Ministry-To-Children.com » Children & Salvation

10 Reasons Why I Still Love One Night Kids’ Crusades

Mimi Bullock — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:44:36 +0000

Some people think it’s old-fashioned, but I still believe in crusades! The main reason why I love them is, by their very nature, they focus on salvation through Jesus. Crusades are like illustrated sermons, only with more games, object lessons and props.

A crusade is a suitable ministry format for both children and adults. Vacation Bible School is a fun summer activity but at some churches I’ve taught, a long expensive program couldn’t be managed. A one night crusade has multiple benefits for use, anytime of the year.

Parents see the ministry in action. If you’ve ever heard a parent say, “He seems so excited when he comes home. What do you all do in there?” you need a kids’ crusade. Expose parents to the excitement of your ministry and you may even gain souls for the kingdom—and volunteers!
It’s a guest-friendly event. Children love sharing their church with other children but if the child already attends church somewhere that can be a challenge. No one wants to proselytize. However, a one night kids crusade is the perfect venue for meeting your kids’ friends and families that don’t normally get to attend.
It’s fast-paced but effective ministry. Here’s how my crusades go, intro (puppets or a kids praise dance), praise with beach balls, worship with low lights and adult flag leaders, brief announcements, main message intro, game, offering, message part two, game, activity song, message part three and the altar service. Each segment, except the message portions are no more than five minutes each.
You don’t need a huge staff to pull it off. All you need are three volunteers. One to play the music and hand out the worship tools, one to lead the games and one to help with the offering. Involve parents by asking them to help with building props that are needed. Don’t ask them to volunteer the night of the crusade. This ministry is for them too!
You can use fun, relevant themes. Past crusade successes I’ve experienced were loosely based on popular television shows and movies. Some examples are “Survivor,” “The Crocodile Hunter.” “No Fear Factor” and “Transformed!” We used props relevant to these shows and “saved” some plot lines! It was fantastic fun and we had powerful results.
Crusades build excitement. If your ministry has been kind of boring and expected lately, a crusade will help build excitement.
Crusades create new momentum. Build momentum towards a vacation Bible school or special conference with well scheduled crusades. Do one a month or quarter to build kids’ and parents’ expectancy.
Events give new teachers and volunteers a chance to teach. New teachers like to shine too. I love introducing a new helper or teacher at kids’ crusades. They get to experience what teaching to a crowd is like.
These events show parents how their kids really behave. I love parents but sometime they have trouble understanding why little Susie didn’t earn a special prize. At kids’ crusades, parents get to attend and experience all children’s behaviors for themselves.
It’s my favorite teaching style. Some people prefer the Sunday School format, others like a structured classroom. Not me! I love the way kid’s crusades unroll and become a massive, moving ministry. I like exciting the children with “cheer leading” chants for my King and leading them into heartfelt worship in the main sanctuary of our church. I love that just for a day, kids get to pretend to be the adults using the equipment that their adult counterparts use every week. I look around and I see the church, as it should be, excited, simplistic and full of love.

Read more Mimi’s new book, “The Prophet’s Code,” a book for children and teens interested in biblical prophecy.

Unchurched Kids: 4 Things You Should Teach First

Jenny Funderburke — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:40:11 +0000

Just the other day my friend shared about her husband’s one and only church experience when he was younger. The pastor pulled him aside and shared that the boy was probably going to hell because he was wearing baggy pants. For many years later, that is what the boy remembered and associated with church. Wow.

Suppose a kid comes to any of your ministries and has zero religious background. What are the most urgent things your ministry needs to help them understand? Sometimes we get caught up in the behaviors and the to-do’s and don’t-do’s. Here are a few basics that kids need to learn first.

1. God is love and He loves them. Before you can share the gospel effectively with any kid, he or she needs to understand this essential idea. An unchurched kid could have any possible view of God, formed largely from tv, movies, or bits and pieces they’ve picked up from other sources. Nothing matters more than that child understanding that the God of the universe loves him.

2. You love them. Before you can share much life-changing truth, you have to earn the right to be heard. All kids need to know that your ministry is a safe place where people genuinely care about them. It is through relationship that we have real opportunities to share the gospel.

3. Sin is real. We do unchurched kids a great disservice when we only tell them half of the story. Kids need to understand that we have a sin problem that we can’t fix on our own. Kids need to learn that our wrong choices are serious because they separate us from God.

4. Jesus. If God sends us unchurched children, and they leave our ministry without at least being initially introduced to who Jesus is, we have failed. Pizza is good. Games are fun. But we miss it if we don’t share with all kids as often as we can that God sent His only son to pay the price for our sin and to make a way for us to go to Heaven.

What do you say? Leave a comment below to add your thoughts to this important question. What do you try to emphasize when children visit your ministry for the first time?

20 Non-Negotiable Principles for Evangelizing Kids

Wayne Stocks — Sun, 15 May 2011 10:55:53 +0000

Based on his findings from a 2004 survey of the age at which most people accept Christ, George Barna wrote:

“Families, churches and parachurch ministries must recognize that primary window of opportunity for effectively reaching people with the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection is during the pre-teen years. It is during those years that people develop their frames of reference for the remainder of their life – especially theologically and morally. Consistently explaining and modeling truth principles for young people is the most critical factor in their spiritual development.”

