Children Knowing Jesus - For Real

Having been involved in children’s ministry for nearly three decades—longer than I've been a parent. I understand how hard and tiring it can be. The biggest key I discovered to going the distance with this wonderful work ... is realizing that Jesus wants to meet with children directly. He loves to teach and guide them Himself. His desire is for "His sheep to know His voice and leading" (John 10).

I asked myself, “How can I co-labor with Him to make this happen?” At the heart of it, I realized I needed to trust Jesus with the children and create space for Him to meet them personally. This involves welcoming His presence when I’m talking with and leading children, but also intentionally facilitating times for them to encounter Him.

I began by helping children recognize and respond to His voice. Initially, it was a little nerve-racking, as children are unpredictable, what would they say when I asked them “What did Jesus show, tell, or give you today?” Nevertheless, I took a tiny faith risk and found children to be quick learners and filled with faith and I found my faith also increased listening to their testimonies.

I discovered how to do this in a safe and child-friendly way, using good clean language was key so that it is not weird or super spiritual. I have included these tools in my resources, so you can easily follow them. God lovingly revealed Himself to the children in so many wonderful ways and it was fun.

Children have everything they need to know what Jesus wants to show, tell and give them. Why use the words show, tell, and give? This opens up all of their senses as receivers of God’s messages. Rather than us “hearing God” which children often take so literally and we know Jesus doesn’t usually shout out loud. In my resources, you will find a poster, for kids, on various languages God uses which is a great tool to help them normalize the wonderful ways our creator communicates.

I guide children into encountering Jesus, in various ways, every time I meet with them, expecting children to put faith into action. Without lots of teaching, I didn’t inadvertently teach children it is hard or that they need to be experts to hear from Jesus. After all, Jesus revealed himself and spoke to everyone, even before they were believers. I encourage every child that Jesus will talk directly to them. I found the joy of what He says and does, is way beyond what I can achieve through my teaching and is entirely transformative. This is because the children personally literally encounter and interact with God.

The word encounter in the Oxford English Dictionary includes synonyms such as “experience”, “come into contact with”, “run into”, “face” or “be faced with”. An encounter is clearly something that is both personal and hard to miss. It is also something that brings change.

“Having an encounter with God is more than distant admiration or an emotional five minutes sometime in your life … An encounter with Jesus should not just excite us; it should change us forever!”

Once I empower children to freely encounter God, it is amazing to hear just how much they are experiencing Him. For example, this testimony highlights this:

“One of the little boys there (four years old) had a bad accident at home. He pulled a dish out of the microwave that had boiling water in it, and it tipped over and burnt the front of his tummy. He went to the hospital in a helicopter. He later told his grandma that he had seen a big angel in the helicopter with him, and he drew a picture of it for her. His mother said that she knew, that she was convinced, that it was because of the sessions on the farm, learning to hear from God, that he was able to be aware of and to see the angel. Also, his burns healed unexpectedly well. He didn't need any operation to fix the scar tissue and now you don't even notice the scar!”

Have fun leading children into encounters with Jesus, the good shepherd. I would encourage you to find good resources, that will help you as a parent or leader do disciple your children and lead them to meeting Jesus personally.