Pretty soon, our church school programs will be starting
again. In Gettysburg, that means Faith
Builders, our Wednesday after-school program.
It starts September 9. In Onida,
that means Sunday School, which is held during the worship service. It starts September 13.
Both of
those programs experienced substantial growth last year. While I can’t prove it, I think one of the
reasons why is that we have been praying about it. In the spring of 2014, we started a prayer
emphasis on reaching the children of our parish, especially those children who
are not currently going to church or church school anywhere. I believe that God answered our prayers.
I also
believe that God blessed our efforts.
God did not simply wave a magic wand and bring those children to our
churches. The people of our churches
worked at it. They invited people. They encouraged people. They showed love to people. They were there to teach. They were there to help. God saw the effort that so many people were
putting forth to reach the children of our parish, and God blessed that effort.
Will we see
more growth this year? It’s certainly
possible. We know there are plenty more
kids out there who are still not going to church or church school anywhere. And we know God wants us to reach those
children.
And when I
say “us”, I don’t necessarily mean us as United Methodists. I mean us as Christians. I assume we’re not the only church trying to
reach those children. I certainly hope
we’re not. I hope, and assume, that all
the Christian churches of our parish are trying to reach those children. And I hope they’re all successful. After all, we’re not in competition with
those churches. We’re all on the same
team. Our goal is not to make United
Methodists. Our goal is make
Christians. Our goal is to make
disciples of Jesus Christ.
I don’t
know whether we’ll see more growth this year.
But I believe that we will. I
believe it for two reasons.
One, I
believe in God. As I said, I believe God
wants us to reach those children. God
could do it without us, of course—God can do anything—but God chooses to work
in and through us.
And that
brings me to the second reason I believe we’ll see growth this year. I believe in you. I believe in the people of this parish.
I believe
that you want us to reach those children.
I believe that you’re praying for us to reach them. I also believe you’re praying for chances to
do something about it. I believe that you
have the desire to reach those children and that you are determined to reach
them. I believe we are all willing to be
open to go where God’s Spirit is leading us to go and to do what God’s Spirit
is leading us to do. If we do that, I
don’t see any reason we shouldn’t continue to see growth in our children’s
programs.
Now, don’t
misunderstand me. I’m not putting God to
the test here. God does things in God’s
way and in God’s time. If we don’t see
growth in our children’s programs this year, it won’t mean God let us
down. It may mean that God knows we’re
not ready for that growth just yet. It
may meant that God knows the children, and their parents, aren’t quite ready
yet. It may mean that God has a
different plan in mind for us to reach those children. It may mean a lot of things.
But here’s
what I know. Whenever I have prayed that
I would get more chances to serve God, God has always answered that prayer and
given me those chances. If we all pray
for chances to reach the children of our parish, I am convinced that God will
answer that prayer and give us those chances.
The answer may not come in the way we expected. But it will certainly come.
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