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Choosing Curriculum

One task of the children’s Pastor or leader is to choose the right curriculum for their church. This is what we want to explore today. First let’s make the purpose of curriculum clear.

It provides a pattern for the systematic study of God’s word and its application. If followed, students will learn Bible stories, scripture facts, and application of the same for everyday living.

Lois Lebar writes in 1952, “If we provide small children frequent opportunities to say, “yes” to Christ in accordance with their limited comprehension of Him, we shall never err by hindering them from coming to the Savior, nor by being responsible for their making a mere profession before the Spirit has prepared the heart. We shall never be guilty of going to either extreme if we give our groups of children numerous occasions to confess their love of Christ, and then deal individually with those who seek salvation, a miracle which happens once for all time and eternity.” (171)

Lawrence Richards wrote, “The real challenge in ministry with boys and girls is to provide that context in which the first step can be taken…and then a whole lifetime of growth be supported.” 1983 (374)

Good curriculum, if followed, will encourage students regularly to make Jesus their personal Lord and Savior and to grow in Him. This is a key factor in the salvation and discipleship of our children.

With that said, Curriculum is a recipe card. You are the Master’s chef. No curriculum is complete for every church in every village has its own distinctive personality. It is impossible for one curriculum to provide all for all.

How to choose it?

1. Doctrinal purity – Look to your denominational curriculum first then others. It is important for children to get a proper foundation in what we believe.
2. Cost – We live in a time where cost is a factor in choice. Budget is a reality every children’s leader must work with. Some children’s church curriculums are just too expensive. Certainly it is nice to have all the bells and whistles, but in reality how much of that do you use every week. If you are like me you adapt any curriculum purchased to meet the needs of your own children.
3. Kid-friendly – Is it going to provide support to the kids in and beyond the classroom? What is included or available for the kids? Does it have take home papers, worksheets, quiz games, and/or bulletin layouts?
4. Teacher friendly – All things being equal I then look at teacher friendliness. Is it easy to use? I don’t mean can a teacher use it without preparation? Can it be easily followed through the lesson time? Is it logical? Does it include everything required for a successful class/service?
5. Long-term goals – Does the curriculum suggest or layout long-term objectives for the service/class? What will the child be like if this curriculum is used for a year, two years, or more? Will it provide ongoing growth, reinforcement of Biblical concepts, repetition of major stories and their themes? Some companies have published a scope and sequence chart giving you that kind of information.
6. Don’t get caught up in fad – curriculums at the expense of your children. After all, Children’s Ministries is about the kids, with the kids, and for the kids. Now, more than ever before substance is of the upmost importance. Many churches have done away with any semblance of Sunday school and so the curriculum choice for children’s church will determine the doctrinal foundation laid in the child’s life.
7. Prayer – Make this choice a matter of prayer. Think about, pray about it, and then buy what will best meet the needs of the children you serve.

When I was a young married guy working construction, my boss would occasionally come by, grab my hammer and pound a couple of nails. He would pause; look at the hammer, then me, and state, “It’s not the hammer.” Curriculum is a tool. When used properly, it can yield great results. Take care in choosing the curriculum that is right for your children, for your church, for this time.

For more information regarding choosing curriculum, listen to episode 17 of Children’s Ministry Talk.

Bibliography

Lebar, Lois. Children in The Bible School. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1952.

Richards, Lawrence. Children’s Ministry (formerly A Theology Of CM). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1983.

Let or Limit: Allowing Children to Come to Jesus

The key question here is, “How are you, as a leader of children, going to follow the words of Jesus?” Is it possible to “let” the children come without engaging in forms of coercion? I believe it is. I come full circle back to the original quote that inspired my study of the approach to altar calls and children. Sam Doherty wrote, “I never ask children to raise their hands, or look at me, or stand up, or come to the front if they want to be saved – or if they want to help them. This can easily result in a quick and emotional response which has not been thought through, or there might even be the possibility of following the leader, when children do what they see others doing.” This generates the question, “can an altar call be given without application of psychological, social, or spiritual coercion?

Sam proposes that rather than altar calls, the children’s worker give invitations. He suggests that the leader invite the child to come and seek counsel after the meeting is over. “This allows them time to think about what they are doing and to come on their own initiative – rather than being influenced by others.”

I am not suggesting that the children’s leader give up the tradition of the altar call. What I am suggesting is that we utilize this important juncture in any service to impart an invitation to children. This invitation may or may not include the children coming forward in response. Whether this invitation includes an immediate public response or not is the leader’s prerogative. It must carry with it authority without pushiness and spirituality without overzealousness.

The altar call or invitation must not water down the basic gospel message. Tony Kummer, Baptist Children’s Pastor blogs, “Being overzealous to give a child assurance of heaven can result in a false assurance. Repentance is a biblical component of conversion.” Sound teaching on basic salvation doctrine is demonstrated through the life of the teacher then acted upon by the child. This suggests more of an ongoing process rather than a onetime instant occurrence. Lawrence Richards expound upon this saying, “Ultimately, our assurance of a relationship with God does not come because we remember when we made a verbal commitment, but because we increasingly commit ourselves to live for Him, and discover a growing trust and love. It would be wrong to deny the possibility of childhood conversion.” He writes further, “The real challenge in ministry with boys and girls is to provide that context in which the first step can be taken…and then a whole lifetime of growth be supported.”

