Children's Ministry in India ‒ Standing and Overcoming by the Word
Pastor A can testify to the truth of Isaiah 11:6, which says that “little children shall lead.”
The ministry of Pastor A's church in India began with the children in their community and currently ministers to 120 children between the ages of four and 20 years. The children come from the economically disadvantaged surrounding areas; their parents are fishermen, vegetable vendors, and day laborers. The children’s parents are often new believers, but many do not have any knowledge of God.
“Their parents want their children to know the Lord and grow in the Word. So we address that basic need to train them up in the way they have to go. Some children come without their parent’s knowledge because they wouldn’t let them go to church if they knew they were going.”
Before Pastor A began applying the ConneXions Model to his ministry, he and his young leaders were frustrated by the lack of actual change in the children’s lives. They were following internationally-recognized programs in their teaching, which helped the leaders to learn and teach systematically. However, these programs on their own weren’t enough.
“The materials helped the leaders as well as the children to learn and memorize the Word, and they attended many Sunday School competitions and won many trophies and were very happy with the achievements, but in real life they were not able to stand by the Word and overcome temptations. We observed this in their day-to-day life and behavior, their attitudes, the decisions they made, and in their lack of respect for their parents and elders.”
What they were teaching in the Sunday School was not producing the desired fruit in the lives of the children. It was at this point that Pastor A began considering the possibility of basing the curriculum on the ConneXions Model.
“I was going through Building Healthy Leaders seminars and seeing it take root in my own life, so I wanted to use the ConneXions Model in my Sunday School curriculum. Last year LeaderSource started working with my Sunday School leadership team and helped us use the model. Now we teach the children using one “C” (Christ, Community, Character, Calling, or Competency) at a time and applying the 4Ds.
This ConneXions Model has helped my team to understand and concentrate on a single important thing that each child has to build, rather than just teach a story and make him memorize a verse and then send him back.”
And it’s not just the children who are being transformed.
“My leaders now thirst more for relationship with the Lord and seek to serve with the heart of a real servant. They are maturing into healthy leaders who are fully aware that they have to grow in all 5Cs. Now we have a clear goal and want to see that goal passed on to the next generation. Thank you so much for your investment in us!”