Indeed, 9 out of 10 Christians accept Jesus as their savior before the age of 18. That means that evangelizing kids should be, and must be, of the utmost importance. So, what are some guiding principles that you can use in evangelizing kids. Let’s have a look at 20 of them which should guide your efforts in this most important of jobs. I have purposely structured this list such that the first 10 items are more abstract guiding principles and the last 10 items are more practical principles in terms of presenting the gospel to kids.

1. Pray.

Like everything that we do, prayer should be our default when it comes to evangelizing kids, and it seemed appropriate to include it first in any list of principles for evangelizing kids. We should ask God to give us the wisdom to speak His word into the lives of the kids under our influence. We should pray for guidance in choosing which kids will be receptive to His message. We should pray for open hearts and open minds that are ripe to be sown with the message of His exceeding grace. We should pray for specific kids who we have been talking to or who have shown an interest in His gospel message.

2. Remember that what you are doing is God’s work.

No matter how zealous you are or how good you think you are at leading kids to Christ, bringing kids into the Kingdom is ultimately the job of God. From our standpoint that means we should pray, prepare and share, but in the end you must be willing to allow yourself to be guided by the Holy Spirit. When you are praying to God about specific children or specific situations, take time to listen as well and be submissive to God’s prompting. It is God’s work to save kids, not ours. We can lay a foundation, but it is up to God to draw a child to Himself.

3. It’s all about Christ

The Gospel is not about you and what God can do for you. It is not about the child you are talking to and what God can do for them. The Gospel is about the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His payment for our sins. The Gospel is about the resurrection and God’s work in our lives after we accept him as Lord. When presenting the gospel to kids, or anyone for that matter, it is important to remember that it His Gospel, and it’s all about Jesus.

4. Sin is necessary for salvation.

The gospel is good news. No, the gospel is great news! I told a group of kids this morning that it was the most awesome news they were ever going to hear in their entire lives, and I believe that from the depths of my soul. That said, the Gospel can only be Good News because there is bad news. We have all sinned and deserve to be punished by a Holy God. All too often when it comes to children, we shy away from the idea of sin and judgment for fear of manipulating them into a false profession of faith. While I understand those reservations, a child cannot understand the need for the Gospel, and their own personal need for Jesus, until they can comprehend and understand that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. Children need to understand that they are sinners and everyone they know is a sinner.

5. Some context is helpful – give an overview of God’s plan and work in history

Speaking of sin, some context is helpful. Jumping right to Jesus died on the cross, now make Him Lord of your Life is not helpful. A brief explanation of the history of God’s work in human history is helpful. Something like:

God is the only being that was not created. He has always been. He also made everything including you and me. He made humans to be in a relationship with Him. But, humans rebelled against God and did what they wanted to do rather than what God wanted them to do. That is called sin. We all sin, and because God is Holy (that means He is perfect and never sins), he can not tolerate sin. That means that we are separated eternally (that means forever) from God. That’s pretty bad news since God loves us and always does what is best for us, but there is also Good News. Even though the people He created rebelled against Him, He sent His son Jesus Christ to come to Earth, lead a perfect life, die on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins and raise again three days later to conquer sin and death. The awesome news is that if we make Jesus the Lord of our Life and choose to follow him, His death on the cross pays the penalty for our sin too, and we can be reconciled to God (which means we can live with Him forever).”

6. Point to the Bible, not a feeling. Salvation is about the works of Jesus, not a feeling.

Salvation is not a feeling. While there may be feelings that accompany salvation (like happiness and joy), these should not be promised or interpreted as evidence of salvation. The Bible tells us that:

The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it? [Jeremiah 17:9]

When you are evangelizing children, it is important to lead them through God’s Word. Salvation is based on the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is not about a warm fuzzy feeling. For a child whose cognitive abilities are not fully developed, it is important not to rely on emotional appeals to bring a child to Christ.

7. It’s about trusting Jesus with their lives and having a relationship with him, now just knowing him.

The Bible is clear that even the demons understand that Jesus is the Son of God. While it is critical that we give kids a firm foundation in doctrine and the Bible, a saving knowledge constitutes both head and heart knowledge of Jesus. Yes, we must transfer a certain amount of requisite knowledge to kids in order for them to understand God’s story and His plan in human history, we must point them towards a heart knowledge of Jesus and encourage a relationship with Him.

8. It’s about more than just being Jesus’ friend.

I have to admit that I cringe a little bit when people tell kids that Jesus will be their “forever friend.” Don’t get me wrong. I think that is part of the story. Jesus does become someone we can turn to in times of trouble, a constant help in planning our lives, and someone we can share our deepest thoughts and concerns with. Those are attributes of a good friend, but Jesus is so much more than that. To reduce Jesus to just a “forever friend” ignores his power and glory. He did, after all, speak the world into existence, and he does sustain us every moment. When we make Him to Lord of our life, he does become a trusted friend, but He will always be infinitely more. In our efforts to help kids comprehend the incomprehensible nature of God, we must take care to not create too small an image of God in their heads.

