By Sis. Manju Bharwani Yu

 

There has never been a time when the need for Christian education among the young is greater than it is today. It is the most significant need and it is a dying need as well. The Bible warns us in Colossians 2:8, “Beware.See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” (NIV) Many children today, are second-class citizens in many churches. They take the back seat, and they’ve one of the most neglected ministries in many local churches. If we take a look at the budget realities, we will clearly see the neglect. “If the popular adage that one’s checkbook identifies one’s priorities is correct, then children are clearly a secondary concern for most churches.” 1 This is just one of the many reasons why the education of children is a dying need today.

 

This subject of Christian education, and faith formation for today’s children will provide a practical approach to ministry with children, that goes beyond basic programming. It offers a total perspective on the children of today, and helps pastors, teachers and parents to be essentially prepared for training the young with life-skills to engage in our complex society today. This subject will also reveal God's viewpoint as recorded in His Word, the importance of Christian education, and how we can use it to our advantage in today’s postmodern world. This subject will give us a clear-cut strategy on how to approach our children’s needs in our respective churches, ministry and family.

 

Our Call To WIN

One of Word International’s imperatives is “discipleship at all levels” and this was clearly stressed by our WIN-International Director, Emerito Paulate during the WIN-Singapore’s 21st Anniversary Celebration last March 2010. He spoke on the need for, and the challenges that go with, raising the next generation of God fearing members, and the importance of Christian education in our homes and churches. In his opening statement he said:

“The future state of any nation is seen immediately in the way children are being presently trained. In the same way, the life of a church and its relevance in the future is already determined by the seriousness and importance that it places on the present spiritual development of the children. If today’s children are neglected, then nations or churches do not have any hope for a future. The present day care of the children will be tomorrow’s strength and the hope for any community of people desiring existence in the future. It is worthy to note, that as churches have a tendency to give little regard to children in relation to their present discipleship, WIN-SQ has shown its seriousness by mobilizing the parents (workers) to be involved in the teaching of the children by rotation based on their scheduled assignments.. Instead of just leaving their children to their Sunday School (teachers), the parents actively participate in the training of their children.”

“Growing, dynamic churches are rooted in a powerful philosophy that recognizes kids matter to God,”2 That statement has not changed over the centuries, even when the world is now in a new frontier. Our churches today will not survive tomorrow without the next generation. In our trips to Europe in recent years, we have seen many churches closed down, some are converted to coffee shops and museums, and some have become apartments. The need to take a second look on how to educate the young, and how to pass on the truth to reach the next generation for God, have become a dying need for the church.

God’s will for every person, in all levels, is to grow in Christian maturity. But have we given up, or have we stopped looking for ways to understand the young today? It is indeed a dying need that every church faces today. Do children really matter? Or are we still focusing only on helping adults mature in Christ? A balanced Christian education teaches the Word to every age and train members in Christian living. It is important then to have a strong commitment to raising children for a lifetime of service in today’s world that is seen from their perspective.

 

What Is Christian Education?

The word “education” is initially derived from the Latin educare, meaning “to educate” or “to train”. This Latin word in its turn, is probably still more remotely derived from two other Latin words: e and duco. Taken together, these words mean: “I lead out of.” Education, therefore, means a “leading out” or leading something out of a person. It is, for this reason, the process of encouraging the development of God-given inherent gifts and the knowledge which the Lord has given to each person, and especially to each child. 3

 

“Christian Education may be defined as that humanitarian discipline which educes or extracts and develops those individual gifts given by God to each person; and which inducts or inculcates and develops those special graces, general virtues and general items of knowledge to be communicated from God to every person, in accordance with Jesus Christ as the incarnate Word of God and in consonance with Scripture as the written Word of God.” 4

 

Importance In Christian Education In Our Churches

The Bible is a credible source of wisdom and practical truths to live by. In Deuteronomy 6:5-9, God’s Word gives three distinct commands to the church. These commands are repeated over and over as key distinctives for the Church to follow if it is to grow, remain healthy, and ready for the generations to come. These commands are: Verse 5: "Love the Lord God with all your heart"; Verse 6: "Remember my commands"; Verse 7: "Teach the children". How remarkable it is that God sifted all His commands to the church down to these three commands; remember to love Him, remember His commands, and teach the children. Of all the important instructions God could have given the church, He chose these three. Teaching the children was vital and still is vital to obeying God’s plan for the church today.

 

Reaching kids has never been more important than it is today. “Let us not allow children to be an afterthought in many church programs. When evangelism is discussed or taught, many people think of the adult potential convert. Yet most Christians came to faith as children. Most of us learned of Christ the same way Timothy did - at the knee of a mother, grandmother, or other adult who taught us in childhood.” 5

 

Three Reasons For Our Calling As A Church To Educate The Next Generation

As a church, we are accountable to nurture our children into the fullness of life for which they were created. “As a church, we have the responsibility to evangelize not just the adults but even the children. Our churches should be a place where children are welcomed and trained in the truths of the Bible. This means we have a wide open door to almost every family in every community worldwide when we love and serve their kids.” 6

 

We need to develop a lasting relationship between our children and us, and between them and the Lord. For that reason, every activity planned for children through the platform of the church must be intentional in pointing children toward that kind of a relationship. Activities that are enticing because they are fun may draw crowds, but have no place in the church if no spiritual impact is intended. This does not mean that church activities for children should not be fun. They can be, but the ultimate focus is to allow them to draw closer to the family of believers and with God. Therefore (the) “objective of the Children’s Ministry must have something to do with everything pointing them toward Jesus Christ. This is the only way to have a true relationship with God. This takes time, planning, and much work, but is necessary to effectively communicate God's love to children.” 7

 

New Approach To Christian Education

Today’s children are the first totally “wired” generation, and they’re changing the world of marketing, technology, and communication, as we knew it. Media does not only surround today’s children, they live and breathe it every day. Many kids today have access to the internet. Most, if not all households, have television or a DVD player. Many young ones are in Facebook, even as early as 2 years old. We are called to connect Christ to all generations. As scary as it may seem to many adults, the Great Commission has never changed, “Go into all the world”. My take on it is, “Go into all generations” and make disciples. (Matthew 28). If we are going to be effective, we must be diligent to know the times in which we live and culture so that our Education will not be a hit and miss to many young followers of Jesus. We need to re-wire our Christian Education and how we approach these postmodern children that are in our churches, our schools and even in our very homes. How do we make the truth of the Bible relevant to them today, not tomorrow, today, now.

