“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the king- dom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” (Matthew 19:14)
R.A. Torrey made the comment, “It is easiest to lead a child from five to ten years to a definite acceptance of Christ. I rejoice in the work done by rescue missions, where we see the wrecks of manhood and womanhood changed into noble men and women. But this is not the work that produces the most satisfactory Christians. The younger we get a child to accept Christ and begin Christian training, the more beautiful the product. The overwhelming majority in our churches today were converted before twenty-one years of age. Whatever your church does, let it do its full duty by the chil- dren.” (R.A. Torrey)
Mr. Torrey’s words should inspire us as we as a congregation look at the child care ministry taking place in our church, the Sunday School ministry, the youth ministry. To think that we’ve had in place programs and ministry that have taught and encour- aged our young people to draw closer to Jesus and His Word is indeed exciting. We thank the volunteers who have served faithfully this year in the ministry to our chil- dren. We know your efforts in teaching our children have had a powerful effect. We know this because the bible tells us when we speak God’s Word to others, it is the Word itself that is powerful as a living and active word reaching into our hearts (Isaiah 55:11, Hebrews 4:12). When our children have been taught about Jesus and nurtured in the Word of God at home and in the church they have been under the powerful influence of God speaking to their hearts and as young children are most open to His Love and Gospel than at any other time in their lives. Let us not grow weary in doing this good work with our children and youth (Galatians 6:9). Remem- ber, our Lord has told us not to “hinder” the little children from coming to Him. Our spirit is to be as King David’s – “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.” (Psalm 34:11)
This summer will offer us a new opportunity to teach our children about Jesus through our Vacation Bible School program — May 22-26 —
Be in prayer! Volunteer!!
Pastor Mark
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