RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

The greatest thing you can do for kids this Christmas is to share the Gospel with them. This is the heartbeat of Christmas. 

Here are 3 ways you can effectively share the Gospel with kids this Christmas.

Christmas Lesson

How will you share the Gospel through your lesson?  

I created a special Christmas lesson that shares the Gospel with kids. It's called the The Christmas Gift. It follows the story of a boy named Andrew who discovers the true meaning of Christmas and is given the greatest Christmas gift ever...Jesus. You can get more info. and order the lesson as an instant download at this link.

The Candy Cane Illustration 

Give each child a candy cane and use it to share the Gospel. 

The candy cane was created by a Christian candy maker many years ago.  He made it to help share the Gospel with kids.

White Candy – A symbol of our sinless Savior (2 Corinthians 5:31, 1 John 1:7). His sacrifice for our sins washes them away and makes us clean.

Red Stripes – A reminder that by the shedding of Christ’s blood and His death on the cross we are rescued from our sins and given eternal life. (Ephesians 1:7 & 2:8)

Shepherd’s Staff – The candy cane is in the shape of a shepherd's staff. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and His sheep will hear His voice and follow Him (Psalm 23:1, John 10:11).

Letter J – When the candy cane is turned upside down, it looks like a “J” representing Jesus our Savior (Matthew 1:21, John 3:17).

Happy Birthday Jesus Party

Invite the kids to a "Happy Birthday Jesus Party."  Make the party all about Him as the kids celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

Have a happy birthday cake for the kids to eat and take up a special offering for Jesus. Use the money the kids give to help people who are in need or for a special missions project. 

You can get the lesson for this at this link. 

The parents do not attend church. But they do bring their daughter to our mid-week program. 

I will be sharing the Gospel with the parents and their child together.  I am praying that the entire family will come to Christ.  

I believe God can use children to bring an entire family to Christ. 

Think about all the times in the Bible when people came to Jesus for one reason...they needed something for their child.  Their child was sick. Their child needed healing. Their child had died.  So their first contact with Jesus was because of their child. 

Fast forward. I believe the same thing happens today. People come to Jesus because of their children. God works in the heart of parents when they send their children to church. They want their child to have some kind of spiritual foundation. They may not even be able to put it into words, but they know something is missing in their family and they come seeking what that may be. 

In other instances, young adults drop out of church.  They walk away from their faith for the time being. But then they get married and have a child. They look at their child and God begins to work in their heart. They begin to think about their child getting some kind of spiritual foundation in their life and so they bring them to church. As God begins to work in the life of the child, He uses it to also work in the heart of the parents. 

Over the years, I have seen thousands of kids come to Jesus and follow Him in baptism.  That's good news, but there is more good news.  I have also seen hundreds of parents come to Christ as well because of their children's example.  

Here are a few tips on how to see parents come to Christ along with their children. 

Always be thinking about and praying for parents.  

Pray that God will work in the heart of parents. Pray that God will draw parents who don't know Jesus. Understand that parents are the greatest influence in the life of a child. 

When you reach a child, you change a life. When you reach parents, you change an entire family.

No matter how far a parent is from God, when you minister to their child, you have their attention. 

Share the Gospel with kids and parents together. 

I believe this is key. Rather than praying with a child for salvation, invite them to a class that they attend with their parents. In this class, share the Gospel clearly.  When you do this, you will see parents come to Christ along with their children. 

I created a class called Starting Point. The class is designed to share the Gospel with kids and parents together. It is a game-changer. You can get the class at this link.  

Invite parents to take a spiritual step with their child.

Invite parents and children to come to Christ. After they have stepped across the line of faith, invite them to attend a baptism class together. You can get the class at this link.  

I could tell you countless stories of seeing parents reached through their children. I once even saw 3 generations baptized together because we were intentional about sharing the Gospel with families.

I pray this article will encourage and inspire you to reach parents through their children. This is the greatest mission field in the world. The harvest is ripe. Will you labor in this field?