Sojourn’s Student and Family Ministry is offering class for children and their parents called “Ask Class: For Kids & Parents with Questions about Salvation & Baptism.” The goal is to answer the questions of kids and their parents who are seeking to understand the gospel, salvation, baptism, and assurance. We want to partner with parents, who have been commanded to teach their kids about God. The class will be led by Pastors Jared Kennedy and Gary Almon. Our hope is that this class will be a catalyst for more gospel conversations between parents and their children. The two-week class is on March 21st & 28th during the 11:00 AM service at the Midtown Campus, The 930 Art Center, on the third floor. The first session will cover issues related to Jesus and salvation. The second session will cover issues related to baptism and assurance. Continue Reading…
Don’t flatter or deceive children by teaching them that their nature is good.
“We have to be willing to do what needs to be done in this physical world so that the rescue of the Gospel can be seen as glorious. To that end, we have to train diligently, providing experiences to reinforce spiritual truth. We have to lead and be in charge–to be courageous and do the hard things, allowing our children to experience some discomfort and even turmoil in this world in the hope that they will experience joy in the next. It is better for a child to learn a heart lesson, though it cause him temporary pain, than for him to ignorantly follow a path leading to eternal pain.”
Sally Michael, Jill Nelson, and Bud Burk, Helping Children to Understand the Gospel, (Children Desiring God, 2009).
Think Tank: Evangelism & Manipulation
My friend, Pastor (and now school teacher!) Tony Kummer, just posted up the latest edition of the Children’s Ministry Think Tank. Here is the latest question and my thoughts. Click over to his site to see very thoughtful answers to the same question from Brenna Phillips and Glenn Woods.
How should children’s ministry offer an urgent Gospel invitation without emotionally manipulating children? When does child evangelism cross the line and become abuse? What principles guide you in this area?
Last week [now a few weeks back], I read the following words from Henry Zonio (http://elementalcm.com) regarding evangelistic presentations for children:
The key… is to help connect children and families to Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work of conversion. It’s more than just praying a prayer, raising a hand or coming to the altar. It’s about life transformation, and that is something that can’t be manufactured or manipulated into existence.
Henry is right. Real conversion—life transformation—can’t be manufactured or manipulated into existence. It is God’s work, not the work of a minister or parent. When we seek quick decisions from children, we are in danger of manipulation. So, in the spirit of Henry Zonio, here are some principles for avoiding manipulative evangelism. Continue Reading…
Kenny Conley: A Children’s Pastor Wrestles with Theology and Practice
Kenny Conley’s website Children’s Ministry Online is fast becoming one of my favorite websites. Kenny has posted several really interesting series recently. He’s been exploring his own church’s policies on childhood baptism . He has offered thoughts on leading children to Christ, and he is now exploring the larger topic of childhood spiritual development I’ve listed some links below to what he has been posting.
Here is what I love about Kenny’s approach. As I read his blog, I have a kindred spirit. He is a passionate children’s minister who is wrestling with some of the most important questions that pastors in our field will face. Kenny is passionate about every child who wants to be baptized actually hearing the gospel and believing it before he or she is baptized. He wants to guard against children believing that baptism saves them. He takes seriously the warnings against causing little ones to stumble, and he is willing to re-think his church’s current practices in order to lead it to be more biblically faithful. Kenny wants to let his parents drive. He believes that the Scriptures show them to be a child’s primary faith trainers. Continue Reading…
Evangelism without Manipulation
I’ve run into some fascinating posts over the past week regarding child evangelism. The catalyst for my thoughts was Henry Zonio’s post Evangelism as Child Abuse? Can a Wrong Presentation of the Gospel Be Harmful to Children? He points to several other blog posts and books that have been helpful for him in understanding matters related to child evangelism. Henry’s conclusion is fantastic:
Is it child abuse when we aren’t careful about how we lead children to Christ? I don’t know. I can understand those who claim that it is. Even Christ warns us about the dangers of leading a child astray, and I think that even applies to giving a child a false idea of what it means to follow Christ.
So what does that mean for evangelistic presentations to children? The key… is to help connect children and families to Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work of conversion. It’s more than just praying a prayer, raising a hand or coming to the altar. It’s about life transformation, and that is something that can’t be manufactured or manipulated into existence.
The best article that Henry links to is by Michael Spencer (InternetMonk). The article is entitled, ”Question: Is Evangelism Child Abuse?” Someone had brought up the issue that proselytizing anyone under 18 is manipulative and tantamount to child abuse. In response, Spencer offers gospel-centered thoughts about evangelism and how he approaches it:
When I deal with students, I am straight up about evangelism. If they take my class, I will occasionally explain the Gospel to them. I stress that their beliefs are welcome to be shared as well. I use no decisional tactics and I have no personal interest as a teacher in what a student does with the claims of Christ. I pray for these students, and would find it impossible to pray for them without praying that they come to know Christ.
I am just as honest about preaching. I give full permission to ignore or reject whatever I say, but I am straightforward that my calling and vocation is to proclaim, explain and apply the Gospel. I use no altar call. I use no tactics or manipulations of any kind. It’s the Gospel, an appeal to believe, a prayer and I leave it with them and the Holy Spirit.
I tell my students that I am completely open to being evangelized by them. I invite questions and I ask questions. Because I am in a Christian school with a missions focus, I have many non-Christians in my Bible classes and preaching services. We have dialog constantly. It’s a natural outgrowth of the diversity of our school.
These are fantastic words of encouragement, and I look forward to posting more on the resources I’ve been reading as a result of Henry’s post a little later this week.