9. Lay a foundation and don’t get discouraged.

God doesn’t always work on our timetable. Sometimes things happen so much quicker than we ever imagined they could, and other times it seems as if God has forgotten our prayers (something He never does). Much of what we do in working with kids is planting seeds – hopefully planting them deep in fertile soil. Part of the nature of working with kids (especially younger kids) is that we may never get to see the fruit from those seeds. Nonetheless, we must persevere with patience and determination. Continue to plant the seeds of the gospel and pray that God would use them at some point in that child’s life to blossom into a beautiful tree that will bear fruit for Christ. Never get discouraged that you are not seeing immediate results. God sees the work that you are doing, and you can rest assured that it is part of His grand plan.

10. It doesn’t end at the profession of faith.

A decision to follow Christ is a special moment. There is no denying that. If you have ever been privileged enough to be there when a child chooses to make Jesus the Lord of their life, you know the overwhelming sense of joy and hope that it brings. The moment should be celebrated. It is the most important decision a child, or anyone else, can make in their lives, and it is cause for celebration. Remember though, that a profession of faith is only the beginning of a child’s spiritual journey. It marks the beginning of a lifetime of learning, discipleship and building a relationship with their Lord and Savior. Make sure that you do not “forget” about a child just because you have gotten them to a point of profession of faith. Ensure that a system is in place that will continue to disciple them and lead them in their spiritual journey.

11. Be ready at all times.

1 Peter 3:15 tells us:

…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, [1 Peter 3:15]

We are commanded to be ready at all times to share our faith, and that is never more important than with kids. You never know when the subject of God and Christ will come up, and you must be prepared ahead of time. That means knowing basic doctrine and the basis tenants of the gospel. It also means giving some thought to how you present those things to kids in age appropriate ways.

12. Be clear and avoid abstract language

Children tend to be concrete thinkers. If you tell them Jesus lives in their hearts, many will picture a two or three inch tall Jesus sipping an iced tea somewhere near their aorta. When you are sharing the gospel with kids, use concrete language and language that they are familiar with. Find ways to express biblical truths in ways that kids can understand.

13. Be age-appropriate. Understand how kids develop.

Part of knowing how to present the gospel to children is understanding how children think. There are similarities between kids in terms of what they are capable of learning at different ages. Get online and search for child development. Become a student of how kids think and learn. This knowledge will help you more effectively present the gospel to them in an age appropriate fashion.

14. There is no formula. Every kid is different.

No matter how much you read up on how kids develop similarly, always remember that each child is unique. There is no substitute for personal first-hand knowledge of a child. When you know the details of a child’s life, you will be in a much better position to make the gospel personal to them.

15. Keep it short.

Let’s face it, kids don’t have the longest attention span in the world (nor do many adults). Don’t sacrifice the depth of the gospel by trying to cram it into 30 seconds. On the other hand, be concise and get to the point. When you’re sharing the gospel with a child, it’s probably not the right time for a discussion of the church fathers’ views on the doctrine of substitutionary atonement.

16. Never give a child false assurance. Salvation is about more than a prayer.

Unfortunately, much evangelism (with kids and adults) is geared primarily towards getting someone to say a prayer. Salvation is about a whole lot more than prayer. Salvation comes with a choice to make Jesus the Lord of our lives and choosing to follow Him. Never assure a child that he is “saved” merely because he or she said a prayer. You do not know what it is in that child’s heart.

17. Never use guilt, manipulation or high pressure techniques.

The Gospel of our Lord in not about guilt, manipulation or pressuring people into accepting it. Children are particularly susceptible to these types of techniques. Now, most people will not set out to employ guilt or to manipulate or engage in high pressure tactics trying to bring kids to Christ. However, there are more subtle forms of these techniques which are employed and must be guarded against. Kids are very conscious of what their friends and classmates are doing. Singling out kids who have not chosen to follow Christ in front of their friends who have and then presenting the gospel to them is a type of high pressure technique that employs peer pressure to achieve the desired result. Playing on a child’s need to please their parents utilize their guilt and fear of failing their parents – not to mention that it is inherently unbiblical.

18. Encourage questions.

Sharing the gospel should be much more of a conversation than a presentation. Encourage kids to ask questions as you present the gospel. This will allow you to not only gauge how well they are getting what you are trying to present, it will also allow them to clarify any portions that they don’t understand. Encourage questions by asking questions yourself and by using rhetorical questions as you are speaking.

19. Involve parents wherever possible.

The days that my kids came to Christ rank as some of the most memorable and joyous days of my life. While the miracle of their physical births is etched forever on my mind, the eternal impact of their second births will forever be some the greatest days of my life here on Earth. For that reason alone, if it is possible, you should try to involve the parents if you know their child has made a decision to follow Christ. While this is preferable, it is not always feasible, and I would never suggest that a child wait an inordinate amount of time just to so their parents can be there.

20. It’s all about relationships.

The Gospel is about relationships. It is about our relationship with God because He chose to save us from our sins by His grace and not through any work on our part. He also chose to use other people as the vessel for sharing His good news. While there may be an occasion for you to present the gospel message to a child that you do not have a personal relationship with, most children will come to faith through someone they are close to. It is important to build relationships with these kids in order to speak into their lives. It will also be important in continuing the discipleship process following the moment of salvation.

The gospel is rich and deep. Something so profound as God’s Good News has to be. There are more principles when it comes to presenting the gospel, and while practice will not make perfect in this case, I would encourage you to get as much practice as you can. Start putting these twenty principles into practice today. Let us know in the comments section below what principles you would add to the list!

