Hungry For the Supernatural
Zoe Langston, Emily Applegate, Olivia Langston

Are your kids looking in the wrong places?

Our society is intrigued and obsessed with the supernatural. Hollywood, mainstream television, media groups, and writers have produced films, shows, documentaries, segments, books, and literature depicting what they believe to be the essence of the supernatural. Recently, while in a major retail store, I was amazed at the number of people purchasing the newest Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The woman in front of me had three copies. In that moment, God reminded me that people want the supernatural; they’re simply looking for it in the wrong places.

As a children’s pastor, I understand the importance of creating an environment and an atmosphere where boys and girls can experience the supernatural—the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit. Our services are packed with music, games, crazy characters, science and object lessons, video, and more, but these are only tools to help us teach boys and girls about the power of God they need every day. My pastor reminds us all the time, “You can build a great church on the power and presence of the Lord.” We have made this a priority in our children’s ministry as well as in our church.

In over 10 years of full-time ministry, I have never seen boys and girls as hungry for the power of the Holy Spirit as I have the last eight months. Since January 2005, over 60 boys and girls have been filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Three boys were baptized in the Holy Spirit at Pow Wow, three children at kids’ camp, and the rest in our children’s church services. Several children from our outreach/bus ministry have been filled as well.

I’ll never forget praying with one young man who rides one of our buses. He was at the altar, singing, worshiping, and praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As I approached him, he looked at me with a big smile. I noticed that he didn’t have his eyes closed, nor was he crying. He just stood there looking at me, but prayed with an intensity I had seen only a few times before. All of a sudden, eyes wide open, he began speaking in tongues, making that smile of his even bigger. He and many others have discovered that there is no greater power than the power the Holy Spirit gives. It’s not natural—it’s supernatural!

Here are some things I’ve learned over the years about teaching on the baptism in the Holy Spirit:

• Expect boys and girls to be filled! If we're not praying and believing God to fill our children with the Holy Spirit, it won't happen.
• The Holy Spirit is a gift. If someone offered you $100 and told you all you had to do was take it, what would you do? I would do the same thing—take the money. I teach boys and girls there are only two things you have to do to be baptized in Holy Spirit—be saved and ask God to fill you. God wants all of His children to have this gift; we simply need to take hold of it. 
  • The Holy Spirit gives us power, but great responsibility comes with the power. Why do we need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? Acts 1:8 teaches us the reason: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my WITNESSES in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (emphasis mine). We need the power of the Holy Spirit so we can stand boldly for Jesus and share the gospel message. That's our responsibility. Remember, the Greek word for "power" as used in Acts 1:8 is dunamis. Our English word dynamite is derived from this same Greek word. Boys and girls need the power of the Holy Spirit to live a dynamic life for Jesus. When they have that power, you'll have the most explosive children's service you have ever dreamed of!

How have you introduced the Holy Spirit in your ministry?

Zoe Langston, Emily Applegate, Olivia Langston
Children's Ministries Help Sheet from the Children's Ministries Agency of the Assemblies of God
© 2006 Gospel Publishing House.