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.Hijos del Altísimo - http://www.a-ai.net/altisimo - email: altisimo@amen-amen.net
Conference "The pastor's role in Children's Ministry"Part 1: Biblical and theological foundations for Children's ministry |
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(Teaching for the Association of Evangelical Pastors in Cusco, Peru, March 20, 2002) ..... - - > (Index)
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The forgotten potential for church growthThe principles shared below are not just another "specialty" which one could add to the church or omit from it according to personal taste. Because when they are omitted, a large majority of people who could be part of the church, will stay outside! This is what actually happens in may churches. We are losing 85% of our potential for growth. |
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| WHY ? | ||
| According to a publication of the
"US Center for World Missions", 85% of all
people worldwide who decide to accept Jesus Christ as
their Saviour, are between 4 and 14 years old. Other studies observed that: In the US, 90% of all pastors and missionaries got to know the Lord while they were children, and had a responsibility in church while they were children. The Christian churches lose more children of Christian parents, than they gain new converts by means of evangelistic efforts. (In other words: Churches would grow more if they suspended all evangelistic events completely, and instead focused on evangelizing their own children.) |
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| On the other hand I observed, at least in Cusco, that the Christian churches are not aware of this potential. Generally they invest very little or nothing in ministring to children and teenagers, compared with other areas of the church. | ||
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These are some results of an inquiry
in 19 churches in Cusco, in 2001: Only three of these churches have leaders capable of training new Sunday School teachers. Two churches do not realize any work with children at all. 10 churches do not organize any training for their children's teachers. The churches who do minister to children, spend an average of 20 cents of a dollar per child per month. This equals about 2 to 3% of the church's total budget; but children represent 32% of all church attendants. (In Cusco, 44% of the population are younger than 15 years. This means that the churches are not even reaching all the children of their own members!) In 5 churches, there is no communication between the pastor and the Sunday School director; in 4 other churches there are only sporadical consultations. This signals that the pastors are not very interested in the children's ministry of their churches. |
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Children are the most open for the Gospel, but the less reached with the Gospel.
In continuation, we will study some of the most important Biblical passages which speak about children, and about our duty towards them. In this study, I would like to let speak, in the first place, the Biblical text itself, and reduce my commentaries to a minimum. In the following studies we will then look at some consequences of these principles, regarding the practice and organization of the church.
Part 1: Biblical and theological foundations for Children's ministry
The
forgotten potential for Church Growth
Children are very important to the Lord
Children
need Salvation
Are
children "innocent"?
The
commandment to evangelize children
The
commandment to teach children
The
commandment to correct children
The
commandment to respect and encourage children
The
commandment to let children participate in our experiences with
God
The
commandment to intercede for children
The
father as priest of his house (family)
God's
purpose and calling in the life of a child
Part 2: The pastor as promoter and
facilitator of Children's ministry
Part 3: Strategies for the development of
Children's ministry
Copyright Notice: All materials contained on
the pages of "Hijos del Altísimo", where not
otherwise stated, are copyright by Hans Ruegg. You may
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conditions: We offer our materials for free to everybody who wishes to use them, but we are also thankful for every voluntary support in benefit of "Hijos del Altísimo". |
Genesis
18:18-19: "... Abraham will surely
become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will
be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his
children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by
doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about
for Abraham what he has promised him."
Abraham is blessed because he taught his children the
way of the Lord.
Numbers
14:30-32: "Not one of you will enter
the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home ... As for your
children that
you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them
in to enjoy the land
you have rejected. "
God promises the Land to the children. They will be able to win
the battle which the adults lost for their lack of faith.
Matthew
11:25-26: "I praise you, Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from
the wise and learned, and revealed them to little
children.
Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."
Children can understand the Gospel. This understanding does not
depend on their intelligence or their human education, but it
depends on God who reveals the Truth.
Matthew
18:5-6: "And whoever welcomes a little
child like
this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these
little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him
to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned
in the depths of the sea."
Jesus identifies with children. He says that the
way we treat a little child, that same way we treat Himself.
Mark
10:15: "I tell you the truth, anyone
who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
The child is the example how to receive the kingdom of
God. In the same simple way they can receive the Lord, we also
should receive Him.
1
Cor.1:26-29: "Brothers, think of what
you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human
standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble
birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the
wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised
things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that
are, so that no one may boast before him."
Children are often looked upon as weak, ignorant, despised ...
but God chose them.
