My almost 16-year-old daughter came home from her weekly volunteering in the 3-year-old room at church yesterday and told me that a couple of the kids in her group will be moving to the 4-year-old room as they celebrate birthdays this month.

"It's so sad," she said. "I'm going to miss them." She also pointed out that the oldest kids, especially in a preschool classroom, often are the ones who contribute most to the small group "discussion" she and her co-leader try to have with the kids.

While it's hard to let go and let the young people in our care move on to bigger and better things, it's essential to our goal—which is to get them to grow up in their faith. I love that my daughter cares so much for these kids, and that she genuinely shows them God's love as she teaches them. And while it's hard to get attached and then have kids move on, she's learning a valuable leadership lesson—the goal of mentoring people, whether they are 3 or 30, is to get them to grow. To do that, we ...