I can tell you the exact moment in time that I became a children's minister.

At 4:11am on the 15th of January 1998: my first child was born. Ever since, I've been a full-time children's minister.

My job description has always been clear and succinct. God, whom I serve as my senior minister, advised me, through the work of his Holy Spirit, that I was to not exasperate my children, but instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

My mission is clear. My responsibility is obvious. When it comes to the Christian upbringing of my children, I know that the buck stops with me.

However, even though I have a clear job description, I still fail to consistently carry it out. It is all too easy to have a good-looking public ministry when I stand behind the pulpit at my church, but have a deficient private ministry when I sit at the head of the dining table at home.

Why is it that I find it so hard to be disciplined at reading the Bible every night with my family and praying together with my wife and kids each day? Why is it that the challenging task of preaching to a congregation on Sunday seems so easy compared to the simple task of leading my family in devotions on a Monday?

It's not for lack of resources. It's not for lack of training. Ultimately, it's due to lack of energy and motivation. My life is full of pressures and deadlines. Fatigue means that I struggle to find the energy to convene my house church. The sooner we can finish dinner and leave the table, the sooner I can have some time with my wife to recover from the pressures of life.

Sadly, I too often succumb to the schemes of the devil, who deceives me into devaluing my role as the minister of my children and my wife. I expend my energy ministering to others, but seem to forget the commands of the Lord which he gave me when he ordained me as the rector of my family.

So, how can I improve the consistency of the ministry at my home? I need to put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes (at around 6 o’clock most nights), I may be able to stand my ground. I need to put on the Lord's armour that he has graciously provided for me, and use his sword in combat against the lies of the devil. And, I need to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Yet, even though I know what I need to do, I still need encouragement to do it… and that's where men's ministry comes into the picture.

What I need from other men is the encouragement to do what I know I need to do. I need other blokes to encourage me to man-up and lead my family. I need men to minister to me so I can keep on standing up against the devil and trusting God's word.

That's why men's ministry is children's ministry. If we really want our children to grow in the training and instruction of the Lord, we need to invest energy in strengthening the dads to do their job. Strong men will mean strong families. Strong families will mean strong churches.

This doesn't mean that we won't have specialist children's ministry in our churches. I give thanks to God for the ministry that happens in my church by our full-time children's minister, and her terrific team of volunteers. Yet, just because we've got a paid worker doesn't mean I can delegate my responsibility to someone else. The buck stops with me.

What can you and your church do to strengthen the men to lead their families?