Perhaps the coercion related to altar time would cease if leaders began to look at salvation in the lives of children as more of a process than a singular decision. This process will be marked by various decision points as a child grows in his cognitive ability to grasp the abstracts like love and eternity. Lois Lebar writes,

“If we provide small children frequent opportunities to say, “yes” to Christ in accordance with their limited comprehension of Him, we shall never err by hindering them from coming to the Savior, nor by being responsible for their making a mere profession before the Spirit has prepared the heart. We shall never be guilty of going to either extreme if we give our groups of children numerous occasions to confess their love of Christ, and then deal individually with those who seek salvation, a miracle which happens once for all time and eternity.”

Sometime in a childhood blessed by consistent exposure to the Christian message, the child will experience this once and for all miracle. It may be at an altar or on a playground. It may happen with adult supervision or not. My son Aaron announced one morning at breakfast that he had asked Jesus to come into his heart. It was his first “public” confession of faith and I understood that at age four, he didn’t comprehend the implications of his announcement. But my wife and I encouraged him anyway. We continued to nurture his faith at home and through the church. He prayed at altars on many occasions through the childhood years. Each experience only served to solidify his spiritual commitment that began before that breakfast table pronouncement. Barna states, “Anyone who wishes to have significant influence on the development of a person’s moral and spiritual foundations had better exert that influence while the person is still open-minded and impressionable – in other words, while the person is still young.”

What Barna and I are explaining here is a process of letting children come to Jesus. Many times the methods used in formal children’s ministry settings can limit a child’s true response to the gospel. This occurs any time the child is put in a position of feeling that he must respond in order to please teacher. Hayes writes, “All of this discussion is meant to demonstrate the fact that when we seek to integrate a doctrine of salvation with a behavioral concept of evangelistic methodology, we encounter difficulty.” Our particular behavioral concept of evangelistic methodology may then be responsible for causing difficulty in producing clearly authentic faith response in young children.

Our ethical response to the possibility that this is true must be to step back and assess the dynamics of what we are doing. We cannot continue with business as usual if that form of business is offending little ones. Jesus said, “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Our ethical response is to adjust what we are doing so that children will be welcomed to Jesus without offense.

Conclusion

Edward Hayes wrote, “Giving an invitation is a natural and normal part of the gospel presentation. How it is done is quite another thing. Teachers are wise not to force or push for decisions. The gospel, rightly presented, has its own appeal. The Savior has His own drawing power. This is the divine work of the Holy Spirit in wedding human need and response to the winsomeness of Christ.” The children’s worker in today’s evangelistic setting must be willing to accept this “divine work of the Holy Spirit.” Altar times cannot be forced, pressure-filled, events in the lives of children.

In this paper we began by looking at an ethical response to the age of accountability. This was followed by three segments addressing: (1) Faith or Fear; Setting aside scare tactics and letting God be God, (2) Pressure or Pleasure; Relaxing the altar time so that children can enjoy the presence of God, and (3) Let or Limit; Allowing children to come to Jesus rather than engaging in psycho-spiritual coercion.

Considering the length and depth of this work, all aspects of each segment allow for further study. Questions will continue to arise each time an altar call is given. Our “Christian” ethics based in part on Christ’s character, demand that we question, evaluate, and, if need be, adjust our approach when giving altar calls to children. In this world of confusion, ethical foundations such as compassion, integrity, and faith continue to stand rock solid. While the storms of ego, impatience, and unbelief assail us, our godly ethics will stand. With the Lord’s help, I believe that anyone involved in leading children to Christ can consider the arguments stated in this paper and better serve the children and Jesus when altar time comes.

Download the complete paper [PDF]

Pressure or Pleasure: Relaxing the Altar Time so that Children can Enjoy the Presence of God

“Often a child responds to a gospel appeal out of a deep desire to gain approval. It is part of the identity struggle within each of us to desire the approval of a parent or teacher. Winning the child according to this set of psychological principles, may be little more than instilling into the child the mysterious codes and mores of our society. Thus, willingly obedient, a child may gain his rightful place in the family or other adult institutions.”

Our treatment of altar calls and ethical considerations would not be complete without addressing the pressure that can accompany an appeal for salvation. Perceived pressure, whether valid or not, may drive a child to a response without the wooing of the Spirit. The child may have learned, through regular observance, that those who accept Christ find communal approval. Pressure to “get saved” is translated into acceptance in the church family which is very appealing to children. Well meaning, and perhaps spiritual, workers may inadvertently apply pressure promoting this kind of “approval conversion” experience among the children.

In the midst of this possible atmosphere of underlying community pressure, we must continue to encourage individual children in the faith. Daniel Smith reminds us, “There is no more biblical basis for doubting the genuine, intelligent, and uncoerced confession of faith from a child than there is from an adult.” Kids can be genuinely saved even if there is a presence of pressure.

Smith goes on to say, “No doubt many boys and girls are unwisely urged into a false profession. But spiritually minded adults who know the Word of God and love children can discern genuine confessions by careful communication with children.” We must begin to sort out the sheep in the pen discovering just what kind of conversion experience they have enjoyed. Children should not be left without guidance as they progress from whatever level of faith they have achieved. Pastor Richard Dresselhaus, in his book entitled, Teaching for Decision writes, “Children, if properly taught, may at an early age enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that will be very meaningful, both in childhood and in later life. The church must never under-emphasize the power of the Holy Spirit to produce saving faith in the heart of a child.”

Our ethical approach demands that we do as Dresselhaus states and “properly teach” the children. Our approach must never be one of compelling commitments, pressuring young children, or demanding through actions and words that the altar be filled. “Make appeals for young children to receive Christ that are prompted by pure motives and are given simply and in a nonpublic manner. The notable success of various child evangelism efforts cannot be denied. But the motive must never be numbers or outward response, nor should appeals be accompanied by offers of gifts, recognition, or special privileges.”

