Advice

ANALYSIS

God's plan for children - why the Church must make children a priority

In the second of an eight-part excerpt from Dave Roberts' new book God's Plan for Children (Children's Ministry/Kingsway) the church leader, writer and speaker looks at the vital priority for the Church

We recognise that there will be many ways of reaching children and nurturing them in the Christian faith. We commit to helping provide significant finance, resources and a call for people to carry out the tasks.

It is my belief that there will be a spiritual revival in many nations of the world during the coming decades.

There will be multiple reasons for this. Worldwide prayer movements will release a passion for evangelism; Adults will be won by the reflective, process of faith discovery found in courses such as Alpha; World events will prompt a renewed sense of spiritual need; Individual Christians will carry their faith to the communities in which they live.

But a key factor will be a renewed purpose in the worldwide church with respect to children.

The need is urgent. A church leader from Liverpool, England told me that youth work in his area is often futile. "They are hardened criminals by the age of 12," he said, "If we don't reach them before that they become difficult to speak to." He has put his words into action and is part of a team that reaches over 2,000 unchurched children every week.

His passion is needed. The 1999 UK church survey conducted by Christian Research told us that the "tide is going out", and warned that children attending church on Sunday had dropped from 14% to 8#% in the United Kingdom, in just one decade (1989-1999).

The challenge for the church is this:

Are we prepared to put the same strategic, financial and people resources into nurturing the children of the church, and reaching the unchurched child, that we pour into our evangelism courses, youth work and church fabric budgets?

Are we willing via schools work, midweek clubs, Sunday schools and specialist programmes, to 're-stock' our society with the knowledge of the Christian story?

Will we seek to create a climate where a seed planted in the life of a child can bear fruit in the teenage or adults years? Will we make this a priority?

Gavin Reid, the former Bishop of Maidstone believes we must. He told a gathering of children's evangelists that research indicated that '76% of adult converts refer to childhood faith experiences'.
These then are the headlines. How can we begin to implement these goals? First we need to clarify the principles that will inform our actions.

From a firm foundation

Much of the way we think is expressed in proverbs or short verses. We all need memorable lines that capture our understanding of life and how to live it.

When you think of children, verses such as: 'Train up a child in the way that they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it' (Proverbs 22:6), and 'suffer the little children to come unto me' (Matthew 19:14) spring immediately to mind.

Behind these pithy proverbs, however, lies a pattern of thought in the Bible that can help us understand our roots. From these roots spring our values. From these values spring our actions. Before we can discover God's plan for the children of this generation, we must first discern his eternal heart for children.

His Heart

There are six distinct biblical patterns that will guide us as we seek to work with children. These are:

God loves and values children from their conception.
God asks parents to both teach and care for their children, and gives the parent the primary role in their spiritual nurture.
Children are to be involved in our communal worship gatherings.
God uses children and youth at pivot points in the salvation history of Israel as his messengers. The Bible values age and wisdom for government and authority, but clearly mandates children to be carriers of truth into the most difficult of situations.
Jesus was very clear cut in including children when others were ready to exclude or marginalize them.
The Scripture returns again and again to a concern for the orphan and widowed, and also has significant counsel for parents regarding the physical and emotional well being of their children.

We will also find it rewarding if we seek an understanding of education in Bible times. All of the above combine to give us a comprehensive picture. In the next update, we'll look at the details.

Next update: God's heart for children

Dave Roberts is a writer and speaker. He helped found the Children's Ministry conferences which attract over 3,000 people a year. He is working on further books on parenting and particularly fatherhood. He can be contacted at Tahilla Communications, 70 Milton Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex Tel No 01323 735496 e-mail info@tahilla.com

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		ANALYSIS God's plan for children - why the Church must make children a priority In the second of an eight-part excerpt from Dave Roberts' new book God's Plan for Children (Children's Ministry/Kingsway) the church leader, writer and speaker looks at the vital priority for the Church We recognise that there will be many ways of reaching children and nurturing them in the Christian faith. We commit to helping provide significant finance, resources and a call for people to carry out the tasks. It is my belief that there will be a spiritual revival in many nations of the world during the coming decades. There will be multiple reasons for this. Worldwide prayer movements will release a passion for evangelism; Adults will be won by the reflective, process of faith discovery found in courses such as Alpha; World events will prompt a renewed sense of spiritual need; Individual Christians will carry their faith to the communities in which they live. But a key factor will be a renewed purpose in the worldwide church with respect to children. The need is urgent. A church leader from Liverpool, England told me that youth work in his area is often futile. "They are hardened criminals by the age of 12," he said, "If we don't reach them before that they become difficult to speak to." He has put his words into action and is part of a team that reaches over 2,000 unchurched children every week. His passion is needed. The 1999 UK church survey conducted by Christian Research told us that the "tide is going out", and warned that children attending church on Sunday had dropped from 14% to 8#% in the United Kingdom, in just one decade (1989-1999). The challenge for the church is this: Are we prepared to put the same strategic, financial and people resources into nurturing the children of the church, and reaching the unchurched child, that we pour into our evangelism courses, youth work and church fabric budgets? Are we willing via schools work, midweek clubs, Sunday schools and specialist programmes, to 're-stock' our society with the knowledge of the Christian story? Will we seek to create a climate where a seed planted in the life of a child can bear fruit in the teenage or adults years? Will we make this a priority? Gavin Reid, the former Bishop of Maidstone believes we must. He told a gathering of children's evangelists that research indicated that '76% of adult converts refer to childhood faith experiences'. These then are the headlines. How can we begin to implement these goals? First we need to clarify the principles that will inform our actions. From a firm foundation Much of the way we think is expressed in proverbs or short verses. We all need memorable lines that capture our understanding of life and how to live it. When you think of children, verses such as: 'Train up a child in the way that they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it' (Proverbs 22:6), and 'suffer the little children to come unto me' (Matthew 19:14) spring immediately to mind. Behind these pithy proverbs, however, lies a pattern of thought in the Bible that can help us understand our roots. From these roots spring our values. From these values spring our actions. Before we can discover God's plan for the children of this generation, we must first discern his eternal heart for children. His Heart There are six distinct biblical patterns that will guide us as we seek to work with children. These are: God loves and values children from their conception. God asks parents to both teach and care for their children, and gives the parent the primary role in their spiritual nurture. Children are to be involved in our communal worship gatherings. God uses children and youth at pivot points in the salvation history of Israel as his messengers. The Bible values age and wisdom for government and authority, but clearly mandates children to be carriers of truth into the most difficult of situations. Jesus was very clear cut in including children when others were ready to exclude or marginalize them. The Scripture returns again and again to a concern for the orphan and widowed, and also has significant counsel for parents regarding the physical and emotional well being of their children. We will also find it rewarding if we seek an understanding of education in Bible times. All of the above combine to give us a comprehensive picture. In the next update, we'll look at the details. Next update: God's heart for children Dave Roberts is a writer and speaker. He helped found the Children's Ministry conferences which attract over 3,000 people a year. He is working on further books on parenting and particularly fatherhood. He can be contacted at Tahilla Communications, 70 Milton Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex Tel No 01323 735496 e-mail info@tahilla.com © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.