Children need SalvationRom.3:23: "... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ...", there is no age limit. Psalm
51:5: "Surely I was sinful at
birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Matthew
18:11-14: The well-known parable of the Lost Sheep is framed by these statements: "The
Son of Man came to save what was lost. ... In the same
way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of
these little ones should be lost. " Gen.
25:22: "The babies (Jacob
and Esau) jostled each other within her (in
her mother's womb); and she said: Why is this
happening to me?" - Is. 48:8:
"... you were called a rebel from birth
(literally: from the womb)" 2
Kings 2:23-24: " From there
Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the
road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him.
"Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go
on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at
them and called down a curse on them in the name of the
LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled
forty-two of the youths. " |
Are
children "innocent"?
There are many churches, even among those who
desire to build strictly upon the Word of God, who do not take
into account the principles mentioned above (maybe because they
seem to be very "hard teaching"?) So they teach that
little children are innocent, without sin, and that they start to
be sinners only when they reach a determined "age of
accountability". At first sight, this seems reasonable. But
when we teach that children are innocent, we enter in conflict
with some fundamental truths of Scripture:
- We would deny the effect of original sin on all mankind
(Rom.3:23, 5:12).
- We would deny that faith in Christ is the only way to Salvation
(John 14:6, Mark 16:16).
- We would teach that Salvation can be lost: If we state that
children are innocent and therefore are saved, then we would have
to teach that in some moment in their lives they start to sin and
get lost. This is in conflict with John 5:24 and 10:28-29 where
the Lord says that a saved person will not get lost again. - When
a Christian rejects his salvation by his own will, then we would
have to speak of the terrible case described in Hebr.6:4-6, of
which it says that it will not be possible to repent again.
Consequently, we would have to treat every adult unbeliever as an
apostate without hope for restoration. Such an opinion, of
course, would be cruel and absurd; but it is the logical
consequence of the teaching that little children are innocent.
Some expositors maintain that
verses such as Romans 3:23 cannot be applied to children because
they do not yet have knowledge of the Word of God and therefore
cannot sin deliberately. They say: "How can God judge
somebody who has not had the opportunity to know His will?"
- This same argument is also brought forward against missions
among unreached peoples: "How can we say that God will judge
the pagans, if they did not even have the opportunity to hear the
Gospel?" (So it would be better never to preach to them,
since they would be saved while they do not hear the Gospel.) If
the European Christians of the past centuries would have followed
this argument, today there would not be a single Christian church
in Peru (nor in Africa or Asia).
The book of Romans itself answers this argument: "...since
what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has
made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's
invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have
been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so
that men are without excuse. "
(Rom.1:19-20)
(Two verses which seem to say the contrary):
There are two Biblical passages which are sometimes
misinterpreted in order to teach that it is not necessary to
evangelize children. In continuation we will give the correct
interpretation according to their context:
Mark 10:14-15: "Let the little children come to me, ... for
the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." This is
sometimes interpreted as if the children were already in the
kingdom of God. But this is not what it says: the children need
to come to Christ in order to receive the
Kingdom, for this is what verse 15 says. While they do not come
nor receive it, they are not yet inside the Kingdom. (What it
does say, is that it is much easier for a child to receive the
Kingdom than it is for an adult person.)
1 Cor. 7:14: "For the unbelieving husband has been
sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been
sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children
would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy." Does this
mean that the children of Christian parents are automatically
saved? - The word "holy" or "sanctified"
means "separated, put apart for God" or also
"legitimate according to the Word of God". (In 1
Tim.4:5 it applies to food which can be eaten legitimately.) The
children of believing parents are under a special blessing and
protection of God (Psalm 115:14, 128:3-6, Ex.20:5-6). But this
verse does not speak about eternal Salvation. The same word
("Holy" and "sanctified" is the same word in
the Greek original) is applied also to the unbelieving spouse. So
if we want to interpret this verse in the way that children of
Christian parents are automatically saved, we would have to teach
also that the unbelieving husband of a Christian wife is
automatically saved. It is clear that this contradicts Biblical
teaching (see verse 16).
- The context shows that the question answered here was: Should a
Christian get divorced from his/her unbelieving spouse? Paul
answers: No, the unbelief of the spouse does not invalidate the
marriage; the marriage is "sanctified" (legitimate
before God) even in this case. If it were not so, they would have
to separate themselves also from their unbelieving children; but
now their children are "holy" (legitimate children
before God, even if they are not believers).
Mark
16:15-16 "Go into all the world and
preach the good news to all creation ..."
This includes all mankind, without any limit of age.
Matthew 18:11-14 We talked already above about the parable of the lost sheep. - God
does not want any child to get lost; therefore we must look for
them and evangelize them.