Our challenge is to relax the altar call so that children can enjoy the presence of God. It was Monday night altar time at a camp in Texas. A boy named Mike approached me and declared, “I am not going to pray.” Rather than force his involvement, I was checked by the Spirit and answered, “Well just sit back and watch then. If you have any questions, come see me.” Mike almost seemed confused by my answer and worked his way through the other children back to his seat. This same scenario was repeated the following two nights and finally on Thursday evening, Mike came up to me with tears in his eyes. He blurted out, “I want to pray. I know I need Jesus.” Had I forced Mike’s involvement he may have rejected Christ altogether.

An invitation to come to Christ need not be forced or pressure-filled. Children can be encouraged to act upon what they have learned in a service without adults and other children applying undue pressure to respond.

Sam Doherty instructs us in the importance and style of the gospel invitation given to children. He exhorts, “The invitation is a call from Jesus Christ to come to him, in repentance and faith, to receive forgiveness and a new nature.” This is a loving invitation to come to Christ. It is a gentle encouraging word instructing the unregenerate child to admit his sin and trust Jesus for forgiveness and new life. There are no clamps of guilt pressing down on the child. There are no words or actions which make the child feel less than accepted if he does not respond.

As Sam teaches children’s workers using examples from the book of Acts, he explains, “Like the apostles, you should trust God the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of the children – and not put pressure of any kind on them to respond to Christ’s invitation.” So our task in approaching altar calls in an ethically responsible manner is to relives the pressure. Evaluate methodology used to gain a response and develop a process which allows children to come to Jesus without social or emotional screws being tightened.

This brings us to our final consideration.

Download the complete paper [PDF]

Faith or Fear: Setting Aside Scare Tactics and Letting God be God

Daniel Smith writes, “Perhaps one reason so many children go into a period of spiritual stagnation in their teens is that they were frightened into “jumping on a fire escape” rather than being warmly attracted to the Person of Christ. Although the danger of a lost eternity is a part of the gospel, it is not the central issue.”

It was the first Assemblies of God kid’s camp I had ever attended. I was a counselor for twelve elementary aged boys. We sat through the long Monday evening service. My boys were restless, some were sleeping. Then the lighting changed and the evangelist began drawing a colorful chalk picture on a large drawing board. Dynamic music played in the background.

The evangelist spoke as he drew. He told the story of a drawbridge operator who, in order to save an entire trainload of passengers killed his only son in the gears of the drawbridge. This man then invited children to accept the sacrifice of Jesus. I witnessed children crying as they went to that altar rail. For the most part, they were not convicted by the Holy Spirit. They were scared by a story. They were full of sorrow for the boy who had been killed.

Daniel Smith informs us, “Both Scripture (1 John 4:18) as well as personal experience teach us that fear is a powerful and uncomfortable emotion.” Our task in leading children to the altar should not be one of frightening them. We are presenting a loving God who will accept them in their sinful state, forgive them, cleanse and befriend them for eternity.

Since that first camp experience I have experienced many similar altar services. These were services during which the leader played upon the emotions of children causing them to fear for their eternal destination as well as their livelihood on earth. One night at a camp in the Midwest, a children’s worker laughed and said to me, “That preacher sure scared the hell out of them, didn’t he.” I did not find this funny. There is no solid ethical platform from which I can preach that would allow me to “scare the hell out of them.”

Edward Hayes reinforces this concept as he notes, “Avoid anxiety-producing appeals to both parents and children. In any effort to evangelize children, youth, or adults, the Scriptures give us the clues. We are to balance our zeal with confidence in a sovereign God.” It would seem to me that a preacher who preys upon the fears of children in order to reap a harvest has little confidence in a sovereign God.

I know of a man who performs great feats of magic in his services. Early in his ministry, he used intense colors, lights, and actions to preach his message of salvation. Much of this frightened the children and disturbed the adults. As he grew in the Lord and in his ministry the man simplified his program making it less scary and more understandable at the same time. He essentially did what H.B. London wrote about when he inscribed these words, “The Church can be the place where the child feels safe, cherished, and nurtured.” Casting fear into a crowd of children is not the kind of net that reaps an authentic spiritual catch. Jesus, our Good Shepherd and master fisher of men would use bait and tackle that fit the waters in which he was fishing.

My friend Randy Christensen writes, “Children are searching for the reality of supernatural power in an everyday world. This is the theme of the most popular children’s books, movies, and toys.” In our current spiritual climate, children are being subjected to all kinds of interpretations of the use and misuse of spiritual power. Every character from Sponge Bob to Harry Potter is using magical interaction in some form to entertain. The church must be a place where genuine spiritual power is demonstrated in a non-abusive, Christ-like manner.

Robert Choun puts it beautifully when he pens, “A growing awareness of God takes time. The practice of truth is like piano practice; both take incalculable repetition to achieve proficiency. Children have qualities that require that kind of attention and repetition.” Fear tactics to reap results at an altar are little more than an attempt to bypass a God imposed natural order and rush children to a verbal commitment before their hearts are ready for salvation. It’s like placing them in a piano recital without having allowed them to spend time practicing.

So let us reiterate the ethical consideration here. The leader of children must put aside personal ambition and rely on faith rather than fear in giving altar calls to children. He must set aside scare tactics and let God be God. The leader must, with a clean conscience, present the facts of the gospel in a consistent understandable way to the children. Witnessing positive spiritual results in the lives of children may take minutes, days, or even years. In this respect, children’s ministry is not a sprint, but rather a marathon.

