We are spending more time teaching children how to be good than we are teaching children about the Gospel.
Teaching kids about positive character traits is a good thing, but I don't believe it is the best thing to teach kids at church.
I believe we must keep the Gospel at the center of everything we teach kids. It's the transforming power of the Gospel that enables kids to live out the fruits of the Spirit.
We have such a small window of time to teach kids. The average family is only in church 1-2 times a month. We must make every Sunday count. What will you focus on for those weeks? Being good? Being kind? Being cooperative? Being thoughtful? These are good things for kids to learn about, but with a limited number of weeks, I don't believe they are the best things for kids to learn.
The church must focus on the centrality of our message. The Gospel.
And so I would encourage you to take a hard look at what you are teaching. Does it take kids to the cross? Does it show kids that all our righteousness is like a dirty rag without the cleansing blood of Jesus?
Being good points kids toward themselves, while the cross points kids to Jesus and what He did to redeem us.
When we point kids toward themselves, we will produce good kids. When we point kids to the cross, we will raise kids who love Jesus and depend upon Him.
The danger of focusing kids on being good puts them at the center of the story. God becomes a divine therapist whose chief goal is to make them happy. They become the center of the story, rather than Jesus being the central focus of everything they are involved in.
We know that 85% of people who come to Jesus, do so before the age of 18. If we are going to reach the next generation, then we must share the Gospel on a regular basis and make it the centrality of everything we teach.
If we don't, we will produce a generation that is good, but are void of the power of the cross to change lives.
Want a new curriculum that will put the Gospel at the center of the lessons? Then Connect 12 is just what you are looking for. Each month, the Gospel is clearly explained. A clearly explained pathway for kids to accept the message of the cross is woven throughout the lessons. You can get more info. and see lesson samples at this link.
Starting Point is a class that kids attend with their parents to learn what it means to follow Jesus. In one year, the class was used to see 480 kids and many parents come to Christ and follow Him in baptism.
Yes, we need kids to be good. But more than anything, we need kids who have been born again through the Gospel and are prepared to go and share it with others.
Good kids? Gospel kids? Which do you want? Remember...being good will not change kids' lives.
But accepting the Message of the Gospel will enable kids to live for Christ.
Paul put it like this...
"For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2
Your turn. The floor is yours. Do you think churches must focus more on the Gospel? Does your curriculum take kids to the cross? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.