Caution: We must never manipulate nor compel children.
Making collective "calls to Salvation" will lead to
many "pseudo-decisions".
| The child's decision
should be: - voluntary - personal - with understanding. |
It is NECESSARY to
talk personally with every child who manifests the desire to give
his/her life to Jesus, in order to make sure that the child
understands what he/she is doing and that he/she is doing it by
his/her own will.
John
16:8-11: "When he (the Holy
Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in
regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin,
because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness,
because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;
and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now
stands condemned. "
An essental ingredient in conversion is the conviction
of sin. A child who is not convicted of his/her own sin and the
necessity of forgiveness, is not ready to convert. (The same
applies to adults!) - In this regard also, there is no age limit.
Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit and does not depend on
the intellectual or psychological capacities of the child. There
are four year old children who are more aware of their sin than
many adults. When a child converts as a fruit of this work of the
Holy Spirit in him/her, this conversion is equally real and
lasting as the conversion of an adult.
- for the
parents:
Dtn.6:6-9: "These
commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on
your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the
road, when you lie down and when you get up."
The first ones to teach the children are their
parents. This is a command of supreme importance, since it is the
immediate continuation of the "Great Command":
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the
LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your strength. " (Dtn. 6:4-5). In fact, it is thanks to
their obedience to this command that the Jewish people maintained
their identity as a nation, in spite of being dispersed among all
nations for more than 1800 years. This commandment, that parents
teach the Word of God to their children, has also many
consecuences for the structure of the church, which have been
realized very little so far.
Psalm 78:5-8: "He decreed
statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers to teach their
children,
so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to
be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his
deeds,
but would keep his commands.
They would not be like their forefathers-- a stubborn and
rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not
faithful to him. ..."
When the children are not taught the Word of God, they too will
become "a stubborn and rebellious generation".
- for the
leaders of the congregation:
Dtn.31:12-13 "Assemble the
people - men, women and children, and the foreigners living in your
towns - so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God
... Their
children, who
do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God
as long as you live in the land ... "
The second person whose duty is to teach the children, is the
leader of God's people. The children are included in the
congregation, in the same way as the men and women.
- in
general:
Prov.22:6: "Train a child in the way
he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. "
This verse shows us, in a general way, the principle that
childhood is the best age to receive teaching. When we teach
children, we can expect much better results than when teaching
adults.
Note: School is not a Biblical mandate. The civil government does not have any mandate to teach children. When a school teacher assumes part of a child's education, he/she does it as a person "commissioned by the parents", not as a governmental authority. It is very important for us as Christians to recover this Biblical perspective, in the face of the strong tendencies in some countries to monopolize the education of children by the State.
1
Sam.2:29-30: "Why do you honor your
sons more than me ...? ... Those who honor me I will honor, but
those who despise me will be disdained. "
- 1 Sam. 3:11-14: "... For I told him
that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew
about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to
restrain them."
Eli is judged by God because he did not correct his sons. As a
father, he was responsible not only for teaching them, but also
for correcting them when they were doing evil.
Prov. 29:15.17: "The rod
of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself
disgraces his mother. ... Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he
will bring delight to your soul. " (See
also Prov. 22:15, Eph. 6:4b).
Many parents make the mistake of yielding always to
the will of their little children ("they are so young, they
do not understand yet ..."), and later on they try to
correct their rebellious teenagers with too drastical measures.
[This is true at least in Preu; it might or might not apply to
other cultures.] But it is the other way round: Little children
should learn to live according to the rules as soon as they are
capable of manifesting their own will. Teenagers, on the other
hand, should most of the time be given the opportunity to learn
by means of their own experiences and their own faults.
The duty of correcting never excludes respectful behaviour! Respect is mutual: in the same way we expect that our children respect us as parents, teachers, etc, we also should show respect towards them.
Matthew
18:5-6: "And whoever welcomes a little
child like
this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these
little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him
to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned
in the depths of the sea."
Jesus identifies with children. He says that the
way we treat a little child, that same way we treat Himself.
Mat.18:10: "See that you do not look down on
one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven
always see the face of my Father in heaven. "
Looking down on children and despising them is one
of the ways we show disrespect towards them. Children are humans
of the same value and dignity as adults.
Col.3:21: "Fathers, do not embitter
your children, or they will become discouraged. "
Sadly, many children are discouraged by the way they are
treated by their parents (or by other people).
