by Abby Segura, Children’s Ministries director at Perrysburg Alliance Church
The first Sunday of the New Year I was excited to connect with kids and parents who had been out of town over the holidays. As I stood in the church hallway that morning, a mom approached me.
“I forgot to tell you with all the craziness of the holidays that a couple weeks ago Jeremiah asked Jesus into his heart,” the mom said to me.
“He did? Awesome!” I replied.
“Actually, it was very much at the urging of his big sister here,” she said, as her eight-year-old daughter Allyson looked up at me. “Yes, she was very concerned about him going to ‘the hell’ as she calls it.”
“Well, it’s true,” Allyson chimed in. “What if he died in a fire or something?”
The mom went on to explain to me that over a couple weeks her children had many lengthy conversations in which Allyson explained to Jeremiah the gospel.
Our Greatest Need
Each Sunday in December, we at Perrysburg (Ohio) Alliance Church studied compassion in our elementary class. We learned that God fulfilled our greatest need by sending His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. We then challenged one another to share this good news with others.
Allyson did exactly that by sharing the salvation message with her younger brother. She shared God’s desire that none would perish but all would come to know Him (John 3:16).
After making Jesus Lord of his life, Jeremiah wanted to share the good news too. As he attended karate class that day, he told his karate instructor he had asked Jesus into his heart. Her response? “Oh. Okay.”
“Mom, do you think she has Jesus in her heart?” Jeremiah asked as they left class.
His mom sweetly replied, “Well, Jer, based on her response, I would say probably not.”
“I should tell her about Jesus,” Jeremiah stated.
God is able and willing to use His children to reach the world. May the Alliance family never forget it, and may we walk in that truth today and every day as we serve His little ones.
Learn More
Missions experts claim that 84 percent of those who accept Christ do so between the ages of 4 and 14. To reach the world’s most spiritually productive harvest field, the C&MA offers a number of children’s ministry resources. Check out Alliance resources for kids.