with adrenaline, that’s not what is going to break the yokes over the lives of children we minister to? And it’s no secret that kids have yokes just like adults do. Only the anointing can break the yoke.

Isaiah 10:27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. (KJV)

Adrenaline and the anointing can feel very much the same. In fact, many times after a powerful service, I’m so excited when I get done, and there’s so much adrenaline coursing through my body, I have a hard time settling down and even sleeping. I’ve often reflected on what I am feeling. What just went on there? Was it the anointing or just an adrenaline rush?

There is a difference, and we must learn the difference. And trust me, the kids know the difference too even though they may not be able to articulate it. More than anything we should desire to have a strong anointing in all of our services. Only the presence and moving of the Holy Spirit are going to make kids want more of God. That’s why we exist in kids ministry—to make kids hungry to know more of God, and while entertainment and adrenaline have their place, only the anointing is going to get the job done.