Matthew 21
Two weeks ago, we cleaned out the church attic and there was a huge box filled with old pictures and slides. As I perused these incredible pictures it was amazing to see the number of children who have been impacted by our church. Literally hundreds of children have attended our Sunday School, youth groups, VBS, camps, retreats and special events over the years.
Jesus acknowledged that children play a key role in his kingdom. When Jesus entered the Temple, they were the ones who led the worship by shouting, "Praise God for the Son of David." This irritated the grumpy religious leaders who wanted to shut down the praise. But Jesus permitted it, even quoting Psalm 8 for evidence that children have a rightful place as worship leaders.
As we reflect on this truth it should cause us to thank all our children and youth workers for the incredible job they are doing on behalf of our children. For each of you who sacrifice week in and week out to teach our children, thank you. Those pictures I found also caused me to think through what the most effective way is to pass the baton of faith to the next generation.
Barna research conducted a survey last year examining what the most powerful influences in passing faith to the next generation are. Here are their numbers on the top influences for faith development in children.
Mom 68%
Dad 46%
Grandparents 37%
Non-relative 16%
Friends 14%
Another relative 10%
Siblings 9%
What is clear from this survey is that the number one influencer for faith development is the family. While a person's experience with Christianity in the home growing up doesn't automatically translate into adult faith, it clearly gives the greatest opportunity. As we consider the future of Christianity it is clear that we must turn our hearts to our homes and become very intentional in passing the faith along to our families.
No comments:
Post a Comment