Free Training Videos: Responsible Evangelism with Children

Tony Kummer — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:07:12 +0000

These videos were created by the team at LifeWay's Kids Ministry 101 blog.

I just discovered these helpful video clips from the team at LifeWay Kids. They walk through eight tips for carefully telling kids about Jesus. Any of these would be great discussion starters for your next children’s ministry training.

The information is presented by Bill Emeott and Klista Storts, two childhood ministry specialists from LifeWay. The links below will take you to the watch page on Vimeo.

Click Below to Watch

I’m so glad the team at LifeWay is teaching on this topic. It seems like many churches go to extremes when they tell kids about Jesus. Some are not careful and fall into manipulation, others simply avoid any evangelism with children. Using these training videos could help.

If you are struggling with this topic. You might find some of our other articles helpful. We posted a discussion on avoiding manipulative evangelism and another about teaching kids to be saved. with kid and Leave a comment to share how you’ll use this resource in your ministry.

When Should Kids Be Baptized?

Tony Kummer — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:09:33 +0000

This is a question answered differently in many churches. It’s definitely a question we should be asking. Leave a comment to let me know what your church does.

My friend Trevin wrote a helpful post asking should we baptize small children? He offered four principles for handling this topic. Here was his conclusion:

To be clear, I do not consider childhood baptisms invalid. I myself was baptized when I was eight. But I do believe that we should be very careful in how we handle the precious little ones that the Lord has entrusted to our care – neither discouraging them from believing in Christ nor giving them false assurance of their decision by speedily baptizing them.

Here are a few posts on this topic from our website:

In May 2009 we hosted a discussion post talking about different church policies on baptizing young children
That led to a larger conversation about the age of accountability

I also though these links from some other websites worth checking out:

Kids Baptism Policy at Sojourn Community Church
Posts about Baptism on Children’s Ministry Online

Salvation Object Lesson

Linnea Sandvall — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:34:09 +0000

As with any object lesson, this is not a perfect representation of salvation. The idea here is to further a child’s understanding of what Christ does with our hearts when we believe in Him and accept Him as our Savior. Originally written for preschoolers, this lesson can be tailored to any age group depending on your depth of discussion.

Who can tell me what sin is? Let the children answer.

Sin is anything that we do, or say, or think that goes against what God has told us in the Bible to be truth. It is anything that makes God unhappy. What are some of the things that we do that go against God and make God unhappy? Let the children answer. As they answer, write the sins on the egg with a permanent marker. Write them on top of each other so that the egg starts to look really black.

What is this thing we are writing on?

It is just a hard-boiled egg. Have you ever touched an egg? How does it feel? What does it look like? Have different children feel the egg as they answer. (possible answers- hard, smooth, maybe a little rough, colored, dark, messy) This egg reminds me of our hearts before we know Jesus. Before we know Jesus our hearts are hard and messy and far from perfect.

But this egg also reminds me of what Jesus has done for each of us. Jesus was the Son of God and lived a long time ago. Jesus spent His life telling people about God, how much He loved them and how God wanted them to live. But Jesus didn’t just live for us, He also died for us. He died for us because ALL of us have done the things that we wrote on this egg.

Name some of the things on the egg. (e.g.- We have all lied, or been unkind, or not obeyed our parents.) What did we call those things? Sin. Our sin keeps us from knowing God and following Jesus.

Start peeling the egg. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. But He didn’t stay dead. After 3 days, He rose again and is now living in heaven. Jesus died on the cross for you and if you believe in Jesus and tell Him you are sorry for your sin, then He can take away your sin just like I am taking off the dark, hard peel of this egg.

When you are done peeling the egg, What does it look like and feel like now? Have different children feel the egg as they answer. (possible answers- soft, malleable, no blemishes, clean) That is what happens to our heart when we ask Jesus to forgive us for our sins, the things that make him unhappy. Our heart changes from messy and dark and hard to being clean and soft.

** If the egg doesn’t peel smoothly, it’s okay! Talk about the fact that we do still sin and we aren’t perfect, but we are clean and soft and ready to follow Jesus.

Take the opportunity to lead the children in prayer and give them a chance to accept Jesus as their Savior.

Kids Evangelizing Kids (and How We Can Stay Out of the Way)

Wayne Stocks — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:46:31 +0000

If you haven’t heard yet, there is a free e-book called What Matters Now in Children’s Ministry in which 33 members of the children’s ministry community were asked to pick one word which describes what matters now in children’s ministry. That word selection is then explored further in 200-300 words chapters in the book. You can also find much more information on the project and various blog posts related to the project on my What Matters Now in Children’s Ministry page.

Several weeks back, I posted my thoughts on the chapter authored by The Lads based on the word “infectious.” The basic premise of the chapter was that kids have a natural enthusiasm for sharing the gospel, and as children’s ministers we should find ways to tap into that natural excitement.

