When Jesus gave His followers the commission to make disciples (Matt. 28:19), He reminded them of two important things: 1) God the Father has given Him all authority in heaven and on earth, and 2) He is with us always to the end of the age. Those two realities have enabled His disciples to proclaim from generation to generation the great deeds of the Lord—even in the midst of a hostile culture. In last week’s webinar, Dana Russell commented how today’s children face greater challenges than we did because of the decline of culture and the prevalence of digital media. Our culture honors the opinions of “experts,” yet we don’t feel like experts when it comes to addressing cultural issues. Hence, we remain silent. Our strength to persevere comes as we remember the presence of Jesus and faithfully apply the truth of God’s Word.
In this week’s webinar, Joseph Parker of Village Seven PC in Colorado Springs, CO will explore the topic of how our ministries can engage relationally with children in our communities, many of whom may know little about the gospel. You will also want to listen to Joseph’s podcast on The Importance of Discipleship in Sharing the Gospel. Lisa Updike’s workshop on Modeling the Message of the Gospel to Our Littlest continues that theme of the importance of relational ministry in discipleship.
Also check out this week’s recommended resources:
“The Glory Story” is an excellent resource from Mission to the World to help you encourage children to broaden their view of God’s work around the world. Two books to consider are Resilient, which examines contemporary children’s ministry through the lens of recent research, and God Made Me and You, which considers God’s heart for a people “from every tribe, language, people and nation” (Rev. 5:9).
