Mike Corner, director of Emerging Generations at SJB, shares his heart for our children and young people, and how we as their church family can all play our part in their lives....
I wonder what your greatest desire is for our children, whether that be any children of your own, or children who are part of our church family. If we pause for a moment and actually think about what our greatest desire is for our children, we may be tempted to say something related to happiness, or comfort, but many people who appear to have those, don’t know Jesus. Happiness and comfort will only be temporary no matter how hard we try, so we can aim for something far better, a living and active faith in Jesus Christ.
I know, as I am sure you do, that a saving faith in Jesus Christ is only possible through a miracle of the Holy Spirit. However we also have many places in scripture that tell us to disciple the children in our care…
from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2Tim3:15)
we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. (Psalm 78:4)
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deut 6:7-9)
When something is of utmost importance to us, we make time to do it. We do it while we are doing something else – like phoning our relatives while doing the washing up, or carving out time in our lunch break to book tickets to a gig. If faith in Jesus is our greatest desire, then we need be intentional to make time to READ, TALK, PRAY and maybe even SING of what God has done, is doing, and will do with our children.
Intentionally discipling children is an all of the time thing, pointing out what God is doing in every day things, as well as a specific time thing, like around the dinner or breakfast table.
There are many other obstacles even once we have overcome the ‘time’ one. Without meaning to sound over dramatic; because the Bible contains God’s life giving truth, Satan really doesn’t want us to read it, or share it. Yes, there may be a bit of fear about not ‘doing it right’, or some shame about not knowing something they ask you, or guilt around not having ‘done enough’ with our children. But these are all worth pushing through! I have many resources to recommend if that helps.
We don’t stop giving our children vegetables because they threw a pea, or refused to eat their broccoli. We keep going, and try other means! Equally we don’t stop feeding our children when they are fighting at the dinner table. So we must persevere with giving them the spiritual food they really need. Nobody is perfect, and times in our own house focused on God certainly aren’t!
Whether you are a parent, or not, you have a part to play in sharing Jesus with the children in our church family. That can look like having a conversation with them during coffee time after a service, joining a team within our Emerging Generations Ministry (we need more volunteers by the way!), doing a praise dance party in your living room at home, or asking a simple question after reading a story from a children’s bible.
Whatever it looks like for you – sharing Jesus with our children is something that God commands, equips us to do, and is pleased with no matter how you think it turned out. Children can come out with some real gems themselves too, there will be some beautiful moments to come.
Let’s pray that we all find how we can be best sharing Jesus with the children in our wonderful family at St John’s.
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