Category Archives: Family

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February 12, 2015

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Children's Ministry, Congregrational Ministries, Family

Age Appropriate Evangelism Part 2

By Franklin Dumond

This is the second and final installment of an article on approaching Children’s Ministry by Dr. Franklin Dumond. Read the first half HERE.

While even very young children can be placed in an environment that accelerates their learning, we now recognize that there can be significant drawbacks to Forced Teaching. A child can repeat from rote memory what has been presented without actually learning the concepts they were taught, making it appear that real learning has taken place.

Given this pattern of human development, it appears that the Lord has created us with the capability to respond most readily to the gospel somewhere about 8-10 years of age.

preschoolers in classroomFourth, successful evangelism of children will result from an alignment of process. When the same concepts are expressed in the pre-evangelism of young children and in the evangelism of children, teens, and adults, evangelistic work will be more successful. When similar visuals and words are used throughout the process, evangelistic activity will be more productive.

A visual demonstration of our lostness and the need for a Savior can be presented by a simple game that portrays the Bridge Illustration frequently used while sharing the gospel.

Use a few children from the group to play the roles. If the group is small or if this is a pre-evangelism activity for younger children, use everyone. Indicate a starting point for the children and stand near an ending point, 5-10 feet away. Help them imagine that they are on one side and God is on the other side.

Ask them to jump across the distance so they can reach God. Since they only get one jump some will make more progress than others, but none of them will make it all the way. Some of the boys will believe that if they can have a running start or if they can try one or two more times, they can surely make it. Let them try.

Help them imagine a cross that bridges the gap. For younger children, having an actual cross on the floor will be helpful. Ask them if they can walk across the bridge to God.

For older children, explain how we respond to the gospel and invite them to do so. Using a simple gospel handout can help those who read to see the related Bible verses and have something they can take home and reflect on. Build the entire presentation around the key verse of I Timothy 2:5:

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Explain that God is on one side and all people are on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself man, is between them to bring them together by giving his life for all mankind.

Basic Principles of Evangelism for Children:

1. FREQUENCY—It can be very helpful to view the church as having a three semester year in its programming. This means that repeated emphases can be scheduled for late fall, early spring, and summer since attendance patterns and programming often follows these patterns.

2. CONTEXT—Evangelism for children should occur within the context of existing children’s ministries so that it is a natural expression of what the church is and does. Specialized settings should be avoided so that the decisions being made are genuine and not the result of peer or environmental pressure.

3. AGE STRUCTURED—Evangelism for children should be targeted to those children who can appropriately respond. While pre-evangelism can be done in groups with a variety of ages, the opportunity to respond should not be extended to younger children. A separate meeting area may be needed so each group can be treated in an age appropriate manner.

Evangelism Night:

1. Advance prep/counselor certification ensures that those who assist are all on the same page.

2. Seating arrangements: for both control and response it is better if children are not crowded together. This allows them to focus on the material and to respond for themselves rather than to respond to the peer pressure imposed because others around them are responding.

3. Age structure means there will be different lesson plans for younger children who are in the pre-evangelism mode.

4. Preliminary worship is always helpful to set the stage.

5. The gospel presentation should be simple, clear, concise.

6. Plan for a response time, and discuss with all adult volunteers how they should respond to the children.

7. Use one-on-one follow up counseling as much as possible with open ended questions to confirm what the children have heard and how they are responding. This breaks the evening into a two part process of a presentation and a follow-up.

 

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February 5, 2015

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Christian Life, Family, Leadership, National Missions, Pastoring

Navigating God’s Will

By Carl Nichols

Several weeks ago my wife received a phone call from a friend regarding a potential opportunity for our family. I will spare the details, but essentially it involves a widespread platform in which our family values will be on Carl Nichols discusses the new church planting initiative at the 2014 Summit.display. Because of the somewhat controversial nature of the topic, Julie and I had to really evaluate if it was right for our family or not. When opportunities present themselves in our lives, we always try to follow a simple process that helps us determine if this is right for us.  We ask a series of questions that help us navigate the process. I though I would take some time to share this approach with you.

Does this in any way conflict with our biblical worldview?

Ultimately, like many who will read this blog, our worldview centers around the scriptures. Many things are black and white in the scriptures and many are gray areas that are left to us to make the wisest decision. If the evidence points to this opportunity conflicting with the teachings of the scriptures, then clearly we let it lie. If in fact it is unclear, we ask ourselves this question, “In light of our past experiences and future hopes and dreams, is this the wisest thing for us to do?”

Does this put our family or our relationship at risk? If so, are the risks calculated and worth it?