One of the things I enjoy about blogging is the chance that it creates to spark conversations. That’s one of the reasons I really appreciate when people take the time to comment on an article, and I always try to respond to comments. On this particular article, Henry Zonio from Elemental Children’s Ministry (who along with Amy Dolan and Matt Guevara put together the book in the first place) made a comment in reply to the question “What are you doing to encourage the kids in your church to evangelize?” His comment really reshaped my view of the gospel and how we should be presenting it to kids. He wrote:

Great questions… One way that I’ve encouraged my own kids as well as those in church is to talk about our faith as if it is something that is to normally be discussed and talked about with people. One of my recent revelations when it comes to kids talking about their faith is that they aren’t really scared to do it; we’re the ones who put the fear in them. We talk about how it can be scary to talk about faith with friends, we tell them we don’t have to be afraid, we tell them that they might be made fun of… We plant these fears in kids; they don’t already have them. It’s changed how I talk with kids about having faith conversations or about inviting their friends to church. I talk about it as if it’s the most normal thing in the world to do, which it actually is. Since doing so, I’ve heard more stories from parents about their kids talking about faith with their friends and their kids inviting friends to church.

I had never really thought about it that way, but Henry makes a very valid point. Our attitude when we talk about presenting the gospel is critical in how kids receive it. If you think about it, that’s really not that much different than other areas of our children’s lives where out reaction dictates there attitude and response. I replied to Henry with a personal story related to this very issue and my thoughts (for those of you with an attention to detail, I have made some minor changes to my comments for purposes of clarity and to fix some grammar issues):

Great point Henry! I think we do this in all kinds of areas with kids. As a parent, I see it when my children get hurt. If we react our view gets imposed on the child, and it becomes a big deal. Oftentimes when we don’t react, the child will pick himself up and just go about his daily routine.

My wife and I used to get all kinds of dirty looks in public because we would actually laugh when the kids fell or bumped into something. We weren’t being cruel, inside we were hoping they weren’t really hurt (no parent wants to see their child hurt), but on the outside we wanted to impress on them that it wasn’t a big deal. Most of the times, that worked, and to this day our kids aren’t prone to overact to little bumps and bruises.

That said, I hadn’t really thought about that in a spiritual context. I know that when I have shared the gospel with kids in the past and encouraged them to tell their friends that I have from time-to-time talked about how it can be intimidating. And, you’re absolutely right, that was me transferring my intimidation to them where they may have had none.

When we talk to kids about the gospel, it is important that they hear and sense our excitement and eagerness to share it. We must be careful not to inadvertently transfer our own fears and trepidations associated with sharing the gospel to the kids we influence. I should note that with his typical humility, Henry was quick to point out the following:

I wish I could say that realization was a spark of my blinding awesomeness (of which there is no charge) but it came about in a conversation I had with one parent who was talking about how his daughter talked about her faith with her friends as part of her normal interactions with them and was thanking what we were doing in CM that facilitated that. I went away from that interaction wondering what we WERE doing and realized that we had been coaching our leaders to not talk about the fear side of sharing faith and simply present it as something natural to do. It then dawned on me that we most likely had been transferring our fears to our kids previously.

I want to thank Henry for pointing out this very important truth. When working with kids, or anyone for that matter, it is important that we watch not only what we say, but how we say it. What steps are you taking to feed the natural excitement the kids in your ministry have to sharing the gospel? What might you be doing that would inadvertently discourage them from sharing the gospel?

Evangelizing Children Without Manipulation

Where is Jesus in this Bible Story?

Wayne Stocks — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:52:46 +0000

For our children’s ministry, we use a curriculum from a well know national company who specializes in writing children’s curriculum for churches. Frankly, the stuff they put out is great! The large group teaching, small group activities and variety of “extras” you can buy to go along with the curriculum are all outstanding. Each month we review a new biblical virtue and each week an aspect of that virtue is taught based upon a biblical story or passage.

Like all curriculum, this one serves as a road map to the weekly lesson, and each week I find myself tweaking the lesson (or sometimes rewriting it) to fit my circumstances. The first thing I have to do is rewrite the large group presentation (which generally includes two or more people) to be delivered by one person. This requires a little bit of creativity to find new ways to present the lesson each week without having the kids grow bored with just listening to me. I also tend to inject some of my own thoughts and ideas into the lesson as appropriate and necessary. The final step I go through every sing week, and the most important, is that I read through the revised lesson and ask myself, “Where is Jesus in this story?” Where do I need to inject more Jesus? How does the Bible story relate to or point to Jesus?

John 5:39-40 says:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” [John 5:39-40 ESV]

Later in the same discourse, Jesus explains:

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” [John 5:46-47 ESV]

The point is clear! All of scripture points us directly towards Jesus. Based on my study of scripture, I believe that all scripture either points to, is about, or emanates from Jesus Christ. He is the focal point of history and the focal point of the Bible. You see, God calls us to place Jesus firmly at the center of our lives. Everything we do should be about Jesus. We should parent for Jesus. We should coach little league for Jesus. We should tell people about Jesus. We should live our lives and do everything we do as if we are doing it for God and not for men. Given that, it only makes sense that we must make him the center of any lesson we are presenting to God’s children.

