Pastor Keith gave a message this week about how important it is for a church to have a focused children's ministry. You can listen to the message entitled Fight IV. The statistics he gave are staggaring:
19 out of 20 Christians accepted Christ before the age of 25
85% of Christians accepted Christ between 4-14 years of age
Half of all Mexican citizens are under the age of 25
I an not sure where he got his stats, but I did find this interesting article from the Barna group concerning the age of conversion in the Christians church.
In the message, Pastor Keith talks about applying the business concept of investing where you will see the most return to ministry. Kids are the most important part of La Fuente's ministry from an evangelistic standpoint. Children and young people are much more likely to make a commitment to Jesus often will keep that commitment for the rest of their lives. The kids are not just the future of the church, they are the church.
When I was home last month, I shared at our missions meeting that my understand of children's ministry has totally changed since I have been in Mexico. I used to think of kids' ministry as a babysitting programs so that the adults could focus on God. My perspective is so different now. Kids are so easy to impact and willing to learn. The older I get, the more I see how uncomfortable an adult must become before they are willing to change on a fundamental level. The philosophy and worldview of most adults is set. But children are like wet cement, they will take whatever mold they are poured into. This information is very powerful because it shows us how to develop a ministry that raises up lovers of God.
Of course, this is not to say that ministries focused on adults are less important. They aren't, but when talking about evangelism, and adult convert is an exception, not the standard. God is not surprised by this statistic. He knows how people think. He also loves children. A lot. I am really grateful to be learning this lesson, which I know is close to God's heart.
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” -Matthew 19:14
“Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’ ” -Matthew 21:16
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. -1 John 5:1
"And in the future, your children will ask you, 'What does all this mean?' Then you will tell them, 'With the power of his mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery.' - Exodus 13:14
Love,
Moorea
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