We do not ask this question so we can run from risk, but rather help us understand the risk involved. If in fact our family values have to be compromised, then again we will not engage. More often than not there is some risk involved in every great opportunity. We must know what the risks are, and plan and protect our family accordingly.

Will others benefit from us doing this?

This is such a counter cultural question. When most would ask, “Will I benefit?” we try to heed the words of Paul in Philippians 2:3 by asking how this can be used to benefit others. This is not my nature-I want to be the point. I want to benefit. However, it cannot be about me or us or it will likely fail. There are, of course, business opportunities that we have been a part of that did not help anyone but ourselves. However, there are also things that we have done with no benefit to us, but exponential benefits for others. It’s a delicate balance.

Is this the right time?

Regarding this particular opportunity, we decided to pursue it. However, the same day of the final meeting, I sustained a serious injury that could effect the situation. I don’t know how it will turn out, but I am open to the fact that now may or may not be the right time. If the injury causes the other party to pull back, then that brings some clarity. If, however, we both chose to move forward, then this injury may be even more a part of the platform.

What are the consequences of not doing this?

Whose lives will be effected negatively? What gospel opportunity will be missed? What will my kids miss out on? These are just a few questions we carefully consider.

Will we regret letting the opportunity pass?

I will just sum this up with this statement: I would rather get to the end of my life and regret trying some things and failing, than not trying those things and regret the missed opportunity. I believe at the end of our lives we will regret the “sins of omission” much more that the “sins of commission.” That’s just a personal belief, but I challenge you to ponder it.

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August 21, 2014

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Congregrational Ministries, Family, General Baptists

Family Does Matter

By Franklin Dumond

The concept of family continues to change in our secular culture. Despite the rapidly changing dimensions of nuclear family, however, a genuine sense of family continues to characterize our Christian gatherings. Bill Gaither wrote a description a generation ago that continues to be descriptive of local churches and other gatherings of like-minded believers: “You will notice we say brother and sister around here, it’s because we are family and these folks are so dear.”

During our recent international General Baptist gathering, the Mission & Ministry Summit, the sense of family could be felt everywhere. I saw it in at least four variations.

1. There was the atmosphere of a family reunion during hallway chats, shared meals, and photos exchanged by folks who had not seen each other recently and were now able to get reacquainted. During our new afternoon break in the exhibit hall and our reception in honor of our missionaries, even more of this family reunion atmosphere was present.

2. There was the discovery of new friends and acquaintances that added to the family connection. With several hundred church leaders present it was obvious that not everyone knew everyone else, but it is always amazing to find that we have so much in common—once we get acquainted.Summit Crowd Prayer

Since I travel throughout the denomination I am acquainted with several folks. It was my delight to introduce two of our pastors to one another late one evening. They were standing on either end of the lobby and as I walked by I realized “They are both originally from Canada and probably don’t know they form a Canadian caucus among General Baptists!” What a surprise to learn that they had both immigrated to the United States in the same year and had both become naturalized citizens in the South.

3. Family also shows itself in the shared tasks that require cooperation. As I lookedour GB family comes together to complete tasks around the exhibit hall before the Summit began I saw a group of folks organizing one of the T-shirt tables. Sitting on the floor, working at a table, or reaching into boxes I saw folks from several states sharing the load. Then, just next to Executive Director Clint Cook sat Jemima Prakash from India. She was just as busy folding and organizing T-shirts as everyone else was. Isn’t it incredible that our General Baptist family is international in scope?

The worship team that lead our main sessions showed that same sense of family cooperation. Musicians from four different churches each brought their gifts and talents and worked together to lead us in praise.

On Tuesday evening we joined as one large family to pray a blessing over our Summit Clint Prayermissionaries and church planters. These folks assembled at the front while we all crowded around them. I looked out at the crowd and noticed that joining in our prayers for these missionaries was Dr. David Cummings. He was our guest speaker from Australia, but on Tuesday evening he became part of the family as we prayed for God’s blessings on our missionary spokesmen.

I loved the way Moderator Elect Josh Carpenter summarized his experience in 1999. He attended the old General Association meetings that year for the first time. There, he admitted, he found a connection to the larger family of General Baptists.

Cousins of mine recently showed up at the family reunion. As one of them reported, “I baked my casserole and hurried to the meeting place.” She went on to say, “There sure seemed to be a different crowd this year and one of the ladies kept quizzing me about the family.” Finally she discovered she had the right place and had baked the proper casserole but had come one month early. She concluded her story with a quick laugh as she summarized the event by saying, “No wonder they asked so many questions!” Among General Baptists there is a common connection that binds us together—even if we arrive at the wrong time!

In an increasingly secular culture there will always be many dimensions to family, but among General Baptists there remains a deep sense of family. We remain connected by that core theology that Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man. Aren’t you glad he has included you in the family?