Recently, during our KidMin team’s weekly prayer, we separated to pray on our own. I walked down the hall to one of our lobbies that looked out toward the back of our property. As I scanned the area, I thought about how God has blessed our church incredibly. As I prayed, the Lord brought back to memory all the times I had prayed for an opportunity to serve in a place like this. It’s one of the healthiest staff I’ve ever been able to serve on. It’s a place where they allow me to use my gifts. The Lord has blessed me with the chance to spend most of my day writing curriculum (which is being shared with other churches around the country). I work with an incredible team that loves serving kids. Our church leaders love and invest in children’s ministry. Our pastor has given me many opportunities to preach in the main service. Everything I had wanted, the Lord provided. It’s truly God’s grace.

At that same moment, the Lord reminded me that I should express my gratitude. After prayer, I ran over to my computer and typed an email letting my pastor know how grateful I am for his ministry and sacrifices. The leadership over us faces many challenges we will never know about. They cover us and protect us from so many problems. Honestly, I don’t say “thank you” enough. It felt good to let him know I was grateful.

The attitude of gratitude should be our go-to response as children’s pastors. I’m reminded of the story of the woman who poured the oil on Jesus’ feet at Simon the Pharisee’s house. She emptied a jar of perfumed oil, likely equivalent to about a year’s pay. Simon was indignant, but Jesus was glad. Scripture doesn’t say for certain, but based on the Greek tense Jesus used to tell her that her sins were forgiven, it was the perfect tense. That tense denotes something that happened in the past, with the effects continuing into the present. I think it’s likely that the two had met earlier that day. She was probably a prostitute, and her encounter with Jesus changed her. Her actions that evening weren’t an effort to earn grace but a grateful response to God’s grace.

Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts and told a quick story about forgiveness. Who would be more grateful: the one who was forgiven much or little? The Pharisee answered with the obvious response—the one who was forgiven much. Simon had offered little to no hospitality to Jesus because he considered himself the one with little to forgive. The shocking twist of Jesus’ story was that Simon was actually the one in need of much forgiveness. Equally shocking, we also are the ones who have been forgiven much. Therefore, our only response is an outsized attitude of gratitude.

I think the same could be said of our positions in ministry, both paid and unpaid. We are blessed to have the opportunity to serve, whether it’s five or fifty in the room. How many of us prayed for God to give us a chance to teach, to lead, and to influence the next generation? Now that God has blessed us incredibly by answering our prayers, let’s not forget to thank Him and those who support us in ministry.

You won’t go wrong by erring on the side of gratitude. When teaching the kids about thankfulness, I had them mumble and grumble while saying “thank you” simultaneously. It can’t be done. One or the other will fill your mouth. It’s up to us to decide which one. Choose gratitude. It’s a great defense against offense. It’s the perfect ministry partner. It’s the Biblical response in all situations. It can make or break your longevity in ministry. This holiday season, allow an attitude of gratitude to be the lasting impression you leave everywhere you go.

Dwayne Riner has been in children’s ministry for over two decades. He serves on the children’s ministry team at The Ark Church in Conroe, TX. Dwayne oversees the development of the curriculum for birth through 5th grade. The Ark Church provides its curriculum to other ministries at no charge through https://lessons.church. Dwayne and his wife, Staci, have been married for 25 years and have two children.