Signature Ministry In Action
In 1973, a church Pastored by Keith Johnson in Wheeler, TX started a bus ministry and, by default, it was up to his nephew, Willie George, to run. Because of the large numbers of kids that were able to be picked up, the small church began to grow by leaps and bounds. These unruly kids quickly overwhelmed their Sunday school teachers!
Willie George decided to relieve the pressure by taking the elementary kids into a class of their own. With little instruction or formal training, he began to preach with illustrated sermons and exciting stories about a cowboy character named “Gospel Bill”.
The kids loved these stories and they began to learn about God’s love and care for them. Even though Willie believed he was called to be a pastor, he could see that God had anointed him to teach a generation of children.
As a Pastor, he followed that anointing to an international ministry.
In spite of his success as a traveling children’s minister, Pastor Willie George longed to build a local church. Since 1987, Church on the Move in Tulsa, OK has been a leader in effective ministry for children and teenagers, with outreaches like Dry Gulch USA and Oneighty.
For example, the nuclear group of 250 teenagers eventually grew to 2,500 in average weekly attendance.
Thousands of young people came to Christ.
This amazing success attracted pastors from all over the country with a vision of reaching their own young people.
COTM built a revolutionary youth ministry complex and began to host national events for youth ministers. Pastor George emphasizes the importance of a strong children’s ministry, believing that honoring and investing in it makes a significant difference in a church. “Kids are a big deal to God, so they’re a big deal to us! Each week in Kids on the Move, our team brings the Bible to life through sharing Bible stories, playing games, singing and dancing, and diving deeper into a foundational Biblical truth.”
A lot of people know about Jesus but have yet to experience the life-changing power of His grace and truth. The Goal at COTM is to introduce kids to the real Jesus and disciple kids using three core strategies: Learning, Community, and Practice.
During a reflective prayer session a few years back, Pastor George asked the Lord why he no longer had a ministry to children. He knew, without a doubt, that he had followed God’s lead to do all the things he had done. Pastor George believes the Lord shared,: “I never called you to children’s ministry – I called you to a generation.”
Pastor George realized then that he had followed his own children and their generation as a teacher and mentor. When they were kids, he was Gospel Bill. When they became teenagers, he launched Oneighty. And now that they’re adults, He’s the old sage who cheers from the sidelines.
And like the Apostle John said at the end of his life, this is also Pastor George’s sentiment: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
