Children’s ministry — Rebecca
One of the privileges I have here in Burkina Faso is the chance to be involved in the children’s ministry. Many of the adults here do not have a desire to spend time teaching children. I like to remind the children that Jesus was not too busy for the little ones who came to him. I also tell them over and over again that He used young people in the Bible, and that He can use their lives too, if they will let him. It is my heart’s desire to see children accept the Lord and stay faithful to Him as they grow so that when they are older they will be free from scars of sin this world can leave on those who are not following the Lord.
Sometimes it is hard to know if we are really getting anywhere with the children, but the Lord blessed today at both the Tingandogo and Cissin children’s churches. Both groups of kids listened well, and the Lord helped me as I told the story of Zacchaeus. Right now we have to combine children of all ages so it’s really a challenge to keep everyone’s attention. I rely on the Lord’s help and sometimes feel like I do everything short of standing on my head to get their attention back on the lesson. Praise the Lord, with His help I was able to get through to one at the Cissin church, and hopefully more than just him understood the word of God.
After I explained that God wants us all to turn away from our sinful ways as Zacchaeus did, one teenage boy raised his hand and asked how we could be forgiven of our sins. I answered his question, and then Salif, another children’s worker, pulled him aside to talk to him individually. Moussa prayed and asked Jesus to forgive his sins and gave his life to the Lord. Please pray for him. He explained to Salif that his father is a devout Muslim who faithfully attends one of the larger mosques near our church. The father could possibly punish him if he found out he was coming to our church. Salif was able to tell him, “I’ve been in your shoes,” because he is a former Muslim. He encouraged him to continue to seek the Lord and to pray for his father. Please pray for Moussa and his family and for us to have the strength and wisdom to reach the children and teenagers of Burkina Faso. Satan wants their lives, but we know his goal is only “to steal, to kill, and to destroy.” May God allow us to lead them to the One who can give them abundant life!
September 3rd, 2007 at 12:24 am
Rebecca, It is so wonderful to hear about this young man. Praise the Lord for all that he is doing there. I thank you for your blogs, it is very helpful to hear about all areas of the ministries God has called your family too.
September 3rd, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Rebecca, you are doing such a tremindous job working with the kids. I think working with kids is more challenging than working with adults. Kids attention span is much shorter and you are constantly trying to keep there attention on what you are saying. You are right when you said that the adults there do not find kids important and often times are over looked. Unfortunately, this is the case here in America too. I think churches over look children and the value of leading and discipling kids for the church. I think one of the big reasons is kids do not work and therefore can not bring in tithes and offerings (money) to pay the bills and to perhaps one day build a bigger church building. The focus is more on adults. Don’t get me wrong, adults are important, because you need to teach them how to teach kids and other ministries so all parts of the church will grow, but kids can be taught at young age perhaps before the world show them what it has to offer. Keep up the good work.