When you are preparing your lesson for this weekend, or any weekend, I think you should ask the following ten questions about your lesson to assess whether or not it includes a sufficient amount of Jesus:

Is Jesus the central point of your Bible lesson?
Have you explained how Jesus fits into the biblical story you are using as part of your lesson?
Does your teaching include a presentation of the gospel?
What in your lesson would prompt an unsaved child to turn to Jesus?
What in your lesson would prompt a saved child to rely on Jesus?
How does your lesson challenge your audience to be a better follower of Jesus?
What does the lesson teach the kids about their personal relationship with Jesus?
In what way does your lesson encourage worship of Jesus?
If you are teaching a biblical virtue or spiritual discipline, have you explained how it relates to a relationship with Jesus?
Where is Jesus in this story?

You should also check out Tony’s post related to this topic called “Don’t miss the Gospel when sharing Jesus with kids” or this one by Charlie about “The importance of Jesus in every Bible lesson.”

“Who Will Be King?” Gospel Tool for Children

Tony Kummer — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:33:55 +0000

Sharing the Gospel with kids can be a challenge. I struggle with getting all the basics covered without overwhelming children with too much information. That is where the “Who Will Be King?” booklet has really helped me.

We were so excited about this approach that we created a Gospel Coloring Book that prompts kids to ask the question. “Who is my King?”

It has become my default tool for telling kids the Gospel story. We even have the illustrations from the booklet painted on the wall in our Children’s Church. We have used this booklet to train our kids for sharing the Gospel with their peers and parents. I use a marker board and have the children learn the basic drawings and tell the story that goes with each illustration. Even preschool aged children can grasp the meaning and pass it along.

It is published by Matthias Media as a kids version of their popular “Two Ways to Live” Gospel presentation. In six sections, this booklet covers all the major points of the Salvation story. You can check out the online version here.

We always order the booklets in bulk to save money, you can buy them directly on the Matthias Media website.

The Age of Accountability: Rethinking Children and Salvation

Tony Kummer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:29:56 +0000

Welcome to another session of the Children’s Ministry Think Tank. This is a monthly feature where we discuss controversial or difficult topics related to children’s ministry. Our responses are just a starting point, we encourage you to share your views in the comment section below.

What About the Age of Accountability?

What do you teach about concerning a child’s condition (sometimes called age) of accountability for responding to the Gospel? How would you counsel a parent who is concerned about a preschool aged child who seems disinterested in learning about Jesus? If you had to estimate (and you do), what is the chronological age that most children become fully accountable for their decision about Christ?

Response from Jared Kennedy

Some Christians and Christian traditions maintain that Scripture teaches an “age of accountability” before which young children are not held responsible for sin and are not counted guilty before God. But several Bible passages indicate that children (even before they are born) have a guilty standing before God and a sinful nature so that they not only have a tendency to sin, but God views them as sinners (Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Ephesians 2:3). Experienced parents know that children do not have to be taught to do wrong. It is their natural inclination to disobey, to lie, and to manipulate.

This is one of the strongest motivations for Christian parents and Christian churches teaching the gospel to their children from the youngest age. We teach about Jesus because children need Jesus as their savior from sin. As one famous preacher said, “The gospel is meat for men but it is also milk for babes.” But kids don’t always want to hear about Jesus and trust him. When a preschool age child isn’t interested in learning about Jesus, there isn’t necessarily a cookie-cutter answer, but here are some areas I’d explore with the parent: (1) I’d encourage the parent to examine his or her own heart. Does mom and/or dad get excited about Jesus and learning from his Word? Do they regularly pray and read Bible stories together with their family? Young children often look to and follow their parent’s example. Perhaps a parent has a satisfying relationship with the Lord, but it is private and not shared with the child. Invite the child into your relationship with Jesus. (2) I’d ask the parent whether or not he or she talks about sin with their child. Does your child know that when she disobeys you, she is also disobeying God? Do you just talk about your child’s misbehavior (taking a cookie, hitting his sister, not sharing), or do you talk with him about the heart attitudes and motivations that lie behind that behavior (greed, pride in performance, selfishness)? When our children have a more honest view of the extent to which sin is rooted in their hearts, they will be more likely to look for and respond to Christ—who provides pardon and provision for that sin. (3) Most importantly, I’d pray with the parent, and I’d encourage the parent to pray. Salvation is ultimately God’s work in the child’s heart. May God have mercy on our kids and help them to repent from sin and love Jesus.

As I stated above, I cannot justify an “age of accountability” from the Scriptures. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15). Since salvation is God’s work in a person’s heart, it doesn’t require any particular level of cognitive understanding or behavioral response to be present and real. Growth in faith is certainly evidenced by understanding and behavior, but it is not earned (or merited) by them. Faith is more than a decision, it is a gift from God. So, my age estimate is somewhere around conception. :)

Jared Kennedy is a husband, a father, and the Director of SojournKids (http://sojournkids.com), the Children’s Ministry of Sojourn Community Church in downtown Louisville, KY.

Response from Nicole VanderMeulen

I apologize if you’re already tired of me saying this, but the Lutheran theology in which I stand strongly believes that it’s more about God choosing us (and he has, all of us!) and not about us choosing him. It’s all about the grace. If your child is disinterested in church or Jesus or anything else you find essential, well God forgives them for all of those things too!

That is not to say that we shouldn’t be concerned about our child’s development regarding their Christian education and faith. Each child is uniquely wonderful and will develop at their own pace. Each one of us learned to walk, talk, ride a bike, sleep through the night, read, and do about a billion other things all at a very different rate in a plethora of different ways, most of which could all be considered “normal”. I don’t think children’s understanding and accepting of Jesus is different than any other developmental milestone. Why can’t we just celebrate the special and unique gifts each child brings to our village, rather than worrying or trying to force faith?

