The following is extracted from the latest Love Your Neighbour ezine,
Pauline Stewart, minister at St Heliers Bay Presbyterian Church and Community Centre said this in an interview some months ago: “Most of childhood should be joyful preparation for adulthood, but instead we entertain them to the point where they are almost throwing up. Kids really just want to be a part of making something significant happen. Jesus never entertained anyone.”
By giving children opportunities to serve others and through modeling it ourselves, we ensure that others-focused ministry will not just be a wave that passes, but a sustainable movement. When we fail to do so, in the words of George Barna “each generation feels it is re-inventing Christianity”.
Checking back on the interview mentioned above, it's worth quoting a couple of other things Stewart said.
“Lots of programmes let you be creative, but our aim is to help kids produce something of value. Rather than encourage creativity in a vacuum, Stan and I say 'let your ideas explode; but we will help you turn those ideas into something.'
and:
My philosophy is, the church should empty itself in preparing people for the world. We should be preparing people to be the best politicians and the best leaders of this country. Sometimes we think 'I've got to run these programmes so that I can fill up the church' – but you actually have to run these programmes to fill up the world, and then the church looks after itself. I'm totally committed to that journey. I am constantly looking at children to see what they are good at, and I will say to the parent 'he is good at that, you should encourage him'. “
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