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Leading a Child
to Christ in Children's Church
How important is it to have an invitation during your children's church?
Very important! Billy Graham encourages workers to always "pull in the net.invite them then to accept Christ as their Savior. There are too many
variables that could hinder a child from being ready or receptive to
receive the message of the gospel. When people hear again and again
without resp" There are no guarantees that the child will return the next week
so you can onding their hearts are hardened. It is so important that a
children accept Christ before their hearts are hardened by sin. The
older a child gets, the less chance there will be that they will accept
Christ.
You can shape concrete by
pouring it into a form while it is soft. It is can be busted up but you cannot
do very much to shape concrete once it is set. You must be ready to shape
concrete when it arrives, not when it is convenient. Childhood is the
opportunity to influence an eternal being for Christ. It is most pliable
time in their lives. It is vital that children's ministers seize the
opportunity to lead a child to Christ. Christian leaders must respond to
opportunity while it is still opportunity.
One of the main reasons we do
not see more children born again is because we do not give them opportunity to
become believers. Often children's leaders are not comfortable leading children
to Christ. Sometimes children's ministry volunteers aren't sure how to lead
children to Christ.
The
Altering Lives at
the Altar video is designed to help you be more comfortable leading children to Christ and how to teach them to pray.
Or you can purchase it on CD in the complete
Skill
Set.
 God's
Gift for You
(Show the gift box closed.) Gifts are wonderful. They are fun to select. They are fun
to give and they are a delight to receive. They come in all sizes, shapes
and prices. We receive gifts from parents, grandparents and cousins. It is
so much fun to look at a package and try to guess what is inside. Is it
candy? Is it money? Is it that toy you've been wanting?
Do
you know that God has a wonderful gift for you? Well, He does and it's
just as easy as ABC to receive this gift (Wiggle a mouse as you mention
each letter and description.) All have
sinned. Believe on Jesus and Confess
your sins and you can have God's gift of salvation.
Below you will find a list of visuals that will help you explain the
plan of salvation message to children.
Driving
back roads this Spring to put on Parenting Conferences in North Carolina
took me through rich farmland. It was too early to plant, but already the
fields were plowed awaiting warmer weather. I remember the sweet smell of
plowed fields that filled the air as I drove through Lancaster, PA. I
thank God for farmers, because I love to eat all kinds of produce. As I
looked at those fields and thought about how much work it must be to
produce a harvest, I realized children's leaders are farmers. Look
at the comparison with me.
1. Farmers observe the seasons.
It
would be a waste of time and energy for a farmer to dig through the snow
to plant beans. Beans just don't grow in the snow. Peas need the warm
sunshine for growth.
Children
don't learn or mature spiritually on our time table. We must learn to
reach them at their level where they are spiritually. There will be
seasons for you to win their confidence; seasons to break down barriers
through fun events and getting to know the child, there will also be
tender teachable moments. Teaching is not following a curriculum step by
step. Teaching is building a bridge of understanding from where
there are to spiritual truths they can apply in their life.
Recognize
the seasons. Do you have students ripe to accept Christ? Do you have
children going through turmoil that leaves them tender to accept the love
of Christ? Be careful that you teach more than a lesson, that you teach
students. Answer their questions even if it is off the lesson subject.
Teach where they are, not where you want them to be spiritually. Be sure
the subject is relevant to them and meets a perceived need. Create a
greenhouse environment where the child feels loved, significant and
accepted.
2. Plow the soil.
Plowing
prepares the ground for the seed. Plowing loosens the soil so the tender
roots can penetrate the ground to retrieve the water and nutrients it
needs to grow healthy and strong. As children's leaders we need to prepare
hearts to receive the seed, but how? I have given this considerable
thought because I have observed in the last few years a new hardness in
children's hearts. This hardness prevents
the seed from germinating and taking root in their lives. I believe the
spiritual plowing that must take place is prayer.
Hosea
10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your
fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain
righteousness upon you.
Psalm
126:5 They who
sow in tears shall reap in joy and singing.
