Presenting the Salvation Message to Children
As I’m writing this, we’ve entered “sprinter” here in Michigan–that time of the year when winter and spring collide. Earlier this week, we had a couple of 50-degree days melting a lot of our snow into muddy rivers in our ditches. In contrast, the past few days have given us frost on the ground and some cold, blustery winds. Looking out into my yard, I see a mixture of leftover snow and patches of brown grass. Although I know that winter may still present us with a few more icy encores, this in-between time hints of the daffodils and tulips, green grass, mild breeze, and the song of birds returning from their winter migration. With this unfolding of spring, I can’t help but see a picture of the hope of Easter and new life in the Lord.
In this season, we are reminded of the importance of talking with kids about salvation. As church leaders, we want them to come to know the Lord at an early age and to serve Him wholeheartedly. We’re eager to present the Gospel and see children accept Jesus as their Savior. We know that a personal relationship with Him is desperately needed in this world so broken by sin. In our enthusiasm to move children toward a faith decision, it’s possible to rush past or even skip over important foundational pieces of the story of the cross. Let’s pause for a few moments today to consider the message we share and the means we use to share it so that we can faithfully present the good news to the ones we serve.
If we want kids to understand how much they need Jesus, then we first must tell them about the darkness of sin in comparison to God’s perfect plan for creation. It is not easy to stand in front of a group of children and talk about the difficult parts of the Bible, but we can’t present the full message without honestly portraying sin. As the Bible unfolds, we repeatedly encounter the devastation caused by people’s sins, along with His redemptive answer for it. Every story in the Bible demonstrates the contrast between sin and redemption. If we gloss over the ugly truth of sin, we water down the glorious gift of the Lord’s unending love and mercy toward us. As leaders, we must retain the truth of the message while handling the hard lessons of the Bible in an age-appropriate manner. Children who learn about the consequences of sin can more fully appreciate and embrace with awe the new life Jesus offers to every person through His death and resurrection.
We also need to consider the language we use when presenting salvation to kids. In an effort to simplify things, we can unknowingly create confusion. Perhaps the most common phrase we’ve all used is “ask Jesus into your heart.” On the surface, it sounds very kid-friendly, but practically speaking, a very young child’s brain interprets this in the most literal sense that somehow Jesus goes inside of their physical heart, which confuses the point of the message. Even with older children, we need to remember that the ability to think abstractly will not be developed until adolescence. This doesn’t mean they aren’t able to think deeply or understand complex ideas; kids are curious and profoundly thoughtful. Connect the free gift of salvation offered by a loving God to a child’s birthday present from their parents. Kids don’t have to work to earn a birthday gift; the gifts are given out of love and are meant to be opened and enjoyed. It’s a dim picture of God’s grand design, but it’s relatable to kids. Use theological terms when talking to kids about salvation and carefully define them in ways that make sense based on what kids experience in their own lives.
Finally, when a child expresses a desire to accept God’s gift of salvation while in our care, our natural response is, “Yes! Let’s pray right now!” Many of us have taken this approach, offering kids an opportunity to make a first-time decision on the spot. We’ve had altar calls during VBS and on Easter morning, not to mention other times throughout the year. As I’ve grown in my understanding of parent ministry, my thoughts on what to do when kids want to ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior have changed. If we truly want to champion parents as their children’s primary spiritual leaders, then they need to take part in their children’s commitment to the Lord. This doesn’t mean that we don’t present the gospel message to kids or tell them how a person can become a Christian. We still need to teach them about it. But instead of leading a child in a prayer for salvation right then and there, affirm and celebrate the child’s desire to take this step and tell him or her that as soon as their parents come, you will all pray together. By doing so, you honor parents’ God-given role and bring them into this beautiful milestone moment with their child. What a gift we give to moms and dads when we bring them into these sacred spaces.
There’s no mistaking the message of life before and after Jesus echoed in nature. The contrast between winter and spring seamlessly sets the stage for us to talk to kids about new life in Jesus. The monochromatic backdrop of winter giving way to spring’s burst of colors offers an image of the change that takes place when we surrender our lives to the Lord’s saving grace. Throughout this Easter season and beyond, make the message of salvation meaningful for the children and parents you serve by presenting the full story of God’s truth, using relatable and experiential language, and honoring the role of dads and moms when their children make the decision to step into new life through Jesus’s death and resurrection. He is Risen!