Eph.6:4: "Fathers, do not exasperate
your children;
instead, bring them up in the training and
instruction of the Lord. "
In this verse we have the synthesis of the two
principles mentioned. A wise father or mother will discover the
way of leading and correcting their children in a manner that
does not "exasperate" them, but encourages them to go
forward; that does not destroy their self-esteem, but edifies
them. Such a style of education will reflect what God the Father
showed us in His own person: the supreme authority, combined with
the supreme love. Educating a child in this way is a difficult
art, and probably nobody will master it perfectly - but exactly
for this reason we need to dedicate much time and effort in order
to learn it. There is possibly no better "image" of God
on this earth than a good father.
Psalm
102:17-18: "He (God)
will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise
their plea. Let this be written for a future
generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the
LORD."
When God is doing something in our lives, the children should be
part of this experience. This way they will learn to praise the
Lord for the real experiences they made with Him, not
only for the old stories they hear.
The best place to learn this is, once more, the family. When
parents and children pray together for daddy's work, their aunt's
health, the children's homework ... then there will always be
opportunities to point out to the children: "Look, God has
answered our prayers. Let's praise Him together!"
Lam.
2:19: "Arise, cry out in the night, as
the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.
Lift
up your hands to him for the lives of your children,
who faint from hunger at the head of every street. "
Children are generally the weakest members of society.
Therefore they are those who need the most protection, both
materially and spiritually. With our intercession we build a wall
of spiritual protection around the children.
Joshua
24:15: "... But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Joshua commits himself, not only to serve the Lord individually,
but also to lead his whole family in the Lord's service.
Ex. 12:21-27: " ... Obey
these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your
descendants. ... And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to
you?',
then tell them,
'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the
houses of the Israelites in Egypt ..."
The Passover, from the beginnings, was celebrated in families.
One of the children had to start the conversation with a
question, and the father had to answer by teaching his family and
leading the ceremony.
Acts 2:46: "... they broke
bread in
their homes
and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ..."
The Lord's Supper (= the continuation of the Passover) was
celebrated in the homes (families).
Acts 5:42, 16:40, Rom.16:5, 16:23, 1 Cor.16:19,
Col.4:15: The church gathered in homes (= in
families, including the children).
The following verses
show that according to the Biblical purpose, the human father is
to reflect what God is as a Father:
Matthew 7:9-11: "Which of you, if his
son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a
fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
"
Eph. 3:14-15:
"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every
family (literally: fatherhood) in heaven and on
earth derives its name. "
Hebr. 12:7-9: "...
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we
respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the
Father of our spirits and live! "
Jer.1:5-7:
" 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you
were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the
nations.' - 'Ah, Sovereign LORD,' I said, 'I do not know how to
speak; I am only a child.' - But the LORD said to me, 'Do not
say, `I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to
and say whatever I command you.' "
God's calling on the life of Jeremiah was determined before he
was born, and began to manifest itself at an early age in his
life.
Psalm 139:14-17: "... When
I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my
unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your
book before one of them came to be. "
For every person, God has an established purpose even before
birth. This means that every child, in this very moment, has
already a unique and personal calling from God on his/her life.
But how far will this calling be fulfilled in the life of a
particular child? The answer depends much on us who teach and
train this child.
God
can use believing children in His work
Examples: Samuel (1 Sam.3), David (1 Sam.17:34-37), the girl who
served Naaman (2 Kings 5:2-4), Josiah (2 Chron.34:1-4), Jeremiah
(Jer.1:5-7), Daniel (Dan.1:3-21).
Acts 2:17: "In the last
days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your
sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see
visions, your old men will dream dreams. "
Children can receive the Holy Spirit and His gifts.
-> Acts 21:8-9: "... He
had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. "
Since in that culture girls were married at a very early age, at
least the younger ones of these four daughters must have been
children.
Psalm 8:2 / Matthew 21:16: "From
the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because
of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. "
The praise of children is a powerful spiritual weapon.
John 6:8-9: "Another of
his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 'Here is
a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how
far will they go among so many?' "
Andrew's comment - "how far will they go among so
many?" - reflects the attitude of many leaders who despise a
child's contribution. A child who prays, who sings a song, who
shares his/her testimony, who helps another child ... will not do
it with the same "religious words" as an adult; will
possibly become nervous or shy and will not do it in a
"perfect" way. So we tend to think of the contribution
of a child as something very small. - But the Lord's reaction was
very different: He received the child's small gift, gave thanks
for it, and used it to feed more than 5000 people. The most
insignificant (from our point of view) contribution of a child
can be multiplied in the hands of the Lord and produce a great
miracle.
Hijos del Altísimo - http://www.a-ai.net/altisimo - email: altisimo@amen-amen.net
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