Sam Doherty shows us this saying, “As you evangelize children you should instruct the mind, praying that God will enlighten it; involve the emotions, praying that God will stir them; and challenge the will, praying that God will change its direction.” The key element in what Sam says is “God.” Notice his total reliance upon God for results. In Sam’s words, “God will enlighten, God will stir, and God will change its direction.” The task then is to allow God to do His work and will in the life of the child as you faithfully present God’s Word and plan to that child.

When altar time comes, put away your arsenal of scary and heart breaking stories and replace them with a kind invitation to accept God’s forgiveness and grace.

Download the complete paper [PDF]

An Ethical Response to the Age of Accountability

Although the “age of accountability” is not so much an ethical question as a theological one, I felt that this work could not proceed without some thought given to this subject and our ethical response.

The Bible does not use the term “age of accountability,” nor does it imply that there is one mystical age frame during which children suddenly understand and are drawn to a decision for or against God. Edward Hayes writes, “An “age of accountability” is not taught in the Scriptures. In fact, the basis for it is only a logical inference. If we accept the biblical teaching of original sin as related to an Adamic nature, we infer that the infant is born in sin, needs divine grace, and is ultimately accountable for that sin.” The inference in our movement always leans towards the person, young or old being a sinner in need of God’s grace. I am partial to William Hendricks’s teaching as he states, “The term “age of accountability” means a time or period of life when one is aware enough of God’s presence to respond to Him.”

The question always arises, at what time can a child become aware enough to be saved? How old must he be before we teach him to love scripture and the message it brings?

Irish children’s evangelist Sam Doherty penned, “The Bible does not give an age, and neither should we. Children differ from each other. But the Lord Jesus did speak about little ones trusting him (Matthew 18:6). So the age when a child can trust Christ is generally much lower than what many Christians believe.” The age of a child may very well be a factor, but in my experience conscious accountability has more to do with maturity level than chronological age. Assemblies of God Pastor, Richard Dresselhaus tells us in his 1973 book, Teaching for Decision,

“Obviously, it is impossible to determine a uniform age when all children reach this point of awareness. The rate of growth and maturity varies radically, according to ability and background. Some children have a basic comprehension of the gospel at age four or five. Others may reach the age of ten before they seem ready to grasp the message of the gospel. At any rate, salvation is conditioned upon some ability to understand the basic plan of salvation. This is true for children as well as adults.”

My own children professed Christ as Savior for the first time at ages three through five. Granted, each one had a different understanding. I do not believe that my children understood justification or the substitutionary atonement. But each one understood God’s love as demonstrated through parental love and reinforced by loving teachers and leaders in the church. The message, “Jesus love me this I know,” was pretty much all they needed for that first time profession of faith.

William Hendricks shows us this when saying, “Tests of children’s alertness and ability are illustrating that children mature at different ages and according to their individual capacity. This fact does away with all attempts to establish a given and fixed chronological age as the time of accountability.”

So we’ve established that there is not designated age of accountability in Scripture and that sometime in childhood, people reach an age of awareness and are therefore accountable to God. Lawrence Richards declares, “We ought to consider the possibility of children giving a true faith response to God without formal understanding of what is involved in our formulations of the gospel. A child’s simple response to Jesus may be analogous to the faith response of so many through history who have not understood the cross, but who have met God in the more simple Word he spoke to them, and who have believed.”

We have also come to the juncture where ethics come into play. If we are uncertain as to when a child can understand and accept salvation, then we have an ethical responsibility to do what we can to see that child come to Christ at as early an age as possible. Let me put it another way, if a child reaches the age of accountability and does not accept Christ as Savior, that child may spend eternity without Christ. He may go to hell. Our ethical imperative, as it relates to the age of accountability, is to present the Gospel to children so they can make a decision for salvation.

The church must involve itself in pre-evangelism training of the young children. From the time they are born, we can begin to surround them with the message of God’s love. This happens as caring, loving workers serve the children week after week. All of this time, the church is reinforcing what is happening in the home. Lawrence Richards emphasizes this when injecting, “We can never overestimate the importance of the relational climate. This climate is perhaps the most powerful single influence in child development. Wrapped in the love of parents and valued by other adults in the close-knit faith community, each child was gently guided to and nurtured in faith.”

Can we allow boys and girls the possibility of spending eternity in hell? No! In an interview for an Assemblies of God publication a few years back, Pastor-Evangelist Tommy Barnett answers, “Our number one priority in children’s ministry is soul winning. As soon as children begin coming to church, we tell they must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” This begs the question, “How?”

My first response is that we cannot force this issue. “Transformation is a work of the Holy Spirit alone. All we can do is to help facilitate that process. Much of the time that means we, as adults, need to get out of the way so that the Spirit of God can do that work.” So the Holy Spirit must work, but children’s leaders must be used in His work. God chooses to use us in this grand salvation scheme. Scottie May and her team tell us, “God grants us the privileges of partnering with the Holy Spirit in helping children come and see Jesus. We can point children to Jesus by helping them enter the stories of Scripture and follow Jesus there, getting to know him, love, and believe in him.”

We become eternal tour guides, pointing children to Jesus as they walk this road of life. The leader in the Sunday school, small group, or children’s church must take seriously the need for salvation of the children. I met a children’s church leader once who admitted that in three years he had never given a salvation invitation in his church time. The kids had enjoyed teaching, puppets, and games, but had never been given the opportunity to respond to a loving Savior. Dresselhaus reminds this worker and others like him, “Only through a careful teaching of the Word of God, and as the Spirit is active, will these children recognize their need and feel drawn by the Spirit to salvation.”

