Youth as a priority

I recently went to a training day for church.  It was interesting.

The main speaker talked about ministering to children.  Basically, his thesis was that children should be a church's priority because Jesus valued children and because 75% of Christians, according to the National Church Life Survey (or whatever it's called) in Australia, were converted as children.  Therefore, he says, it's children's ministry that's effective and it's children's ministry that we should be focusing on.  To say that this argument is preposterous is, I think, pretty fair.

The Bible passages that he used to introduce this were when Jesus says in Matthew 19:14  "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'"  And Matthew 18:3 which says "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  


The problem is that these verses aren't saying that we need to believe like children believe.  I've often heard that we can learn from the faith of children.  At this training day the guy speaking basically told us that we can all learn something from my 3 month old daughter (who I was holding as he spoke) and that the way she depends on my wife and I is the way that we should depend on God.  There are ways in which this is true, but to suggest that we should have faith like a child has faith is crazy.  Children don't believe with reason and depth.  Their faith is child like.  It's based on very little, and, quite frankly, it's shaky at best.  It's not based on an understanding of the scripture.  They have little or no concept that they are sinners and deserve God's judgement.  Do we really think that Jesus holds a child up and then says to us 'be more like them.  They are faithful'.  My daughter is rude, selfish and uncaring most of the time.  She only thinks of herself because she only has the capacity to think of herself.  Her faith is immature because she is immature.  I don't strive to be like her in my Christian walk.  I want her to be like me (only better).  Not the other way around. 


When Jesus says 'the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these', he's saying that unless we understand that we are as lowly in position as a child, then we haven't understood the gospel.  Unless we know who we are and who God is and that we are better then no one, then we've missed the point.  And so he says that we should treat children with love and compassion.  Why?  Because God loves them.  We should treat each other with love and compassion.  Why?  Because God loves us.  We are child like because we are no better than a child.  We are not above them in and of ourselves.  In Israelite society poor children were the lowest in order and rank.  We have to acknowledge that we are the lowest in order and rank.  That's what Jesus means.  


As for saying that 75% of people are converted as children are converted as children so we should focus on children, that's preposterous.  This is an unqualified statistic.  It tells us what, not why.  And the why is very important.  How many of those kids are really convered by their parents?  Why aren't adults being converted?  Is anyone even telling them about Jesus?


It seems to me that we should model our ministry on the Bible, not the National Church Life Survey.  When the apostles preached, they preached to men, mostly and then women as well.  Men were converted and then they took care of converting their households.  This model makes so much sense that we don't follow it.  Who is missing in our churches?  Men.  Who aren't we reaching?  Men.  Who are we saying we should focus on?  Kids.  


I say let's tell as many kids about Jesus as we can.  Get into schools.  Start kids groups and educational clubs.  Run fun stuff so they can hear about Jesus.  Train our kids to tell their friends.


But let's put just as much effort into our peers.  We must not neglect adults because we think it might be fruitless.  That's crazy.  And we must tell men about Jesus.  And for that to happen then guys like me have to make friends with other guys and tell them about Jesus because that's the model that God has established to grow His church.  Not to help God because He needs our help.  He doesn't.  But because that's one of the ways we love others and Christians are people who love others and God is good to us in letting us be a part of the process of the salvation of others.