Sunday, February 1, 2009
Children are NOT the future of the Church?.( or why I stopped hanging out with Adults)
When my son (who is now 18 years old ) was in the second grade,our Church was praying for a REGULAR Sunday School teacher for his class! Our Children's Ministry Director was filling in and doing a GREAT job- but she had plenty of work to do besides teaching a class! We prayed for a teacher who would commit to teaching full-time! Maria and I were involved in Children's Ministry -as Children's Church teachers. We were part of a small group Bible Study, and I was teaching Adult classes on the Westminster Confession and the distinctives of our Reformed Faith..I was enjoying teaching Adults.. but the Lord began dealing with me about the need for children's teachers! I began to wonder if spending time in an ADULT class was God's BEST for me( and for lots of others??)Here we were discussing things that we had discussed hundreds of times before! Ok, I KNOW that we are studying the WORD AND that we ALWAYS learn something from it.. thats NOT what I'm saying.. what I am saying is this: IN ADULT CLASSES, there are lots of people who HAVE SO MUCH that they can pour into the souls of our little ones- they are mature Christians, they have the gift of teaching, they have a firm grasp of the Scriptures... They have been feasting at the "buffet ".they are stuffed.. they need to share that blessing with the covenant children.. but no... we would rather sit around and try to convince some Baptist visitor that infants should be baptised.. If a Methodist relative is in town,, we bombard them with the Five points!! Dear reader.. please understand, I know that Fellowship with other adults is important.. The Holy Word is taught .. people develop deep relationships with other believers... but I submit to you that we should have SO MANY people wanting to teach children, that we have to turn them away! They should be excited about the opportunity to bless the little ones...There is nothing more rewarding than watching the Lord Jesus draw the children unto Himself as you teach them His Word.. The Children are NOT the future of the Church..... THEY ARE THE CHURCH..... right now
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I agree with you! After teaching the 1st graders for 12 weeks - I don't know who is more blessed - me or the kids. I love their enthusiasm, and teachable hearts. Most of the stories of Jesus that I have taught - the kids have never even heard before! What a blessing to have the opportunity to teach our covenant children. Our family has been blessed by your family. From the classroom, to children's church, to your interaction with them - they have learned, been encouraged and directed to see God in all things. Praise God for his work in your family's life and that you heed His Spirit's leading. Blessings to you - our family looks forward to what you have to share on your blog!
ReplyDeleteJen Thompson
That's so wonderful to read. I have a 4 & 6 year old (that had delayed speech) because of serious hearing loss. I am now trying to teach them about God & Jesus and Heaven. My opportunity to really make an impact was when we put our dog down in July that they had since they were born. I had her for 15 years. They saw me cry and then I told them I was happy for her because she was running with Jesus and God was giving her a good girl treat every night before bed. The difference was, now thanks to being in heaven, her legs and back didn't hurt anymore and she was running like a puppy. My son said that "God was his friend". Now, bits here and parts there, it went from "Bless you" on a sneeze to "God bless you!". I let the children come to me with their questions. Thankfully, my mom saved an old childs worship book of mine. They still don't understand, but they know that God is good and Jesus is his son and taking care of Sister, our beloved lab. That's a start!
ReplyDeleteWe're thankful that you teach our Will!!
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