1) Children Breaking Resistant People Groups!

By Private Contributor
Nairobi, Kenya
What does children’s ministry have to do with penetrating resistant people groups with the Gospel?

I was recently attending a saturation church planting training in Africa. During a break one of the parishioners told me a story of a young man that was severely beaten after coming to Christ in a very resistant area. Every time we encounter something like this as a result of our spreading the Gospel, we are challenged to the core of our Faith. The immediate question that tries to invade our mind is: should we have put this child at physical risk by bringing him or her to a saving knowledge of Jesus? Of course this dear soul is more precious than anything in this life, but was there a better way?

While you’re still debating with yourself over the previous sentence, let me tell you about a phenomena happening among an organization I work closely with. As we have launched hundreds of children’s Bible clubs in very resistant areas, there have been extremely few and comparatively minor repercussions as children are born again. What we have seen as the clubs have matured is the transformation of adults in great numbers. This turns the standard missions paradigm on its head.

What’s causing this seeming reversal of attitude among resistant people groups? In short: the children’s Bible club has become a valid part of the community. This doesn’t happen overnight but it doesn’t take decades either. After several months of parents seeing the positive change in their own children, resistant attitudes toward Christianity melt away (or better, the parents become followers of Jesus.) The club becomes an integrated part of the community, not some outside threat.

Here’s how it works: a children’s Bible club is launched in a resistant area with lessons that are first based on Old Testament stories. Once it is sensed that the community is accepting the club as part of village life, New Testament concepts are added little by little. Stories of who Jesus is and why God sent him are integrated until the children can come to a point of accepting Jesus into their hearts as Savior. By this time, the families with children in the club are experiencing positive transformation. In one of our targeted villages, the children of the village Imam pestered their father to attend the Bible club until he relented on one condition - that he could listen to what was being taught. The result: the Imam found Jesus as Savior too and became a spiritual leader in the community for Jesus!

Intrigued? Treat yourself to this short video: