Mimi, a regular attender at our Good News Club, stood at the front holding the visual for the next song.
She asked if she could say something. 'When I first started coming to the club, I thought that every time I did something wrong, Jesus had to die again. Now I know that's not true.' Mimi, who was eight years old at the time, smiled at the group; she was beginning to understand the teaching that she heard each week. Before this, she had never heard the gospel explained to her and had never been to a Sunday School.
Mimi is just one of thousands of children and teenagers who have no contact with the church or Christians. Some of them may have a Bible in their homes but they probably never read it. In most of our schools, the Christian faith is poorly explained and the gospel never mentioned. The majority of children and teenagers in Britain are completely ignorant of Christian truth.
Why children?
Does that really matter? Shouldn't the church concentrate its efforts on the adults? It matters for several reasons. Jesus welcomed the children - not only with words but also with actions. 'He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them: 'Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me' (Mark 9.36-37). As individuals, we should welcome children into our churches and our homes.
Another reason is that children and teenagers are lost and are facing everlasting punishment. We know the good news of Jesus Christ and we have all been commissioned to tell those who have never heard (Matthew 28.19-20). Of course, we could wait until they're 30 but by then there are so many more complications (addictions, living with a partner), to say nothing of hardness of heart. And what of the children and teenagers who tragically die?
A further reason is that with the help of the Holy Spirit, children do respond to the gospel - they can be saved, because salvation is dependent on God and not on our intellectual ability. The Lord Jesus taught that adults needed to become like children to enter the Kingdom (Matthew 18.3). In their ability to trust, children are a step ahead of us adults.
A final reason why we should be concerned about the spiritual condition of Britain's children and young people is that time is running out. Ever since the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven and promised to return, time has been running out. We're about to enter a new millennium and our country is preparing itself for huge celebrations; the Lord Jesus could return before we make it to January 1 2000. If that were to happen, how many children in your road, your village, your town, your city, would have heard the good news of Jesus Christ?
Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is an evangelical, interdenominational mission that exists to support local churches in this great task of reaching unreached children and young teenagers with the gospel. Our desire is that children who have no contact with the church would hear the good news of the gospel. As I write, Child Evangelism Fellowship is currently working in over 140 countries throughout the world, making the gospel known to those who have never heard. We give God all the glory for what he is already doing in the lives of many children and teenagers.
Our purpose is to evangelise and establish children and teenagers in local Bible-believing churches. We want to see children, like Mimi, growing up in regular contact with a church and for that church to pray for her; see her become a Christian in answer to their prayers; and disciple her. Of course, the church's friendship would extend beyond Mimi to her family.
Open-air clubs
So how can Child Evangelism help?
We can help your church reach children that may never come to your Holiday Bible Club. Each summer in several parts of Britain, Child Evangelism Fellowship links up with churches to hold open-air clubs. They're a little like Beach Missions with no beach! We go on to housing estates or sometimes hold clubs in people's back gardens. These clubs are called Five-Day Clubs (because they last for five days!). They are held for just an hour each day and consist of songs, a Bible lesson, memory verse, a serial missionary story and a quiz. We sometimes play games but this is never the focus, and believe it or not, the 4-11 year-olds sit and listen, often intently.
Last summer, my husband and I held one of these clubs in our back garden. Shaun, a fairly lively eight year-old, was horrified when he heard that soldiers had hit the Lord Jesus before he was crucified. Shaun looked so shocked that this could have happened and listened with total concentration. Even on rough housing estates, with the odd stone being thrown, we have seen boys and girls drink in the Bible lessons. It's all so new to them.
Child Evangelism Fellowship's weekly clubs are called Good News Clubs. In many cases, they are run with the active support of local evangelical churches. These clubs have a similar format to a Five-Day Club but are held indoors. Sometimes a club will meet in a church but if parents are unwilling to bring the children, it can be a good idea to hold the club in the local school or in the community hall on the local housing estate. This way, the children can often bring themselves. A Christian home can also be a venue particularly if you live some distance from your church or you have children living in your road who would not be allowed to go into a church building. Child Evangelism Fellowship does have full-time staff who teach at these clubs but often members of the local church run the club. CEF is there to offer support, but the running of the club is the church's responsibility.
Materials
For both of these clubs, CEF has a curriculum and we use material printed by CEF Press. Over a five-year period, the children who attend a Good News Club will have been taught Bible lessons that cover most of the Bible. This teaching material can be purchased from our national office (see address below). It can be used by those who have a concern for the children in their church already and by those who desire to make the good news of the Lord Jesus known to children who have not yet heard.
Training institutes
Another way we seek to encourage the local church in its task of reaching the children and young people is to provide training. CEF's European Centre is in Switzerland and training institutes are held here twice a year (in English). The course lasts for three months (June to September and September to December), and the subjects cover direct child evangelism and the biblical basis for it. The course is a good mix of practical work and theory. This course is open to any Christian with either Bible school training or practical experience in Christian work. Maybe it's something you would like to consider?
All these things are to help the church reach children like Mimi and Shaun. There are so many children like them in our country today.
If you would like to hear more about Child Evangelism Fellowship and how it can enable your church to reach children, please write to our National Office at 64 Osborne Road, Levenshulme, Manchester M19 2DY.
Or you could telephone the National Director of CEF, Raymond Barr, on 01355 231 553. If you prefer, you can check out CEF's web-site - www.cefinc.org/europe.
You'll also find us at Caister in early April, so please do come and visit us - it would be good to meet you.