Our ethical response must not be to give altar calls for the sake of numbers. Nor can it be driven by the possible guilt of losing children to a Christ-less eternity. Instead, we must be driven by love for children and the leading of the Spirit to bless the kids and, with God’s help, win them for Him before their hearts become old and cold. We must, with enthusiasm and godly wisdom, present the gospel in ways that boys and girls will understand. If we fail in this, we would be ethically negligent.

The church must do all it can so when that individual time of accountability comes, we can walk the child into God’s presence. “The time of accountability is the moment of grace when one is brought to a decision for or against Christ by the Spirit. This moment requires the proclamation of the Word, the drawing of the Spirit, and the yielding of the individual to God. Until this moment is possible, one may leave children in the hands of God.”

So our ethics drive us to proclaim the word to children through godly settings, relationships, and programming. We teach with a sensitivity to the Spirit’s leading and yield ourselves to God. Then when the child reaches an appropriate level of accountability, the salvation step taken can be both meaningful and eternal.

Download the complete paper [PDF]

Ethical Considerations When Giving Altar Calls to Children

The idea for this paper began to germinate about six years ago. I was sitting in a recliner on the deck of the Disney Magic cruise ship in the harbor at Saint Thomas. I sat there, with the umbrella shading me from the tropical Bahamian sun, reading Sam Doherty’s book How to Evangelize Children. I came to the part that read, “I never ask children to raise their hands, or look at me, or stand up, or come to the front if they want to be saved. This can easily result in a quick and emotional response which has not been thought through, or there might even be the possibility of following the leader, when children do what they see others doing.”

I couldn’t believe it. This guy was promoting a children’s sermon that ended without the traditional pentecostal altar call. At first I was taken aback by the thought, but the more I pondered it, the more Sam made sense.

For these last thirty-three years, I have served in children’s ministry. In this time, I have participated both along side of the children, and as the leader during countless altar services. I have seen children come to Christ and have experienced the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit filling children to overflowing. I have participated in many prayer services where children have been saved, healed, and delivered at altars. It is not about these sweet times, that I write today. For the purpose of deeper study and increased enlightenment in the area of altar calls and children, I must focus for a moment on the negative.

Matthew 19:14 reads, “Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them…”  He did not say, “Drag, coerce, push, force, threaten, or brow beat them to come to me.” Over the years, altars calls for, and with, children have included many different styles, uses, and sad to say, abuses. I have witnessed people holding children down until they received. At one camp an adult was shaking a child by the shoulders, and demanding that the child receive. I have even heard an agitated altar worker yelling at children to repeat phrases in order to be filled with the Spirit.

In 1878, Edward P. Hammond wrote, “The devil knows how much easier it is to get children to come to Jesus than the old hardened sinner. Therefore it is that I believe he is the more keenly on the alert when any attempt is made in this direction.”

I do not doubt the sincerity of Hammond’s words or the possibility of satanic disruption of the direction and intent of altar calls and altar services. Some of what I have seen could scarcely be conjured up by human design alone. Much of what I view as abuses of the altar call and the child participants may not be credited to the enemy of our souls, but rather to the ignorance or innocence of the altar leader. Had that person been confronted with a few ethical imperatives prior to leading the service, his approach and the results may have been godlier.

It is my assertion that a positive ethical approach can be made to this important aspect of ministry to children. The altar call given without ethical consideration may do more harm to the children present than good. I will begin this hike down the trail of ethical considerations by looking at an ethical response to the age of accountability. This will be followed by three segments addressing: (1) Faith or Fear; Setting aside scare tactics and letting God be God, (2) Pressure or Pleasure; Relaxing the altar time so that children can enjoy the presence of God, and (3) Let or Limit; Allowing children to come to Jesus rather than engaging in psycho-spiritual coercion.

I trust that by the end of this work, you will have a better understanding of ethical considerations in giving altar calls to children. It is my prayer that in better understanding these, that those who read will endeavor to lead altar times with children in a godly, loving manner.

[3] Edward Payson Hammond. The Conversion Of Children. New York: N. Tibbals and Sons, 1878, 19.

Download the complete paper [PDF]

I Came to Camp with a Whole Lot of Nothing

Kids Camp, A Whole Lot Of Something
by Dick Gruber

“I came to camp with a whole lot of nothing. I am going home with a whole lot of something.” – Maria, 10 years old, three-time child of divorce

Camping ministry is summed up in the words of this ten-year-old. Boys and girls across this country are going home with a “whole lot of something” this summer. Kids camp ministry is a five-day glimpse of heaven for many children. Boys and girls walk and talk and play and pray in an environment saturated with Christian principles, behavior expectations, and Bible verses. They are immersed in this godly four or five day ministry which William Coleman in his book entitled, “The Camp Counselor,”
equates to “fifty-two weeks of Sunday school in the eternal impact it has on a child.”

I sit and type this in a cabin near Spencer Lake, Wisconsin. It’s early morning. Last night I preached and nearly a hundred boys and girls responded spending over an hour praying at the altars. A good number of these were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues as the Spirit helped them. This scenario has been played out all summer in different kids camps with different evangelists across our fellowship.

I have been counseling, preaching at, or assisting in directing kids camps in our movement since 1979. I have been witness to hundreds of children being saved, baptized in the Holy Spirit, and called in to full-time Christian service. I have prayed with enthusiastic boys and girls to whom Jesus was as close and real as I was. I have prayed with desperate children going home to uncertain circumstances and watched as Jesus gave them hope for the future.

I have watched children praying for children receiving all that God could give. Boys and girls laying hands on one another and encouraging each other to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues. Two girls at a recent camp approached me and said, “You are awesome, PG. We just received the Holy Spirit and we spoke with tongues and everything!” At the same camp a group of boys announced to me, “We just prayed for him and he’s speaking in tongues!” Children learn to minister one to another at camp.

