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Reaching
Children
for
Christ:
Seeing
the
Bigger
Picture
By
David
Frasure
I
remember
when
my
children
were
much
younger;
the
two
older
boys
were
playing
with
a
plastic
ball
and
bat.
Joey
hit
a
homerun
over
the
house,
into
the
front
yard.
Running
around
the
house,
he
began
his
frantic
search
for
the
waffle
ball
that
had
somehow
eluded
him.
Through
an
upstairs
window,
I
heard
both
my
boys
searching
the
hedges
for
the
missing
ball.
When
I
looked
out
the
window
I
could
see
the
missing
sphere
very
clearly
lying
atop
one
of
the
front-yard
bushes,
but
from
their
perspective,
the
ball
had
simply
vanished.
Seeing
the
bigger
picture
and
gaining
a
better
perspective
truly
helps
us
to
become
more
effective
at
finding
lost
things.
It
works
for
reaching
lost
people
as
well.
George
Barna’s
research
indicates
that
two-thirds
of
the
people
who
profess
faith
in
Jesus
Christ
do
so
before
they
reach
adulthood.
He
also
indicates
in
his
book,
Transforming
Children
into
Spiritual
Champions,
that
most
of
an
adult
Christian’s
theology
and
understanding
of
the
Christian
life
is
established
before
he
or
she
reaches
the
age
of
14!
What
does
that
tell
us
about
children’s
ministry?
We
often
think
of
children’s
ministry
as a
“sneaky”
way
to
reach
adults
for
Christ.
We
seek
to
have
good
children’s
programs
with
the
motivation
to
attract
parents
to
the
Lord
and
to
His
church.
Of
course,
good
VBS
programs
and
excellent
Kid’s
Sunday
School
ministries
are
major
concerns
for
parents.
I
have
found
that
most
unchurched
parents
will
not
bring
their
kids
to a
church
where
their
kids
complain
of
boredom
and
dislike
for
the
church.
But
I’d
like
to
suggest
that
dynamic
children’s
ministries
are
even
more
important
for
the
future
of
the
church.
In
other
words,
reaching
and
developing
children
through
Sunday
School
and
other
ministries
such
as
VBS,
Children’s
Church,
etc.
is
just
as
important
for
reaching
the
next
generations
as
it
is
for
reaching
the
current
one.
We
really
need
to
see
the
bigger
picture
and
give
Children’s
Ministry
the
priority
it
is
worthy
of.
Where
do
we
start?
I
think
we
begin
with
a
prayer.
We
need
to
ask
God
to
give
us a
genuine,
holy
love
for
children.
We
need
to
see
them
through
eyes
of
discernment
and
recognize
their
great
potential
to
the
kingdom—both
now
and
in
the
future.
We
really
are
shaping
the
lives
of
future
Billy
Grahams
and
Lottie
Moons.
Prayer
will
help
us
see
them
from
heaven’s
perspective.
We
also
need
to
communicate
that
we
value
and
love
children.
We
do
that
by
kneeling
down
so
we
can
talk
to
them
eye
to
eye,
remember
their
names,
and
notice
their
accomplishments
and
big
events
such
as
pulled
teeth,
new
clothes
and
those
beautiful
crayon
drawings.
Finally,
we
need
to
be
intentional
and
focused
on
developing
quality,
future-generation
ministries
in
the
church
today.
That
starts
with
the
Children’s
Sunday
School
workers
that
are
serving
in
your
church
right
now.
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