6He who goes forth bearing seed
and weeping [at needing his precious supply of grain for sowing] shall
doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prayer
is an essential part of seeing children become Christ like. Prayer
prepares you and the hearts of your students. Always make prayer a part of
your lesson preparation. Pray that God will lead you. Ask God to prepare
the hearts of your students to receive the Word of God. Ask Him to guide
your words. Invite Him to be your guest. Children need to experience the
presence of God. Pray in your class before you start the lesson. Be
careful that the prayer is more than a mindless gesture, but it is a
sincere declaration of your dependence on God.
3. Understand the power in a seed.
God's
Word is powerful. It has not lost its power to change lives. Isaiah 55:10,
11 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return
there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may
give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that
goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall
accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I
sent it.
Nothing
looks deader than a shriveled seed.
But looks are deceiving. Locked inside that seed is life. The Bible looks
like an ordinary book, black ink, letters forming words that fill the
pages. But locked in the sentences are truths that unlock all heaven's
resources. It is a map to heaven. It is God's plan of success for people,
families, businesses and nations.
A
farmer can have truck loads of seed, but he will never have a harvest
unless he plants the seed. What are you planting in hearts of children?
What kind of fruit do you see them bearing? That is a good indication of
what is being planted in their lives. It isn't enough that a farmer have
vast acreage as his disposal. He must plant the seed. It's not
enough for you to have a class full of students, you must plant the Word
of God in children's hearts. That doesn't mean stand up in your class and
read verse after verse to your children. It is far more effective to take
one key principle and communicate the message of that principle than to
read numerous verses. Always teach for understanding. Brain research has
proven the brain dumps most of what it does not understand. Tell Bible
stories dramatically. Use puppets to illustrate memory verses. The harvest
begins by planting a seed.
Observe
Paul's stern warning to the young preacher Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1
"I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who
will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom."
We are going to give an account before God for what we did in the
classrooms with the opportunity God gave us to impact their lives. Your
not just working for a superintendent or pastor, you are God's
representative in that class. You may get away with laziness with your
pastor, but you won't escape giving an honest report to God.
He
instructs in verse 2 "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of
season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and
teaching."
4. Watches over the seed.
The
farmer still has back breaking labor before he can enjoy the
harvest. He must see that the plants have the proper fertilizer and water.
Often that means providing irrigation or hand watering if the rains do not
come. He must remove the weeds that would rob the plants of water
and nutrients. Again, responsibilities of a children's leader. Once you
have taught a principle, look for ways to reinforce that principle. If
you've taught on kindness, look for examples of kindness on display in
your class. Comment when you see them put a principle in practice. In the
weeks following that teaching ,ask the children to share examples where
someone was kind to them. Is there a way that as a group you can put the
principle into practice? Look for attitudes and habits that will
hinder them from putting the principle into practice--selfishness, always
wanting to be first etc.
5. Reap the harvest.
A
few years ago I spoke at a conference held at a private university. All
over the campus were orange and grapefruit trees loaded with fruit. All
around the tree was rotting fruit. No one seemed interested in the bounty
of the harvest. As you pray for the children and precious truths in
children's hearts you will impact them deeply. Children need to respond to
that touch of God on their lives through prayer. Always give children an
opportunity to respond to God in your services. Children need to know
Jesus as their friend, not just know about Him. Have a time in your class
where children can really talk to God from their heart.
The
next time you drive down a country road and see a lush garden,
remember that is what God has called you to do-produce fruit for the
kingdom.
Ministering
the Salvation Message
If you are doing outreach this summer it is always a good idea to have
lots of resources to help you effectively communicate the Salvation
Message. Below you will find a list of resources with a salvation message for
Summer outreach.
Resources to help you lead a child to Christ
All Have Sinned Box
Died
For You
One Way
Rip Tide
God has a Gift for You
An Amazing Change
King of Hearts
Crystal Blow Tube
Teacher
Training DVD to help you lead a child to Christ
Salvation Story Bag
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