Did you know that up to 85% of people come to Christ before the age of 18?
The next time you are with a group of adults, ask them how many came to Christ before their 18th birthday?
I was teaching a classroom full of adults this past weekend and when I asked that question, the vast majority raised their hand.
D.L. Moody, was a world renowned evangelist in the late 1800's. After being lead to Christ by his Sunday School teacher, he started working with the children who lived in the inner city streets of Chicago.
Moody went on to become a world-famous evangelist. He would preach to thousands of people at a time in big arenas around the world. He led millions people to Christ. Near the end of his ministry, he said this...
If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God.
After seeing millions of people come to Christ, he realized that children are the greatest mission field.
God has divinely placed you in children's ministry. What an honor to be chosen for this opportunity to lead children to Christ.
This past weekend, I was teaching the pre-teens at my home church. I shared the Gospel with them. Two of them told me they have never made a decision to follow Jesus. As we continue to share with them, I am believing and praying that they will come to Christ. I know we only have a short window of time with them. Would you pray with me that they would come to Jesus while they are young and their hearts are open to following Him?
Yes...I believe children must be able to understand and grasp some key things before they can come to Christ. They must understand what "sin" is and acknowledge that they have sinned. They must also understand that our sin separates us from God. They must understand that Jesus died, was buried and rose again so their sins could be forgiven. They must understand that they can enter a relationship with God by asking Jesus to be their Forgiver, Leader and Friend.
Time moves so fast. Before we blink, children are grown up and headed to college, the military, work, and other areas of life. The window of time to reach them with the Gospel is so short.
How can we reach kids with the Gospel? It starts by sharing it with the kids. Is your curriculum sharing the Gospel? Is the Gospel a regular part of your lessons, activities and events? How many children in your ministry have entered a relationship with Jesus? You only have a short window of time to reach them. It's time we got serious about reaching children with the Gospel.
I often tell children's ministry people and parents that our job is not to push children into making a decision for Christ. I have seen parents and children's ministry people who want children to come to Christ even though they are very young and do not yet understand what it means to come to Christ. That's not our job.
The flip side is this - I have seen children's ministry people and parents hold children back from making a decision for Christ. The child is ready, but the parents or cm leaders tell the child they need to be 13-years-old before they can make a decision. That's not our job either.
Our role is to walk beside children, have conversations with them, share the Gospel with them and watch as the Holy Spirit draws them.
Not to push.
Not to hold back.
Simply walk beside them.
Watch as the Holy Spirit brings them into the family of God.
Look what Jesus says in Matthew 19:14.
'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'
Kids get saved just like adults get saved. In this verse, we see the heart of Jesus for children. He loves them and wants them to come to Him. If you walk with Jesus, you will also have a heart to see children reached with the Gospel.
We know the enemy has come to kill, steal and destroy children. We are in a battle for the eternal destiny of the coming generation. We must get there first with the Gospel.
You only have a short window of time. What will you do in that window of time to reach kids with the Gospel?
A great tool you can use to reach kids and parents with the Gospel is Starting Point. It's a class that children and their parents attend together. It clearly shares the Gospel through activities, discussions and videos. Hundreds of churches are using this tool to reach kids and their parents.
I saw over 430 children and dozens of parents come to Christ and get baptized in one year by using this great tool. You can get more information and see a sample lesson, videos and more at this link.