Do You Doubt?
My wife Sherry and I serve in New City Kids once a month, teaching the 3rd-5th grade class. They're an energetic, sometimes rowdy bunch. And many of them, our daughter included, think themselves to be quite funny. (They are, but we can't let on that we think so!)
We teach from the Gospel Project. I love the gospel-centeredness of this resource. No matter where we are in the bible, the teaching tools point to the gospel, always linking the story to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It guides the teachers to setup the story, teach the story, point to the gospel, and then ask application questions.
While there are a few who are new to church, most of these kids know the bible stories fairly well. When we tell the stories and then ask questions, they have little trouble coming up with the answers. I am thankful that we have so many kids who are getting this foundation so early in life.
“What about Jesus’ teachings do you doubt?”
But what is even more impactful to me is how they respond when we get into the heart questions. This past Sunday the question we asked was, "what about Jesus' teachings do you doubt?" Let me tell you - these kids share with more openness and more vulnerability than we adults do. They are BRAVE! One of the girls shared that she knows lots of people who believe in other gods, so she doesn't know what to believe about Jesus. She wanted to know if there was a difference. Sherry was able to give the kids an illustration to help them understand that Christianity is the only faith where we are not expected to climb the mountain - God came down to us!
The month before, one of the boys shared that he was struggling with feeling that God was not answering his prayers. We were able to encourage him in this doubt, that adults struggle with this also. We were able to remind him what is true about what God has done for us in Jesus, what He is doing, what He will do. The other kids prayed encouragement over him.
Parents, we are seeing spiritual fruit growing in these kids. And we are thanking God for this gift! We are also seeing more visitors lately. Some of these kids know the gospel and some do not. But they are all hearing it every week. They are hearing the gospel in the story, they are hearing it from the teachers, and they are even hearing it from each other.
Even if you do not have elementary school-aged kids at home, New City Kids is a great mission opportunity. Invite parents you know who do not have a church home. Encourage them to trust their kids to New City for an hour on Sunday. God continues to be faithful to use this time to speak to their young hearts.