When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.” “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his word.” So, the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.” (I Samuel 1:21-28 NIV)
Some generations of adults, Baby Boomer, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z have given up, regretfully on the church. Some mothers and fathers in these groups have withdrawn from the church. Sometimes it is due to church hurt at some local place of worship, but I would suggest if that is the case, that they find a church where they can stand on their expressed faith in Christ. Some adults have ceased to attend church in search of possessing more stuff, disregarding the fact that is you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, the Lord will provide what you need.
Still there are other adults that have decided to fit in with the crowds that feel that church is unnecessary. In contrast, the church feels that if we can get the adults, the parents, the parent-figures back to the church, we can get the children in the church. Let me share a revelation or an inspiration. The other night, as I laid awake in my bed, it was brought to my memory how our church, in its first year, recruited the children to the church. Yes, that was a time when we could go door-to door and evangelize without any societal happenings that made many adults conclude that such a technique was not safe. So, we knocked on doors and if the parents or guardians rejected the invitation to visit our church, and we saw children of all ages in the house or heard them playing nearby, we asked if they would trust us to pick up and take their children to church. At one apartment complex on the westside of town, we found several families that took us up on our offer. Not having a church van or bus did not hinder us. Three to four cars would head to the complex every Sunday morning and pick up a carload of children. The children were faithful attendees until their families relocated to other areas of the city, far away from our location. Sounds like a sad ending, right? But it wasn’t. For these children became the evangelists in their homes and their parent or parents ended up coming to Christ and being faithful in the work of the church.
What I am trying to provide you with is another way to grow the kingdom of God, a way to do personal evangelism, and a way to be obedient to the Great Commission. If the unchurched parent(s) rejects your invitation, ask if you could pick up their children and bring them to the church. First, encourage parents to be like Hannah in the text above, and the bring the child who was an answer to their prayers and a blessing to their lives, to church. God has a special purpose for them. If the parents don’t or won’t stay, you be the one who the parents can trust to get their child home safely. As we experienced, the children just might become evangelists in their homes and by their transformed lives, influence their elders to come to the Lord’s house.
The children will benefit. The family unit will benefit. The community will benefit. The rising crime rate among youth will be brought down. The violence on the streets will decrease,
The later Whitney Houston sang a song that included these lyrics, “I believe the children our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.” The bible says, “Point your kids in the right direction—when they’re old, they won’t be lost. (Proverbs 22:6 The Message Bible)
Now if your question if it will be beneficial, let me just suggest that you look in the word of God and see how the Lord used Samuel when he became older. My friends, evangelize adults, but if you are not making any headway, recruit the children. Be blessed!
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King
That is a powerful tool to consider. It caused to canvas our own neighborhood as I see several children playing at various homes that we could approach. This is putting what we’ve learned in Sunday School into action.
I agree. It is a tool that can bring more children and if they bond in the Lord, it will be a great benefit to the church of tomorrow. Be blessed!