My other thought is that I know many, many adults who question their relationship with Jesus and hit bumps and potholes along their faith journey. I actually find this healthy and not of concern. To fear and to question and to wonder and to doubt are all means for growing in faith. Why would we expect our children to be any more firm or certain than most adults can be? The concept of Jesus and the news of the Gospel is VERY abstract knowledge for a child (and still for many adults too!) to comprehend. I think expecting this type of understanding from a child is inappropriate and will only set us up for disappointment. Instead, I encourage telling children over and over about God’s unending love for them and showing them the care and community that comes with membership in a Christian family. The rest will come.

The educator in me would say that if your preschooler isn’t interested in learning about Jesus, than you should re-examine the teaching strategies being used. I don’t think I’ve met a child yet who is truly disinterested in learning about Jesus if the information is presented in a fun, engaging, age-appropriate, diverse manner.

I can’t put an age on accountability for the Gospel, because I truly believe our relationship with God is a journey, not a moment or a single prayer, or day, or year. Our faith is ever-changing and I think that is healthy for all ages.

Nicole VanderMeulen serves as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington. She is a regular lesson plan contributor for our website.

Response from Wayne Stocks

By God’s providence, the Bible does not give a specific age at which an individual is accountable for the knowledge of their sin and their decision to accept or reject Jesus Christ as their savior. There is ample evidence in the Bible that children who die before this “age of accountability” do in fact go to heaven. Indeed, people like Charles Spurgeon have postulated that, because of this, the streets of heaven may well be populated more by those who died before this age of accountability than those who attained a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ after the age of accountability.

The age of accountability is different for all children, but I think we can define it as the age at which a child is capable of knowing and understanding that they are a sinner, recognizing that they needed a savior, understanding that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord, and realizing that we are saved only by the grace of God and not by virtue of anything we can do. Only God knows what that age is for each individual child. Despite that, Tony has asked us to estimate the chronological age at which children become accountable for their decision about Christ. I will hedge just a bit, and answer the question this way: I think that by the age of twelve most children will have reached the age of accountability. I also believe many children actually reach it earlier than that (sometimes much earlier). In Jewish tradition, a boy became a man and entered adulthood at age 12. This is consistent with Jesus’ age when his parents brought him to the temple and he was found in deep theological conversations with the teachers of his age. Mary was a young woman (likely middle school aged) when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her she was pregnant with the Son of God. I think all of this points to somewhere around 12 or so as a “maximum” age of accountability for most kids.

As for a minimum age, I think that kids are definitely capable of accepting Christ and fully comprehending that decision at a much younger age than twelve. I am not entirely sure what the floor is, only God knows! In short, I’m with Charles Spurgeon on this one who wrote in the book Come ‘Ye Children:

“I will not say at what age children are first capable of receiving the knowledge of Christ, but it is much earlier than some fancy; and we have seen and known children who have given abundant evidence that they have received Christ and have believed in Him at a very early age.”

I think it is imperative as parents and Children’s Ministry workers’ that we never let our preconceived notions about whether or not a child is old enough to accept Christ stand in the way of the Lord’s work. I think as many times as a child wants to make a profession of faith or “ask God into their heart,” we should encourage that. We may not know at that moment whether or not they have attained to saving faith, but God does. In my own experience, my eight year old son prayed of his own volition (really God’s but by his own I mean without human prompting) several times from age four until age seven for Jesus to come into his heart and be his Lord. That said, when he was filling out the form at our church to be baptized several weeks ago, he knew exactly which date it was (to the day) when that prayer “stuck” and he became part of God’s family!

Finally, when it comes to encouraging parents of preschool aged students who seem disinterested in learning about Jesus, I would just encourage them to keep trying, be patient, pray and trust in the Lord. All children are different. If your child doesn’t like being “taught” about Jesus, find a good story book like the Jesus Storybook Bible and read it to them. If they don’t like being read to, there are great video resources out there. If they like games, there are good game resources out there. Just don’t give up. Keep modeling what it looks like to live for Jesus and they will eventually become interested. Finally, while as parent we must fulfill our duties to pass along our knowledge of the Lord as laid out in Deuteronomy 6, we must also remember that the outcome and timing of everything in our children’s lives belong to the Lord.

Read more from Wayne Stocks on his blog “Dad in the Middle”.

Response from Brenna Phillips

Q: What do you teach about concerning a child’s condition (sometimes called age) of accountability for responding to the Gospel?

There is no age of accountability about when a child (person) responds to the Gospel. A person can make a faith decision at any age in which he understands.

Q: How would you counsel a parent who is concerned about a preschool aged child who seems disinterested in learning about Jesus?

Preschoolers develop and mature at different ages and stages. As an early childhood teacher, I see 3-5 year olds learn at different levels and in different ways. Some 3 year olds students can write their names and letters of the alphabet. Others struggle to simply identify their written names. They learn differently at different times. Early childhood teachers continue to teach using different methods and preschoolers develop and learn all along the way. Therefore, Christian education teachers and parents must continue to teach preschoolers about Jesus using different teaching methods. They may seem disinterested but they are listening and comprehending the message on their own levels. Little tidbits of information are connecting in their minds. Through relationships with those preschoolers, teachers and parents will hear them say something and repeat something that they have heard and learned.