Camp is a ministry where children see Christianity in action 24 hours a day all week. They witness the good, the bad, and the ugly in their counselors and discover how real people weave Jesus into everyday life. There is an incredible force of volunteer workers that become Christ in the flesh for our kids each summer. One mother, after recently being healed of a debilitating disease that sapped her strength for ten years said to me, “I get to come to camp, sleep on an army cot, run all day with the kids, and help them pray through at the altars. All because God healed me.” What better reason is there to receive
divine healing than to give a drink of cool water to a child?

In my children’s pastorate in Minnesota, I had several counselors who took a week of their vacation time each summer to minister to boys and girls as counselors at camp. One of these dads said to me, “I thought I would come to camp and minister to the children. Instead, they have ministered to me.”

This summer, thousands of boys and girls attended kids camps in our districts here in America and around the world. Many declared a personal relationship with Christ for the first time. Many were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit helped them. Many received a life-long call to full-time Christian service.

Their lives will never be the same. The future of our movement is being shaped in the ministry settings of our Assemblies of God camps. As a pastor, you can influence your church in helping to build this vital ministry to children. Your church can give finances, resources, and personnel to your district camp.
Many districts allow churches to participate in a spring-cleaning day. In these districts, lay people and pastors join together to clean and spruce up the camp ground prior to the summer camping season.

Taking time to promote camp to your congregation early in the year gives people opportunity to set camping dates on their calendar so that they can participate in this important ministry. Above all, pray with your people for upcoming camps. Obtain a district camping schedule and encourage congregation members to pray before during and after camps. Become personally involved. Pastor Dick Vanman
serves as camp athletic director here in Wisconsin. The people of his church, and I might add, his own children know that kids camp is an important ministry.

The next time you see a brochure advertising upcoming camps, stop and pray. Ask God what He would have you to do in giving kids a whole lot of something this summer.

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Children in Ministry

by Dick Gruber

It is Sunday morning. The first grade class is going well. Lydia* smiles as she holds the visuals for her Sunday school teacher, Mr. Marvel*. She likes to help. Lydia feels like an important member in the body of Christ. It is because of Mr. Marvel and other teachers like him, that Lydia will grow up active in ministry in her church. This girl is being trained in the way she should go. When she is old, she will
not depart from it.

John writes, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name… except those twelve years old and younger.” NOT! The “as many” in this verse includes boys and girls. Scripture is very clear on the subject of membership in the body of Christ. There is no age requirement. Children, youth, and adults of all ages are coming to know Jesus in our churches and communities. Each member of the body has important gifts or abilities to be used in ministry in the church and community. Romans 12:4-6 (NIV) says, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” Each member, young or old, can contribute to the life and health of your church. Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV) states, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to
prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”

Teachers who take the commission of Ephesians 4:11-12 seriously, are raising an army of excited, serving saints. Children want to be trusted with ministry. Children need to be prepared for works of ministry. One of my goals each week, as I teach in the children’s church, is to involve boys and girls in ministry. I find that as I give opportunity, the children enthusiastically volunteer.

Take a look around your class this week. The child who volunteers to pick up crayolas may have a gift of serving. There is another who always jumps at the chance to pray for his classmates. Perhaps he is an intercessory prayer warrior waiting for your encouragement. The child who interrupts your lesson with Bible trivia can grow in his gift of teaching. You must recognize him as more than a nuisance. There is that girl who wants to help you organize the glue sticks and art projects. This little girl has a gift of administration.

I could go on and on, but I think you are beginning to see the picture. We must, as leaders of children in today’s church, prepare them to be leaders in tomorrow’s church. We must begin to view these saints as vital members of the body. In doing so, we must then treat them as part of today’s church. Allowing and even training children for specific ministries to others is a key link to health in the local church.

This generation must become involved in age-appropriate ministries that allow them to grow into their gifts even as they grow chronologically. Pray for God’s guidance in discovering the gifts of the children in your class. What a tragedy that teachers and leaders both in the public education and church settings, recognize the giftedness of those who stand out in the crowd. I would rather that you and all teachers, look for the giftedness of each individual you serve.

God certainly has endowed each member of the body with special gifts necessary
for its health. Right now, you are beginning to think of ways to allow children to minister in your class. Let us look at some ministries that I have entrusted to children. In each case, the boys and girls have been excited and have grown in service.

Prayer is a ministry that should involve every believer young and old. Boys and girls as young as two and three years old are taught how to pray for one another in our Sunday school. Children in prayer, laying hands on the sick must become a common practice in our Pentecostal churches. Children are invited to special prayer meetings. No, not to sleep on the pews, but to take an active roll in praying for others.

A child with a gift of service, may really take to helping you set out supplies and visuals in your classroom. I make it a standard practice to allow every child who comes early to class, a chance to help arrange chairs, set out supplies, and prepare the room for class. The ones who love to lay out each paper, or hand out snacks to each person, may grow someday to be medical missionaries, or church food service coordinators.

Children can teach! They can act and create and enjoy the Sunday school experience. The key to discovering giftedness is allowing every child the opportunity to serve in your class. The quiet ones may not enjoy speaking roles, but put them behind a puppet stage and watch them bloom.

In our church, children serve as ushers and worship leaders. They participate in clown ministry, puppet team, outreach ministries, and care ministries. What do children do in your church? I say that it is time to let them stand and take their God-given place in ministry in the body of Christ. Seek God’s wisdom in placing children in ministry. The church of today needs their ministries and the church of tomorrow cannot survive without them.

