TODAY Is the Day
By Pastor Karl Bastian
Every children’s ministry leader has a shelf labeled “Someday.”
Someday we’ll launch that parent night.
Someday we’ll start that special needs initiative.
Someday I’ll write that curriculum.
Someday we’ll fix check-in.
Someday I’ll call that volunteer who could be amazing.
“Someday” is a comfortable word. It asks nothing of us today.
But momentum in ministry doesn’t begin with someday.
It begins with a decision: Today is the day.
Not necessarily the day you pull off the event.
Not the day you execute the full plan.
But the day you move it forward.
Scripture reminds us, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day…” (2 Corinthians 6:2). God works in the present tense. While we dream about tomorrow, He invites obedience today.
The Myth of the Perfect Moment
We often wait for ideal conditions.
When things slow down.
After Easter.
Once the budget stabilizes.
When we get more volunteers.
When we feel more confident.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 gently warns, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.”
If a farmer waits for perfect weather, no seed ever hits the soil.
Children’s ministry leaders can do the same. We analyze, tweak, imagine every obstacle. We watch the clouds instead of planting the seed.
The perfect moment rarely arrives gift-wrapped.
Faith plants anyway.
Today Is Not the Day to Finish—It’s the Day to Begin
“Today is the day” doesn’t mean you must accomplish the whole dream before dinner.
It means today is the day you refuse to let it drift.
Maybe today looks like:
Creating a folder labeled “Parent Summit.”
Starting a one-page brainstorm.
Researching three churches who’ve tried something similar.
Texting a trusted leader: “Can I run an idea by you?”
Spending ten focused minutes praying over it.
Zechariah 4:10 says, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”
He rejoices when the work begins.
Not when it’s polished.
Not when it’s applauded.
When it begins.
Heaven smiles at the first brick.
Faith Moves First
Hebrews 11:8 tells us Abraham obeyed “even though he did not know where he was going.”
Obedience came before clarity.
We often want a five-year blueprint before opening a blank document. But faith sometimes looks less like fireworks and more like file folders.
(And yes, that might be the most spiritual thing ever said about Microsoft Word.)
You don’t need the full roadmap to take the first step.
Proverbs 16:9 reminds us, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Notice—He establishes steps.
Your job is not to orchestrate the entire outcome. Your job is to take the next obedient step.
God handles trajectory.
Beware of “Spiritual” Procrastination
Let’s be honest. Sometimes we baptize delay in spiritual language.
“I’m still praying about it.”
“I’m waiting for confirmation.”
“I just don’t have peace yet.”
Sometimes that’s wisdom.
Sometimes it’s fear wearing church clothes.
James 4:17 says, “If anyone knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”
That’s not meant to crush us. It’s meant to wake us up.
If God has nudged your heart toward something good for kids and families, indefinite delay is rarely obedience.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Power to begin.
Love to motivate.
Discipline to take action.
The Compound Effect of Faithful Days
Imagine if once a week you decided, “Today is the day I move one dream forward.”
One call.
One draft.
One meeting scheduled.
One outline created.
One prayer prayed.
Fifty-two small moves in a year.
That’s not someday. That’s momentum.
Galatians 6:9 encourages us: “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Harvest is rarely the result of one dramatic moment. It’s the fruit of many ordinary, faithful days.
Ministry is built in Tuesdays.
In quiet afternoons.
In small decisions no one applauds.
In seeds planted when no one is watching.
A Simple Declaration
So what’s sitting on your “Someday” shelf?
What idea keeps nudging you?
What initiative would strengthen kids, equip parents, or empower volunteers—but has been waiting for courage?
Before you close your laptop today, decide:
Today is the day.
Not to finish.
But to begin.
Create the folder.
Draft the outline.
Send the text.
Schedule the meeting.
Open the document.
Pray the prayer.
Mustard seeds grow.
Small beginnings matter.
Heaven rejoices when the work begins.
And years from now, when a child stands firm in faith… when a volunteer thrives… when a family is strengthened… you may trace that story back to a quiet, ordinary decision:
You chose not to wait for someday.
You chose today.
TODAY is the day.
By Pastor Karl Bastian, creator of many websites, events, books, and resources that started small… but exist because they were started.