Q: If you had to estimate (and you do), what is the chronological age that most children become fully accountable for their decision about Christ?

The answer to this question is a grey area. There is no age of accountability when children (people) become fully accountable in their decisions about Christ. The Scripture does not speak about accountability ages. God holds a person accountable when he/she is totally woo’ed by Him in making a decision. Believing and accepting Christ is as easy as A-admit, B-believe, C-choose and a person is instructed to come to Christ with faith as a little child. When a person comes to understand and make a faith decision, then he is held accountable. There is no set age for this accountability.

Brenna Phillips is Children-Family Minister at Mission Fellowship Church in Middletown, Delaware, and teaches preschool students at an early childhood learning center.

Response from Terry Delaney

As a children’s minister, I specifically teach first through fifth grade in Sunday School using a master teacher approach where I teach one lesson and then the children break down according to age into a smaller group setting for discussion and application with other teachers. I challenge the children all the time with their sin and that they must respond in repentance (yes, I use the “big” words with explanation as to what they mean) and trust in what Christ did for them.

My kindergarten kids were taught about sin last year with the Children’s Desiring God curriculum. At first, my teachers did not like it much, but have seen the fruit of their teaching this doctrine to kids so young in that the children are beginning to view things through a biblical lens rather than “what Johnny and Susie does.”

Regarding counseling parents whose children “seem” disinterested, I exhort them to continue teaching their children diligently (Dt. 6:7) and that the Lord will bless their efforts. Usually, I can counsel the parents to avoid the multitude of distractions in a child’s life (television and video games) and help them to set up a time of family worship each evening for five minutes or so. To a person, they have said that making these slight changes radically changes their children’s attitudes in most every area.

I believe that a child becomes fully accountable for her decision for Christ when she is fully aware of right and wrong. I also believe that the parents should be teaching their children about sin from day one and that Christ never sinned yet He died so that we could be forgiven of our sin. Whenever I discipline any child, I explain to them that what they did was sin and that Christ died for that sin. This has a lasting effect on the child in that they now begin to see just how sinful their hearts really are (Jer. 17:9) and how gracious our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ truly is.

The way I see it, the world–and the prince of this world–begins an onslaught on our children from day one. We must be on the defense from day one teaching our children the realities of the spiritual warfare that is taking place. Many parents underestimate their children’s ability to understand and discern, but as a parent of four, I can honestly tell you that they are sponges and they soak in more than we can imagine. It is up to us as the parents to keep Christ before our children at every possible moment and do so until they or we shall leave this earth.

Terry Delaney is a regular contributor to our blog and also edits a website about Christian Book Reviews.

Response from Charlie Wallace

The notion of an “age of accountability” is a topic that has been debated for years. Paedobaptists (those that baptize infants) do not discuss this topic as frequently since they typically hold to the same basic belief as Calvin:

“If any of those who are the objects of divine election, after receiving the sign of regeneration (baptism) depart this life before they have attained the years of discretion, the Lord renews them by the power of his Spirit, in a way incomprehensible to us as he alone foresees will be necessary.” (Godfrey, Robert W. John Calvin, Crossway: Wheaton, IL, 2009, 104).

This however, only occurs for the elect – those children who God has chosen to redeem before the foundation of the world. In this way, baptism of infants confirms that they are part of God’s covenant people.

If, however, you believe that God has not chosen some to salvation before the foundation of the world, and are a devout credobaptist then the age of accountability becomes an issue. What do you tell a parent whose 3-year old dies in a tragic accident? Does the child go to Hell? On this issue, I would argue that there is a profound difference between one’s original sin that has been inherited from Adam and one’s willful and disobedient sin that a child, or person, commits. We are held accountable by a just and righteous God for the sin that we commit when we are mentally capable of understanding it. (The same would hold for those who hare mentally handicapped, etc.)

For a parent who is concerned about their child’s sinful behavior, at whatever age, I would tell them to (1) pray earnestly and frequently that the Spirit will convict their child of their sin, (2) continue to do their part as the parent in teaching their child about Jesus, and (3) rest in the comfort of knowing that God is providential and sovereign. Depending on your view of God he either knows what will happen to your child, has deemed what will happen to him, or perhaps both! Whatever God’s role, it is completely holy and good because he is God and our notion of what is fair and just comes from our being made in His image. Unfortunately, our child’s salvation is one thing that parents cannot control. As much as we would like to, we can’t.

As far as the age that a child becomes cognizant of their sin, I would say that there exists a wide range. I have counseled 5 year olds that were broken-hearted about their sin and knew they needed Jesus for salvation. I have counseled 10-year olds that were clueless. Like adults, children come to the Lord at different times in their lives. Our job as pastors and parents is to pray that they will come to faith – and come to faith as soon as possible.

Charlie Wallace is the Children’s Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Columbia, SC. He is a regular contributor for our blog. You can read more from Charlie on his blog titled First Kids.

What Do You Think?

This is one of those issues that is not going away. Leave your response to my question in the comment box below. You can also interact with the points made by different writers.

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