CONGREGATIONAL RESOURCE Ruth Bromley introduces a new PCI resource to help congregations engage with unchurched children.
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hen I was a child, every other child who was in my Sunday school class or involved in different aspects of the children’s ministry, came from a family who were members of our congregation. That was 35 years ago, in a typical suburban Presbyterian congregation. Now, in 2019, the majority of children connected to the children’s ministries within our PCI congregations come from unchurched backgrounds, families who are not connected to our congregations. This may be in Sunday school and children’s church on a Sunday morning, a kids’ club during the week, one of the uniformed organisations, a Christian Endeavour group (CE), or some other discipleship-based children’s organisation. The ways we operate our children’s ministry in 2019 and the assumptions that we make about the children who are there need to be very different to when I was a child. Let’s think for a minute about a
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Herald March 2019
few assumptions that we may make about the children who come to our children’s ministry from non-Christian backgrounds. (These ideas are adapted from a resource by Christianity Today International.)
Don’t assume the children’s parents care for them When we are trying to explain abstract principles about God and how we can help to understand him, we often use phrases like: “Just like our parents love us so much, God our Father also loves us”. The sad truth is that this is not always true. Some parents do not show love to their children and are nowhere near being a good example. Now, do not hear me wrong, we all fall very far short of being a
…remember that every family is unique and that we need to be sensitive to each different situation.
good example of God’s love, but parents who love their children and care for them are a better example than parents who resent and abuse their children. Better to encourage the children to think of someone who they know loves them a lot and then use that person as an example of how God loves, as imperfect as it still is.
Don’t assume children’s parents do not care for them The other thing that we must not do is assume that children who come from a non-Christian home are not loved and cared for as much as any child who comes from a church home. Some nonChristian parents treat their children better than some Christian parents! The bottom line is simply to remember that every family is unique and that we need to be sensitive to each different situation.
Don’t assume that the children’s parents will support what they learn in church Children from non-Christian homes will
