It May Be Your Last
There is smoke coming out of their upstairs window. But you are new in the neighborhood and you don’t want to disturb your neighbor. If you get an opportunity to mention the puffs of smoke you will but that’s not where you want to start the conversation. You gently knock on the door:
“Good morning – it’s a great day to be on the planet! I was admiring your dandelion-free lawn. It looks awesome. You must be a bit of a horticulturist – the way you have those flowers and shrubs arranged. It all looks like something out of the Chelsea Garden Grass and Weed magazine. Now this is just an aside: let me ask you dear neighbor, if a jogger was in the neighborhood and she got a few whiffs of smoke what should she do: a) put on a mask; b) ignore it or c) find the source? And to take it further, once the source was identified, how should she respond: a) hope the wind changes direction; b) alert the homeowner; or c) pray for heavy rain?”
When we are working with youth from the community let’s be crystal clear on the issues. We have their ear for such a short period of time. Don’t beat around the bush. Don’t give them some wimpy material from a Christian book store shelf that tells them how to control their anger or how to be kind to their peers or how to be polite – a lot nicer and not so nasty on the school bus. If you want to instill those values as a secondary objective that’s fine – but always your primary objective is to make them ‘wise unto salvation.’ Too many of the prepackaged so-called ‘outreach’ programs for youth are so wishy-washy the basics of the Gospel can hardly be detected.
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth…”
Ecclesiastes 12:1
“…From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3:15
Getting children to memorize the Beatitudes or 1 Corinthians 13 on love when they haven’t yet memorized the classic Gospel verses of the Bible is borderline irresponsible! If you happen to think there’s nothing wrong with that approach, you might also see nothing wrong with the jogger’s approach above.
It’s not Christian-living material children from the community need – they need the truths related to the Gospel.
Weave into all your activities the basic elements of the Gospel. Analyze the content of the songs you teach them. Could they get saved through these lyrics 10 years from now when they are coming home from a nightclub? Sure, there has to be the ‘fast and fun’ component to the choruses but choose songs that blend sound Gospel doctrine with youthful lyrics, action and tempo.
When you are asking questions and doing quizzes – seize every opportunity to nail down something about their need and God’s remedy. Testing their auditory learning and retention skills is fine. “Did Noah build a bridge, boat or bicycle?” But try to formulate some questions that will reinforce key truths from the Bible that relate to the story. Purposefully design every minute of your 60 minute program. In light of eternity, every minute counts.
If you’re teaching the lesson, make sure you can identify before you leave home one or two critical Gospel truths you want to impress on their minds by way of your story. Write out at home what those Gospel points are and stick them in your Bible and ask the Lord to give you help to get those two points clearly across to the kids – beyond just the mere ‘facts’ of your story.
Always ask yourself: could the child get saved through the lesson I’ll be sending them home with today? If Amanda’s bike collides with a truck – and I’m the last one to have told her a story from the Bible – did I make it clear? The verse I got the class to memorize the last time she attended – what part of Gospel truth did it cover?
As you gear up for an exciting season of children’s work – remember you are engaged in G-O-S-P-E-L work.
Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.
Warmly in Christ
Peter Ramsay