This past weekend, I visited a church service. I wasn’t speaking, I wasn’t scheduled, I wasn’t serving. I was simply there to sit, receive, and worship.

But as the service came to a close and people began to move around, I felt something stirring in my spirit—a soft but strong tug from the Holy Spirit that said, “Pray for the pastor.”

I didn’t know him personally. It wasn’t even my home church. I was just a guest. But the nudge didn’t go away. It only grew stronger.

Then came the internal battle: “But I’m just the children’s minister.”

It’s easy to think like that when you’re used to being behind the scenes or downstairs with the kids while service is going on upstairs. I’m used to scanning the room for children, seeing how they’re responding, wondering if they’re understanding the message, and thinking of ways to help them connect with Jesus. That’s how I’m wired. I notice the kids first.

But in that moment, the Spirit wasn’t asking me to observe or check in. He was calling me forward.

So I obeyed.

I approached the pastor after the service and asked if I could pray for him. He said yes. I stood there—nervous, yet confident in the Lord—and prayed as the Spirit led me. No fancy words, just faith.

The next morning, I got a message. The pastor shared that he had been battling something physically and hadn’t been able to sleep. But that night, after we prayed, he rested peacefully. He said he knew God had healed him.

I just sat with that message—humbled, grateful, and deeply reminded of something important: We are never “just” anything when we’re filled with the Spirit of God.

God can use us anywhere, anytime, through any gift—even outside the areas we’re most familiar with.

Many of us are used to being “the children’s ministry person”—the one who brings the energy, the object lessons, the heart for the kids. We walk into church already thinking about how to reach the children in the room.

For me, I notice if they’re fidgeting, zoning out, asking questions, or if their eyes light up when the Word is taught. It’s second nature to me now. But that moment—praying for the pastor—reminded me that while God has graced me for children’s ministry, He has not limited me to it.

He’s expanded me to see—even the children we minister to are called to it as well.

And the same is true for you.

I want to talk to those of you who love teaching kids—those who stay up late prepping activities, praying over children and families, encouraging volunteers, and asking God for fresh ways to make truth come alive for young hearts.

You may sometimes feel like your lane is small or overlooked. You may begin to believe the lie that your role is only for one room in the church. But the truth is, God will call you into unexpected spaces when He wants to move through you—not because you're chasing attention or a microphone, but because you're available. And He trusts you.

There’s nothing average about ministering to children. It is powerful, sacred work.

But don’t let that be the only space you allow God to move through you.

The same Spirit that helps you reach a kindergartener can release healing through your hands for an elderly man. The same discernment you use when comforting a child can be used to speak life to someone in leadership.

When God speaks, we respond. When He leads, we follow.

Maybe this is for someone today who has stayed in their safe space in ministry, thinking that’s the only place they belong.

I want to encourage you: stay faithful in your assignment, but stay open to expansion.

Be the children’s ministry leader who prays with boldness. Be the Sunday School teacher who prophesies when the Spirit speaks. Be the nursery worker who doesn’t hesitate to lay hands and intercede.

You are more than your title. You are a vessel.

Sometimes God will take you from the back of the room to the front—not because of position, but because of purpose.

So here’s what I leave with you:

Don’t shrink back when the Holy Spirit speaks.
Don’t count yourself out based on where you usually serve.
And please, don’t ever say you’re “just” the children’s minister.

You are a part of the Body.
You are anointed.
You are trusted.
You are filled with the Spirit.
You are ready—even if you don’t feel like it.

Let God use you when and where He needs you!

​Angela Marks is a passionate children’s ministry leader with 12 years of experience serving in various churches and ministries. She resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina where she has yielded to the call of reaching young people inside and outside the walls of the church.