Churches have critical responsibility to teach children, leaders say

The next time a call for children’s workers goes out at your church or the next time you sit down to prepare the Sunday School lesson for your third grade class, remember one thing — it’s a high crime not to take the responsibility seriously.

At least so says James Blakeney, an associate in the Sunday School office of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

"We know that children grow physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. They also grow spiritually," Blakeney said. "The Bible says that the family is to nurture the spiritual growth of the children."

"If food is withheld from a child, if the family fails to send them to school, if a child is abused emotionally, responsible adults can be prosecuted. Spiritual growth of a child is our responsibility and will determine the true quality of life the child will have as an adult," he explained.

According to the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University, 85 percent of people who accept Jesus as Savior will do so before their 18th birthday.

Because of this, "it is imperative that we share the gospel with our own children" and equip fellow church members to do the same, noted an article titled "What Gift May I Give to the Least of These?" written by Rod Marshall of the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries and David Eanes, preschool and children’s minister at Meadow Brook Baptist Church, Birmingham.

Keeping that idea in mind, churches should commit time and effort to teaching children about God and the Bible in the most effective way, Blakeney said.

Churches can foster a child’s spiritual growth by consciously providing age-appropriate learning experiences for preschoolers and children, he explained.

It’s worth the effort to figure out how to best reach a child at any age, he said, noting that the investment will make a difference for a lifetime.

"Recently, a retired school principal shared with me that during his years working with high school students, he could not recall a student in serious trouble who was active in a local church," Blakeney said.

"Proverbs 22:6 says, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.’ We need to do whatever we can to reach and teach preschoolers and children the Scriptures." (TAB)