Jesus gave us this priority in His last command.
"Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." Matthew 28:20The most recent reports show that 13% of Gen Z kids already say they are atheists. This is twice as high as the % of adults who say they are atheists.
It's time we get serious about reaching the next generation. We must go all out to share the Gospel with Gen Z and their parents. We know that the vast majority of people come to Christ before the age of 18. We must reach children while they are open to the call of Jesus.
Several years ago, I felt the burden to develop a strategy that would help us effectively share the Gospel with kids and their parents.
A strategy that would include...
- A clear presentation of what it means to follow Jesus that kids could understand.
- Involving parents and equipping them to share the Gospel with their children.
- A personal conversation with kids and parents rather than a large group prayer.
- Key indicators that would help parents know if their child understood the Gospel and was ready to make a solid decision.
- A way to not only reach kids, but their parents as well.
Notice I said...kids and parents. One of the great things about Starting Point is that you will reach not only kids, but their parents as well. I remember one weekend, we baptized a son, his father and his grandfather who had been reached through Starting Point. Three generations baptized at the same time. What a day of celebration it was.
You see, if we are really going to see children's lives changed, then we have to reach their parents as well.
Using Starting Point in my local church, in one year, I was able to see 480 children and many of their parents come to faith in Christ and follow Him in baptism. Every single one of the children who were baptized that year, first went through Starting Point with their parents.
And now it is happening in many other churches who are adopting this strategy as well. Here is a recent testimony I received from a children's director who has just started using Starting Point.
"I work with children in a rural church. I could not be more pleased with the session. The books helped the children stay focused. The variety of methods used kept them involved - they liked drawing and especially enjoyed going back to X out their sin!
The video had a nice mix - just when the youngest might have started to squirm, we had a movie or a skit. But, most importantly, the message came through loud and clear. From the youngest to the oldest parent - the Gospel was declared in a way all could understand.
I have struggled with how to present a time of decision since our children are in kids' services without their parents each week and I strongly believe parents should play the lead role in guiding their children to a decision for Christ. Your curriculum provided the way to give children a chance to ask Jesus to be their forgiver, leader and friend - thank you! One publicly followed Christ that night, two declared they had done this before, but had not made it public and were ready for baptism and seeds were planted in 7 other children as well as some parents. We will be using Starting Point every 6 months from now on."
It is critical that every church have an effective strategy to share the Gospel with kids and parents. We must reach them while we can.
Do you have a strategy for this? Are you seeing kids and families come to Christ?
I can promise you this. The Gospel still works...if we will work the Gospel.
I don't know everything you are doing in your children's ministry. But I do know this. The most important thing you can do is reach kids and families with the Gospel.
I want to encourage you to take a step. Renew your commitment to sharing the Gospel with kids and parents. And then make sure you have an effective strategy in place to do so.
If you'd like to see how Starting Point can help you reach many kids and parents with the Gospel, you can get more information by clicking on the image below or at this link. Let's go all out to share the Gospel with Gen Z and their parents!