 

Making The Truth Relevant Today

It is not a question of program, but content. We may have an effective program or even a curriculum, but if it will not make the truth relevant in their day-to-day life, we will still miss the point of our Ministry. Our goal is to teach our children to obey the Lord’s commandments. This is the desired result, but maybe the process of getting there may or may not be effective. How would our kids be made to understand that the truth today would be crucial in developing their character and faith-life in the future? So the church today must take into consideration the relevance of the Bible in this postmodern world, which believes the Bible to be relative in its truth.

 

There are many ways to make the Bible relevant today especially to our young. For instance: children today are multi-cultural. They are known to be color blind. Personally, I think that that is a good sign. If we are to think back to our days of modernism, discrimination was rampant. But because the world is getting smaller today, discrimination seems to fade away. And our youth and children today are exposed to various cultures and traditions. There is a good side to this, which means, missions can be more successful in these times. But, too much exposure also has a downside to it. Our young can lose their identity in the process of having too many choices from a buffet of belief systems within their easy reach. This is just one example that the truth of the Bible needs to be real to them today, and how we must be able to use this belief system to our advantage.

 

Another example of the contrast between then and now is, that modernism told us that Truth is absolute. But today, the belief system tells them that Truth is relative. Meaning, what can be true to you is not true to me. How do we use it to our advantage? The Truth of God’s Word never changes in spite of what people believe. So the challenge remains the same, making the truth culture matter to this generation. Our children are still looking for models. The Truth can only work today if our children see it in the adults. So, it matters that we are not just hearers of the word but doers of the word (James 1:22).

 

Practical Advice:

We need to raise up a new generation of Christians. The Church has a New Testament mandate to carefully, thoughtfully, intentionally pass on the package of truth we call Christian doctrine. How can we do this when our classrooms stand empty? I'd like to offer a few suggestions:

1. Start over. This is the tract that two ministers are taking in our community. Sometimes, you need to let go of dying programs and begin again. Our church assessed 'who do we have? and, lo and behold, there are three 3 year-olds in our church nursery! We need a class for them. God has been faithful by providing two teachers ready to teach that class. Our goal is to pour ourselves and our faith into these little ones as long as we have them and, hopefully, prayerfully, build our program up from this point.

 

2. Let go of conventional programming. Children's ministry workers need to regroup and find new methods to reach the kids. We may even need to let go of the traditional Sunday morning Sunday School and Wednesday evening youth group hours and find new ways to reach the children. I don't have any ready answers.

 

3. Reach out to the parents and grandparents. If the children won't come to the church, let's take the church to the children. Imagine this: let's challenge our core church members to each target a family in their community: a neighbor, friend or adult children. Church members would become involved in that family's life. Attend their ball games. Take cookies over to them. Invite them over for dinner. Remember the kids' birthdays. Offer to babysit the children. Be available in crisis situations. Live the Christian lifestyle vividly in front of that family. And, as the family opens up, start sharing the gospel message.

 

4. Re-wire your methods of teaching.8 Kids are wired for technology, they face it everyday. To be effective today, we need to use these devices in our teachings. If we use technology as a language of teaching God’s truth, we will reach the next generation.

 

Bibliography:

Barna, George, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should Be Your Church #1 Priority, USA, Regal Books, Gospel Light, 2003

Christianity Today, What Every Church Leader Needs to Know About Children's Ministry An interview with and comments made by Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church posted 3/8/05.

Chromey, Rick , author of Energizing Children’s Ministry in the Smaller Church. USA, Ohio, Standard publishing, 2008

Dunlop, Cheryl, Follow Me As I Follow Christ: A Guide for teaching Children in a Church Setting. Chicago, Moody Press, 2000

Prof. Dr. Francis Nigel Lee Chairman of the Department of Philosophy and Religion

Shelton College, Cape May, New Jersey USA., 1967 (3rd Edition --Updated March 10th 2001)

Christianity Today, What Every Church Leader Needs to Know About Children's Ministry An interview with and comments made by Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church posted 3/8/05.

The Big 3 of Children’s Ministry at www. kidzpace.org

 

Recommended Readings:

Henard, William D. Henard, Greenway, Adam W., Evangelicals, Engaging, Emergent. USA: B&H Academy Publishing Group, 2009

Beckwith, Ivy, Postmodern Children’s Ministry: Ministry to Children in the 21st Century, USA: Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2004

Dunlop, Cheryl, Follow Me As I Follow Christ: A Guide for teaching Children in a Church Setting. Chicago, Moody Press, 2000

Jutlla, Craig, Wideman, Jim & Verbal, Pat, Children’s Ministry in the 21st Century: The Encylopedia of Practical Ideas. USA, Colorado, Groups Publishing Inc., 2007

Barna, George, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should Be Your Church #1 Priority, USA, Regal Books, Gospel Light, 2003

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Manju is currently the Head of Christian Education for WIN Singapore and at the same time the Children’s Pastor. She now resides in Singapore, together with her husband Pastor Butch Yu, who is the Regional Director for WIN Asia and Oceania, and their three children.