THE IMPORTANCE OF
CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS MINISTRIES IN A CHURCH SETTING
Children
and teenagers are wonderful gifts from God. They are a blessing from the Lord
(Ps. 127:3-5). With these blessings also come responsibilities. As stewards of
God's children, parents are responsible for helping children grow physically,
intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. The Church, in fulfilling her
role, in the lives of the children and teenagers, is able to worship God
through them. The Children and Teenager Ministries are an integral part of the
Church, which serves as nursery bed for raising a godly generation. When God in the Old Testament was repeatedly
talking about preserving a remnant, it was not about the adults but more
importantly, salvaging and saving children and young adults that will stand for
Him in a morally decadent and seemingly permissible world.
To
achieve this, the home cannot be left solely to accomplish this enormous task. Therefore
the Church, being an agent of transformation has to help in taking up the
challenge now that both the home and the school are becoming more permissible
and derailing from the path God has laid out for His people.
Children’s Ministry
Children’s
Ministry has to do with showing care and affection to children with the sole
aim of winning them to Christ. It is ministering to children by showing them
the love of Christ with the consciousness of their peculiarities. So it goes
without saying that if we are to have a healthy future, it is essential that we
have a viable children's ministry.
Hear,
O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God
with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these
words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt
teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest
down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine
hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write
them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. -Deut. 6: 4-9 (KJV)
The
Lord commanded, especially, in verse 7 that “and thou shall teach them
diligently unto thy children …” This
teaching will begin at home, continued at the Church, School and the larger
society. But the role of the Church here needs to be understood. The Children
Ministry is important in a Church setting because:
1. God commanded it.
Deut. 6:7, Malachi 2:15. The Lord made His intentions for instituting marriage
known which include raising a godly offspring – children who are taught in the
way of the Lord, raised to fear, honour and worship God. In achieving this, the
church cannot fold her arms.
2. Jesus’ ministry recognises
and encourages them. In Mark 10:13-16, some
parents brought their children (who were already part of the listening
audience) to Jesus for blessings. His disciples (who were ‘adult church’
oriented) assumed it was a waste of
effort, but Jesus did not agree with them, rather He asked the children to come,
and He blessed them. On another occasion, Jesus needed to teach about the
Kingdom of God and those that will make it; He made use of a child as an
illustration. When He wanted His audience to be fed, it was a child that made his
food available for the Master’s use. If Jesus had a holistic ministry that did
not repress children, why should any church refuse to take after Him? Children therefore,
need not to be hindered from coming to Jesus who wants to bless them.
3. The church ministers to
the spiritual needs of our children through children's ministry programmes.
The children have spiritual needs as much as they have physical needs. It is
important for the church to meet these needs in the lives of the children and
teenagers, because it has been found that many young people reach adulthood and
never decide to follow Christ. This may be owing to the fact that they had not
been prepared to make decisions to accept Jesus as their Saviour. Without any
doubt, an effective children ministry helps young people to have these needs
met, especially, their need for God, deliverance, prayer, spiritual guidance
etc.
4. Children population in
any gathering cannot be ignored. Children are a
vast army that serves as a major determinant for the sustainability of the
church. They do this by (i) bringing in their friends and (ii) their parents
following them. Children's ministry also helps church growth by making it
easier for new people to attend services. Parents will be able to listen to
sermons without distractions. They will be confident that their children
are loved, and that they enjoy spending time at church with their new
friends. In this way, children's ministry helps evangelize unsaved parents and
keeps the saved ones focused on Christ.
THE
TEENAGERS’ MINISTRY
This ministry comprises
of young adults from thirteen to nineteen years of age. This is one area of
ministry that has suffered neglect in the church today. Most churches will make
concerted effort to make provision for the children (3months – 12years) only
because they don’t want to be disturbed during the service. And that is all.
While some churches will make adequate provision for the children, an environment
conducive for worship; committed children workers, serene and welcoming
environment, with instructional materials and others, only for them to
eventually look away from the teenagers’ ministry. If so much has been invested
in the children ministry what will be the lot of those children that are not
properly followed up? This makes for us to consider the need to have an
effective teenagers’ ministry in a local church. Its importance includes:
1. To prevent waste of
efforts and investment. Those that the
children’s ministry has been able to bring up until their teenage stages should
not be allowed to stray at this sensitive point of their live, when so many
things are begging for their attention and affection (peer pressure, society
and social network). Rather, the church should continue to build on the
foundation already laid in the children’s ministry. If we don’t want the
teenagers’ to be “lost in transit” there’s need to allow them worship God with
their uniqueness, in an environment that is conscious of their peculiarities.
2. To avert disaster in
the near future. Due to lack of spiritual guidance
and understanding, many young people have taken steps that they live to regret
later in life. Some of which includes gangsterism, cultism, unwanted
pregnancies, abortion etc. some even lose their lives in the process. The Teenagers’
Ministry will serve to meet their psychological, spiritual and social needs
because it will provide enabling environment where they can socialize without
becoming victims of aborted destinies.
3. Encourages and promotes
positive relationships. The complexities of
modern society have created a vacuum in the lives of our teenagers today. The
reality is that the busy-ness of our lives leaves our teens yearning for
positive relationships. They see a lifestyle of confusion and fragmentation.
This has left them with the desire to be together with their peers and caring
adults. They also yearn for the Bible to be made relevant to their lives and
problems. Thus, the need for a teenage ministry that is based on relationship.
They first relate to Christ through repentance and reconciliation which begins
to affect every part of their lives, carry the passion and enthusiasm around to
evangelize their friends. The Teenage Ministry provides the platform for that
kind of environment
4. It caters for them
uniquely.
The teens have unique and peculiar needs. They like to ask probing
questions, action prone, too sensitive, too smart and they are creative. They
need a place specially made for them with the consciousness of their
distinctiveness. Therefore, the need to have a place that can cater for, and
accommodate their excesses with the motive of showing them the love of Christ,
and motivate them to influence their world is needed. The teenagers’ ministry
in a Church setting fulfils this role.
Conclusion
Like in the
Western World, many churches are now either being sold or closed down because
the oldies that were attending the churches were dying and the children and
young adults felt they don’t need God and His Church! The best time to decide
for God is now “Remember God in the days of thy childhood and youth …” Research has shown that decisions made at
the tender age for Christ usually stand the test of time. There is a programme
known as “Window 4-14” which emphasizes catching them young – between the formative
years and adolescence stage. Why would the Church not catch them young, when
other vices have waiting arms flung open already? In the Great Commission, both
the children and teenagers are part of the nations to be disciple for the Lord.
So, in obedience to this instruction, there is need for both the Children and
Teenagers Ministry. They can also increase the numerical growth and improve on
the finances of the Church.
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