Pictured: Claire, a young professional, serving with the Preschool Class at the Fremont Expression.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “You may speak but a word to a child, and in that child there may be slumbering a noble heart which shall stir the Christian Church in years to come.”
I knew I had their attention when the class became silent and attentive. This Sunday I was teaching about Jesus walking on water in front of His disciples. The Gospel was at work in their hearts in many different ways, and I was looking forward to the discussion time afterword.
To the preschooler, Jesus became a superhero. Defying gravity and controlling the weather were previously only thought to be acts done by Superman, but Jesus was not a make-believe character, He is real! “Jesus is my new favorite superhero,” he said to the group.
To the 5th grade girl in the back of the class, her heart was stirred by a different reality in the story. “I like the part when Peter falls in the water and Jesus grabs him.” It sounds simple, but to her, this moment in the story had profound implications.
Her parents had recently gone through a divorce. To her, the waves of sadness and confusion in her mind were more wild and disruptive than she could bear, but in this story, Jesus was walking on the water. He controlled the waves. He broke the chaos of the storm and pulled Peter out of a very real danger. The Gospel was at work and God was speaking to two different people in vastly different ways through one story.
These are the moments I am reminded of how necessary Kids Ministry is to the local church. The church has the privilege of sharing the grand truths of the gospel on children’s levels—especially when the kids are not brought up in a home where the gospel is presented and displayed. The church is able to be the faith family a child needs to hear the truth, be encouraged, and work out the life applications we discover in the Scriptures.
I invite you to join us in the opportunities God has given us in Kids Ministry. Whether it be soothing a baby by singing “Jesus Loves Me,” or captivating preschool minds with great Bible stories, or navigating elementary kids through the Scriptures, each class has an opportunity to show them Jesus. Each class has a moment to display the good news and be used by the Holy Spirit to stir the young hearts in our church.
Written by by Mark Smith | Kids and Families Minister. For more information on how you can serve in The Hallows Kids Ministry and take part in seeing young hearts stirred for Christ, email mark@hallowschurch.org.