Our heart is to see children enter into a life-long relationship with Jesus – and we bet that’s your heart, too. After all, that’s why we do what we do!
So, how do we invite children into that transformational relationship?
Pray.
First, spend time praying for your children – especially when you’ll be presenting the good news of Jesus in an upcoming lesson.
Pray that the Holy Spirit would open their hearts to hearing about Jesus. Pray that God would give you the right words to say. Pray that your volunteers and families would be prepared to have life-changing conversations.
Keep it Simple.
Here’s the thing. The good news of Jesus is actually really simple.
Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live. Jesus died the death that we deserved to die. Jesus was raised from the dead, conquering sin and death, and offers us new life in Him.
That’s basically it. The problem is we like to add a lot to it.
Now, don’t get me wrong. We could say so much more about who God is and what He has done. But let’s not overcomplicate it. Keep it simple.
Prompt the Child in Prayer.
It’s important that the salvation prayer comes from the heart of the child. Instead of having a “repeat after me” prayer, provide prompts and let them do the praying. For example, begin by opening the prayer, but then prompt kids to silently admit to God they’ve sinned and ask Him for forgiveness. Pause for the kids to pray on their own, then prompt them to tell God how they believe Jesus died for them. Finally, prompt them to tell God they choose to follow Jesus and live their lives His way.
Equip Parents.
The reality is that parents get a whole lot more time with their kiddos than we do!
We get, on average, 40 hours a year (and that’s in a year without a pandemic). Parents, on the other hand, get about 3,000 hours with their children.
So, though we should use those 40 hours to the absolute fullest, let’s capitalize on those 3,000 hours by equipping our parents to share and reinforce the good news of Jesus with their children!
Consider preparing a family devotional guide for the week following a lesson with a clear gospel presentation that will encourage parents to continue the conversation with their children. Provide them with a handful of visual ways to reinforce the lesson (for example, the Bridge Illustration or the Romans Road). Give them a list of questions to discuss as a family to discern where their children are spiritually.
This is a prime opportunity to invite parents to participate in the spiritual formation of their child – and the most important decision their children will ever make!
There you have it! Pray for the hearts of your children. Keep the message clear and simple. Equip parents to participate in the process.
And keep doing what you do. We know God has done great things in and through your ministry and we’re confident than He’ll CONTINUE to do great things.
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