We recently held auditions for vocalists—students who will sing beside our children's ministry worship leaders on weekends. For two hours, junior high-aged kids came into a room, held a microphone, and sang two songs. Some had more talent than others. Some had more confidence than others. Some knew the songs better than others. We loved them all. But one of them taught me some big lessons.

Krista began her audition nervous. Extremely nervous. Nearly stop-the-music nervous. When the first song ended I wondered if she would agree to start the second. She did. Now I felt nervous with her. She took a deep breath. I held mine. The vocal cue arrived.

She raised the microphone close to her mouth.

She looked slightly to the right of the other evaluators and me.

Then she closed her eyes and began to sing.

And something wonderful took place. Those of us who watched could clearly see that she forgot about us. We saw her heart take over and focus on God. For a few wonderful moments, she stopped auditioning and just worshipped Him.

Those three minutes taught me three important lessons. First, kids have incredible capacity to authentically connect with God. He created us to be in a relationship with Him, and children can actively pursue that relationship with passion. The take-away: do worship well in children's ministry. Not cute, but well. I didn't say expensive. I didn't say do a big production. I watched a lone student with a microphone and a CD playing over a single speaker fill a room with worship done well. How? Keep reading …

Second, although Krista has a good voice, her heart made a more important impression than her talent. While it's good to have heart and talent, they don't weigh in equally. I believe heart-felt worship only happens with people willing to forget about the rest of the room and focus on God. It's not a stretch to believe that God sees (and hears) past the talent, too, according to 1 Samuel 16:7 "for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." The point to remember: build hearts for worship first, work on talent second. Remember, we need them both—but in the right order.

Third, I long to worship like Krista did. I want to grow in my ability to turn away from all the anxieties and realities I face, let my heart take over, and focus on God. And how I want to stop all the times each day I seem to "audition" for others in countless ways. Third application (now it gets personal): God can use a lone moment of worship to change me. And if it can happen to someone like me, it can happen more than any of us could ever ask for or imagine.

Ironically, just three days before the audition, Krista was baptized. She stood in front of thousands of people and publicly declared that Jesus changed her heart and life. Now, just seventy-two hours later, her heart taught me plenty. And while many great ideas in ministry seem to change each year, one showed that it remains the same:

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. Mark 10:15

David Staal serves as the Promiseland director for Willow Creek Community Church. His next book, Words Kids Need to Hear (Zondervan), will release this month.

Copyright © 2008 Promiseland.

Read more from 'Programming and Teaching'

Words Kids Need to Hear To Help Them Be Who God Made Them to Be by David Staal If you could choose just seven statements to share with children, what would they be? Each chapter in this compelling book focuses on a single statement elementary-age kids need to hear from parents, children's workers, and other close adults. These seven statements are simple to share, yet guaranteed to profoundly impact children. They are: I believe in you. You can count on me. I treasure you. I'm sorry, please forgive me. Because. No. I love you. will educate, equip, and motivate parents and children's ministry teams to carefully choose words that building up kids' hearts, to say them frequently, and to do so in creative ways. What children hear from trusted adults significantly influences their self-image, their current relationships, and future relationships—including that all-important relationship with God.