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Kids Matter Most

KIDS MATTER MOST

 

Question: Who should be Hope’s #1 ministry priority? Adults? Teens? Children?

The politician in me wants to give equal emphasis to all the different age groups. It seems only fair to divide up the resource pie into three equal slices. But after reading pollster George Barna’s book, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, I have to change my answer. Without apologies to the others in our midst, kids have to be our top priority.

imagesWhy? The research is clear: if people do not embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior and Leader prior to their teenage years, the chances of their doing so are very slim. When do people make that life-changing commitment to Christ? The probability of someone committing their life to Christ is as follows:

     • 32% for those between the ages of 5 and 12

     • 4% for those in the 13 to 18 range

     • 6% for those 19 and older

There’s more. Social scientists have shown for years that the moral foundations of children are generally determined by the time the individual reaches age 9. Putting it a different way, by age 9, kids have their spiritual “moorings” in place.

Barna writes: “The implications of these findings is clear – anyone who wishes to have significant influence on the development of a person’s moral and spiritual foundations had better exert that influence while the person is still open-minded and impressionable – in other words, while the person is still young.”

As a church, we have to seize this “divine moment” in a person’s life. We have to put an inordinate amount of time and energy into our children. We have to INVEST EARLY. The clock is ticking and the longer it ticks the less influence we have.

Our mission as a church is to come alongside of parents who have the responsibility to take the lead in the spiritual development of their children. In partnership with parents, our goal is to rise up spiritual champions for Christ. Our kids are the future church. We can’t fumble this ball.

I’m so grateful for the Children’s Ministry at Hope. Pastor Barb and her team take their mission seriously. Pray for each of our workers as they lead our children to take one step closer to Christ.

Kids matter. They matter to God and they matter to us at Hope. Let’s make them matter even more in these days to come through our prayers and strategic involvement in their lives.

duanec

Pastor Duane

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