OUR GO TO: THE BACK STORY (by author Jane Van Antwerp)

In 2001, I was interviewing a man in his early 30's for a church operations position. When I asked what he did at his current company, he replied, “I am the go-to-guy," explaining he was the one everyone counted on to fix things, solve problems and make things happen. What a wonderful person to have around! I wanted to hire him immediately. Sweetly, he ended up being a volunteer in the ministry.

Soon after this interview, I was writing a Blue Box children’s sermon to tie in with the weekend message of my colleague, Scott Dudley. His message was about God being our help — and the original Our Go To was born. It's still one of my favorite Blue Box Books. It’s probably the one God brings me back to most in my own life, often using it to speak to me and remind me to ask Him for help. 

My friend, Mary, was the president of a national ministry. In her first year she wanted to set measurable goals for the staff, volunteers and participants. So she came up with the best basic yardstick — how many times was each person turning to God during the day? I have shared that measurement when coaching a children’s ministries staff — and started the discussion by reading Our Go To, because it's a book that is interactive and speaks not just to kids, but to everyone. 

Over and over again, as Our Go To is read to little ones or picked up by older readers, the Lord whispers, “Come to me.” He is our wonderful go-to-God!