As a children's ministry leader, you are making a difference. To love and guide a child is an opportunity to not only influence a generation, but to change the world. It may seem like a big job with small recognition. It may seem overwhelming. But what you are doing matters. This month's "For Your Soul" column is an excerpt from my new book, Simple Compassion: Devotions to Make a Difference in Your Neighborhood and Your World (Zondervan). I hope you'll be encouraged and equipped to continue changing the world one life at a time.

I love reading the gospels. They tell the story of Jesus' life on earth. After a brief mention of his birth and childhood, they focus on the last three years of his life, when he traveled around, teaching and preaching, just living life with a band of followers. Everything from bread to bushes provided object lessons as Jesus tried to tell them about the kingdom of God. Which, he said, was not a someday pie-in-the-sky promise, but a here and now reality. The kingdom ...