RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

The most important thing you will do this Easter weekend is share the Gospel with the kids God sends your way. 

What an awesome opportunity God has given you to tell kids that Jesus is alive and wants to be their best friend. 

It is crucial that we share the Gospel clearly so kids understand the decision we are inviting them to make. 

Let's take a few minutes and revisit how to share the Gospel with children. 

Understand that there is not a clear cut, specific age children must be to enter a relationship with Jesus,

It is not our job to set an age of accountability line. That's God's job.  

That being said, here are a few signs that God is at work in a children's life.

The child is able to understand concrete and abstract illustrations. Here's an example.  If you use an illustration about Jesus being the bridge back to God, a child who doesn't understand abstract concepts will think the bridge is a real, literal bridge.  

In many cases, a child begins to understand abstract concepts at the age of 7-to-8-years old.  But this is not written in stone.  It can vary from child to child. 

Help the child understand that Jesus wants to be their FORGIVER.   A child must understand they have sinned.  If they do not understand they have sinned, then they are not ready to ask Jesus to be their forgiver.  

Asking Jesus to be your FORGIVER means...

• you understand you have sinned (Romans 3:23)
• you understand that your sin has separated you from God (Romans 6:23)
  
• you are sorry for your sin (repent) and are ready to turn to Jesus for your forgiveness
• you trust Jesus and Jesus alone for your forgiveness

Next, help the child understand that Jesus wants to be their LEADER. (Romans 10:9-10)

Asking Jesus to be your LEADER means...

• you make Him the "boss" or "coach" of your life
• you will follow Him
• you will let Him control your life
  

And the third thing is this - the child needs to ask Jesus to be their FRIEND.  (Proverbs 18:24)

Asking Jesus to be your friend means...

• you enter a relationship with Jesus
• you make Jesus your best friend
• you can rest assured that Jesus will never leave you

You make Jesus your forgiver, leader and friend by calling on Him through prayer. (Romans 10:13, John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10)  This means you...

• pray to Him and tell Him the things we just covered
• accept His forgiveness as a free gift

One of the most effective ways to do this is to share in a class that is designated for kids who have indicated they want to invite Jesus into their life. 

I have created a class called Starting Point that can help you accomplish this.  It is a class where the Gospel is shared with kids and parents together.  No drop-offs.  Parents must be present.  The cool thing about this is seeing parents attend the class and after hearing a clear presentation of the Gospel, they also invite Jesus into their life. 

Trust me when I say this - Starting Point is one of the most effective, strategic steps you can take when it comes to sharing the Gospel with kids and their parents.  I tell you this by experience.  In one year, I saw over 430 kids (and many parents) attend this class and go on to invite Jesus into their life and then follow Him in baptism. 

You can check out Starting Point at this link.  There are lesson and video samples. 

As I wrap up this article, let me say this.

Here are a few signs to look for that will help you know if a child is ready or not to invite Jesus into their life.

• the child keeps bringing up the subject to you 
• the child understands that they have sinned
• you sense this is something the child "needs to do" vs. "wants to do"
  

It is not our role to be behind kids, pushing them to make a decision that they are not old enough to make or don't clearly understand.

It is not our role to hold kids back from making this decision.  As I said, God is the one who sets the age of accountability for each child.  That's His job...not ours. 

Our role is to walk beside children. Holding their hand...so to speak.  Having Gospel conversations and praying for them along the way.  When we do this, God will draw the children to Himself in His time. 

This weekend, I will be teaching as a volunteer in my home church.  I will be clearly sharing the Gospel with the children and then will invite them and their parents to attend the Starting Point class which will be held in a few weeks.  I am praying and believing that many of them will come to Christ.

You are going to have a larger than normal attendance this coming Easter weekend.  Be ready to share the Gospel.  We know the vast majority of people who come to Jesus do so before they are 16-years-old.  We must reach them while we still can.

"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone" is for kids as well.  

Kids can learn to share their faith and be bold witnesses for Christ. 

Let's look at a few ways we can get kids excited about sharing their faith.

Teach children what the Bible says about sharing our faith with others.  You can use verses like...

 “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone." Mark 16:15

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise."  Proverbs 11:30

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."  Matthew 4:19-20

Share motivational truths about the importance of sharing our faith. 

“Our faith becomes stronger as we express it; a growing faith is a sharing faith.”  Billy Graham

“The greatest way we can show love to another person is by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.”

Help them create tools that they can use to share their faith. 

I created a teaching series called "The Blab Lab."  It has 4 sessions.  In each session, kids create a tool they can use to share their faith.  Here is an example from one of the lessons.

(if you are receiving this in an email and can't see the video - you can play it at this link.

In the course of the sessions, kids make 4 tools that they can use to share the Gospel.  I had one girl that took one of her witnessing tools to school and shared it with her entire class.

The Blab Lab teaching series is available at this link.  It can be used for a Sunday school class,  small group, large group worship lesson or a Wednesday night program.

Emphasize sharing your faith on a consistent basis.  Here are a few ways you can do this.        

        The empty chair.  Have an empty chair up front.  Let the kids know the chair represents their friends, family, neighbors, school mates, etc. that do not know Jesus. Who is sitting in their empty chair? Encourage the kids to invite them to church and share their faith with them.

        Who's your One?  Have kids think of one person they know that needs Jesus.  Ask them to focus on sharing the Gospel with that one person. 

        Church invite cards.  Have 5 invite cards available each week.  Ask the kids to think about someone they can invite to come with them to church the next weekend.  Ask 5 people to commit to inviting their person that week to church.  Make a big deal about it.  Give the 5 kids one of the invite cards to use for the invitation.  Have everyone pray for the five kids they will be inviting.  I saw new kids come to church each week and accept Jesus into their life as a result of doing this.

Motivate them to share their faith and bring people to church. 

     Have a guest contest.  I once had a boy bring 26 people to church for a guest contest. 

     Give a prize to everyone who brings a guest.  Give a prize to the person they brought as well. 

Have kids and parents invite their family and friends to their milestone events.  Milestones like child dedication, baptism and graduation are great events to invite people to.  You can then strategically share the Gospel with everyone at the event.  Go the second mile and provide kids and families with invite cards they can use for their invites.

Teach them how to pray for the Holy Spirit to lead them, guide them and empower them as they share the Gospel and invite people to church.  When you do this with the kids, God will move in their lives and in the lives of the people they talk to. 

I remember one Easter a new lady came to church. When we asked her what brought her to church, she said she was a crossing guard at a school.  One of children she was helping cross the street gave her an invite card to Easter services and so she came. 

I believe if we will get kids excited about boldly sharing their faith, that we will see God use them to bring many people to Christ. 

Your turn.  How do you encourage kids to share their faith?  Share your ideas and strategies in the comment section below.