(*The names have been changed.)
For more information on involving children in ministry read Dick Gruber’s books, Focus on Children:
A Handbook For Elementary Teachers, or Children’s Church: Turning Your Circus Into A Service.
Both are available through GPH.

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Music in Your Class

By Dick Gruber

“Lord, be glorified, in the life of your servant.” I could hear sweet voices singing praise to our God. It was Sunday morning. I was on my way to one of our children’s church services. The song was drifting down the hall from our Sonshine Service. The Sonshine Service ministers to children Kindergarten through second grades. Before I arrived they were already worshipping Jesus.

Children are learning to worship Jesus in our children’s churches. Worship time in the children’s church is a time of preparation for fifty or sixty years of meaningful corporate worship, should Jesus tarry. Children are encouraged to take an active role in the body of Christ.

Have you ever wondered why so many adults simply sit and do nothing in church? I believe a big reason for this is that as children they were trained to sit and be quiet while the lesson was taught. The children’s worship service of today is a vibrant, living service where each child can find a place of ministry. Children are allowed, encouraged, and trained to minister one to another.

Worship in the children’s church or Sunday school class must stretch beyond hand raising and song singing. These are an important part of the formula. In our children’s church we play slow worship choruses creating a mood of respect and awe as children enter. Music is woven throughout the service as we praise Him in song, learn from Scripture, and respond at the altars.

Music plays a great role in leading the children into praise and a lifestyle of worship. Children love to enter the presence of God and music is a grand tool enabling this to happen. Let us look together at five great reasons to practice worship in the children’s church.

Inspiration is the most obvious reason to incorporate music in children’s worship. I get inspired hearing musak at the grocery store. I find myself singing along with those easy listening tunes. Music in church is all the more inspiring as it has a base in sound theology and Christian inspiration. Music has a profound affect on our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. A song can lift your spirit when you are depressed. It can change your heart towards one who has offended.

Music can inspire you to turn your life over to Jesus. Children seem to wear their emotions so close to the surface. Music can calm and soothe their spirits or hype them into a frenzy. Selecting the correct music to open a children’s church service can do much to inspire and direct the course of the entire time you have with those children.

I have found specific songs which the children of our church look forward to singing. Most of these are slow worship choruses. When we begin such a song, kids immediately raise their hands and begin praising God. I have watched as five through twelve year olds stood weeping in God’s presence, inspired by a worship chorus.

Music in a children’s worship service will do much to usher boys and girls into God’s presence. I find that if a song inspires me, there is a good chance it will also inspire the children. For this reason, most of the music we use in children’s church would more likely be associated with an adult or youth service.

Declaration is another important aspect of music in the children’s worship service. We choose music that will encourage children and adults together to declare the greatness of the Lord. We tell God who and what he s in our songs. We declare the mighty wonders of our God. Children need to learn to declare Gods goodness. They can proclaim the greatness of His power and grace. with no shame or embarrassment children of my church declare through song and testimony, the glory of God.

Repetition in choruses serves to burn an image of God into the hearts of boys and girls. I don’t mind singing about God’s holiness, power, or love over and over again with the children. By repetitive declaration of who God is and what He has done for us, we are establishing life long patterns of worship in our children.

My son, Timothy began singing a song from church at the shopping mall one day. At first I felt like quieting him, but then joined in singing. This boy had learned to declare god’s goodness in song at church. Boys and girls who pick this up in children’s worship, are more likely to declare God’s goodness when leaving church property.

Cooperation is a great reason to include songs, both fast and slow, in children’s worship. One children’s church leader told me that she would lead the kids in a few rousing action choruses to get the bugs out of them. ( I assume that meant she had the impression two or three rounds of Father Abraham would wear her kids out.) I think you know that no amount of action singing will wear the kids before you drop over with exhaustion. The reserve of energy boys and girls have will outlast even the most fit children’s church leader.

Action and fast choruses can be used to drawn the kids together. Encouraging children to sing and do the actions to a song will bring unity to the body. The typical children’s worship service hosts thirty or more children ages five through twelve years old. There are variations on this, but generally speaking you serve a diverse audience on Sunday morning.

Getting them to cooperate can be a chore unless you do it with music. I have found that once cooperation in singing has been achieved, it is readily maintained during the rest of the service.

Presentation of the Gospel is of primary concern in our Pentecostal churches. Music is one of the best ways, that I have found to present the Gospel to boys and girls. Children love to learn scriptures and stories when presented in a musical format. When Scripture is presented musically, children seem better able to retain and restate key points of the story of verse.

It is not unusual for me to tailor my children’s service around a specific song by the Donut
Man, Mary Rice Hopkins, Alan Root, or other Christian children’s musicianaries. At one time each of our oldest hymns was nothing more than a new song presenting God’s Word to the people. The theology of songs like A Mighty Fortress, or Blessed Assurance, in inescapable. These two and so many others have presented the Gospel for so many years.

When choosing music for children’s worship, read through the lyrics carefully. What is the purpose for this song? Do the lyrics convey a message that is both understandable theologically accurate? It is not enough to choose music according to the fun level. Music must be chosen with the message of the day in mind. It must be picked knowing that the possibility exists that children will repeat the song over and over again. I am very careful that the songs we sing are those that include lyrics that we want kids to repeat.

Dedication or consecration is the final of the big five.

I don’t’ think that I’ve ever heard Billy Graham end a crusade without the chords of “Just As I Am” playing in the background. Music seems to draw a response from the toughest street kids. I would never think of having a response time without some soft music playing. Many times, I find a song which reemphasis the message that we have been preaching. We taught Sunday on Seeking God. During our altar time we sang, Seek Ye first. Will you ever use a song as a bridge, or filler between service segments? It’s possible.

When you do, make certain, the song has something to do with the theme of the day. We have
no time to waste in our time with Gods kids.

Let me bring a finish to this. In the church, we are always teaching children something. A rushed, disjointed, meaningless song time teaches children that music is not important. A well planned, meaningful, song service, where each song builds on the message of last shows thought and spirituality. Songs introducing the theme of your service, show children that music is a living, vital part of the church experience.

Pray as you choose music today. Let the music in your church or classroom bring inspiration, declaration, cooperation, presentation, and dedication.

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Altar Calls and Children

By: Dick Gruber

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me…” He did not say, “drag, coerce, push, force, threaten, or brow beat them to come to me.” Over the years, altars calls for and with children have included many different styles, uses, and sad to say, abuses. I have witnessed people holding children down until they received. At one camp an adult was shaking a child by the shoulders, and demanding that the child
receive. I have even heard an altar worker encouraging children to repeat phrases in order to be filled with the Spirit.

I have also experienced the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit filling children to overflowing. In our church boys and girls using ministry gifts as they pray with other boys and girls. I have participated in many prayer services where children have been saved, healed, and delivered at altars. The altar call/service should be a positive experience for children. Workers must be sensitive to God’s leading and encourage children to pray one for another. Physical contact should be limited to a hand on the
shoulder, head, or back. When appropriate, a hug may be given to a child. Cry with the children. Laugh with them. Above all, enjoy the presence of God with them at the altars.

We encourage boys to pray with boys and girls with girls. In the mid to upper elementary ages, more distraction is evident when children pray for those of the opposite sex. Nothing should be allowed to distract children from meeting with God.

The leader giving the altar call must speak with confident authority. God has placed him/her in this service for such a time as this. Many times the altar call is referred to as the “invitation.” Think of it as an invitation and you will stay away from improper attitudes, actions, or words. A loving, Christ-like calling out of those wanting to respond will reap great results.

I often encourage every child to spend a little time with Jesus. Children are directed to find a place to pray at their chairs or at the altar area. What a blessing to see children turning and kneeling to pray. What a thrill I’ve experienced in children’s church when joyfully praying with boys and girls at the altar.
I’ve listed some things below to do and say when giving an altar call or ministering around the altars. I trust that these will help you to better sharpen this ministry skill.

Things to do:

1. The theme is repeated throughout service
2. Pray about the established theme
3. Speak with God’s authority
4. Use kid-friendly language/concepts
5. Keep it simple saint
6. Repeat instructions as needed
7. Relax, let God do the work
8. Pray for this part of the service all week long
9. Give a variety of options IE: prayed at chair, altars, alone, with friends, stand, sit, kneel
10. Encourage those not praying to worship and be respectful
11. Compliment those not praying for showing respect to God and their praying friends
12. Play slow worship music that is familiar to the children
13. Direct children to pray for other children or adult helpers
14. Let them pray as long as needed
15. Be positive in your approach. IE: I know some of you are ready to pray today…
16. When most are done praying, close in prayer. You may want to sing a song with the children as they go back to their seats.

Things to say:

1. Some of you want to respond
2. Put your faith and trust in Jesus
3. Ask Jesus to come into you life
4. Trust Jesus to be your best friend
5. Ask God to forgive the wrong things you’ve done
6. We call the wrong things we do, sin
7. Only Jesus can clean the sin out of our lives
8. Jesus wants to save us from the destruction that sin causes
9. You may all find a place to pray right now
10. You can pray up at this altar or turn and pray at your chair,/li>
11. Pray/repeat after me
12. If you want special prayer, raise your hand. A worker will come and pray with you
13. Prayer time is time to meet with God. That’s why we are not talking or playing with friends right now.
14. I want to thank you for showing respect to God and your friends by sitting quietly or worshipping Jesus when you are done praying

Things not to do or say:

1. Ask Jesus into you heart
2. Just let go
3. Just hang on
4. Sin is black
5. If you’ve done this before, do not come down
6. Give your heart to Jesus
7. Come let the blood of Jesus wash you
8. Pray now or go to hell

Here are some pointers specific to praying with children to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

1. Be positive! God wants to fill every child to overflowing.
2. Encourage children to ask God for this according to Luke 11:13
3. Once they have asked God for His baptism in the Spirit, encourage them to praise and glorify God out loud. In 25 years of praying with children, I have never witnessed a child receiving this gift without first praising God out loud in his own native tongue.
4. Praise God in English and He will give you a prayer language at just the right time.
5. Never tell a child that he has received. Ask him what God is doing. Ask him if he is speaking in tongues. If the answer is yes, encourage him to continue.
6. Remind children that according to Luke 11:13 those who ask will receive.
7. Encourage children to speak out by faith when the Holy Spirit even gives them a partial word to say.

Children leaving the altar without having received should be encouraged to walk by faith knowing that they will be baptized to overflowing any minute. God may have a special time picked out just for that child. I have done this many times with great success and awesome testimonies. One girl pushed the button on the elevator and her and all of her friends were baptized in the Spirit and began speaking in tongues. Another boy told me that he was walking to the bathroom and just began praising God. Before he knew it, he was speaking in a heavenly language. A girl in one camp prayed every night. It wasn’t until she was at home with mom and dad that God allowed her to pray in tongues. As a result, mom and dad were both baptized in the Spirit as the girl laid hands on them.

It is important in any altar service to let God be God. Do not attempt to force a move of God or raise the spiritual level of the altar time by your own strength. Jesus is the Lord of the altar time. He will assist you in keeping it spiritual. Let the children come to Him.

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