If it IS broken, DO fix it
One of the most important mission fields in Christendom is within the four walls of the church building. Mission work, in our minds, involves sending missionaries off to faraway lands, getting the occasional postcard and once in a while a PowerPoint presentation. We give them a check and send them on their way, and feel good about ourselves with no oversight and no accountability to the local church. But at the same time, we have churches full of young people who get nothing meatier than Veggietales in church children and youth programs, and we wonder why they wander off and abandon church when they hit 18 or why they can’t articulate basic Bible truths (or even know that there are basic, fundamental Bible truths!)
I know that for many Christians, VBS, AWANA and Youth Programs are considered untouchable, pillars of the church on par with the greatest of truths, but when you examine a couple of realities, we should really be asking some hard questions:
1. We see an enormous number of children and youth at events, many if not most of whom come from non-Christian homes and never exhibit being truly born-again. I know people get saved through VBS etc (including my son Noah) but is it the exception rather than the rule. The decisional structure of most VBS and Youth groups leads to lots of “decisions” and very few Christians.
2. Our children are leaving the church at an alarming rate when they hit 18 and we also see the ones that are staying in church drifting off in to aberrant systems like the emerging church or entering adulthood with a functional illiteracy in basic Biblical concepts. After years of feel-good, man-centered sermons poorly done, is it any wonder that they seek out the same sort of bubblegum sermons just done with more entertainment value and more comfortable seats?
Given this, where should the church focus our limited resources? I shudder to make this overly pragmatic or make it sound like I am approaching this like a banker, but when faced with tough economic times (I am certain giving is down in most churches) and quite frankly the system is broken as it exists today, it is vital to show good stewardship and put our efforts in the efforts that have most impact on eternity.
Let me suggest this: Christian education for our children should be a primary focus of the church. Let me go a step further: if we are not spending at least as much time and money on discipling Christians in the church as we do on foreign missionary work, we are failing in our responsibility as a church. Why are we so willing to throw ourselves into VBS and foreign missionary work, but utterly disinterested in true, deep discipleship of our children?
This applies equally to adults and the adult Sunday school program. Week after week, month after month of how to live a better this and how to be a better that, and not a lick of actual Bible teaching. Is it any wonder that so few people know how even the most rudimentary truths of the faith?
One of the most important mission fields in Christendom is within the four walls of the church building. Mission work, in our minds, involves sending missionaries off to faraway lands, getting the occasional postcard and once in a while a PowerPoint presentation. We give them a check and send them on their way, and feel good about ourselves with no oversight and no accountability to the local church. But at the same time, we have churches full of young people who get nothing meatier than Veggietales in church children and youth programs, and we wonder why they wander off and abandon church when they hit 18 or why they can’t articulate basic Bible truths (or even know that there are basic, fundamental Bible truths!)
I know that for many Christians, VBS, AWANA and Youth Programs are considered untouchable, pillars of the church on par with the greatest of truths, but when you examine a couple of realities, we should really be asking some hard questions:
1. We see an enormous number of children and youth at events, many if not most of whom come from non-Christian homes and never exhibit being truly born-again. I know people get saved through VBS etc (including my son Noah) but is it the exception rather than the rule. The decisional structure of most VBS and Youth groups leads to lots of “decisions” and very few Christians.
2. Our children are leaving the church at an alarming rate when they hit 18 and we also see the ones that are staying in church drifting off in to aberrant systems like the emerging church or entering adulthood with a functional illiteracy in basic Biblical concepts. After years of feel-good, man-centered sermons poorly done, is it any wonder that they seek out the same sort of bubblegum sermons just done with more entertainment value and more comfortable seats?
Given this, where should the church focus our limited resources? I shudder to make this overly pragmatic or make it sound like I am approaching this like a banker, but when faced with tough economic times (I am certain giving is down in most churches) and quite frankly the system is broken as it exists today, it is vital to show good stewardship and put our efforts in the efforts that have most impact on eternity.
Let me suggest this: Christian education for our children should be a primary focus of the church. Let me go a step further: if we are not spending at least as much time and money on discipling Christians in the church as we do on foreign missionary work, we are failing in our responsibility as a church. Why are we so willing to throw ourselves into VBS and foreign missionary work, but utterly disinterested in true, deep discipleship of our children?
This applies equally to adults and the adult Sunday school program. Week after week, month after month of how to live a better this and how to be a better that, and not a lick of actual Bible teaching. Is it any wonder that so few people know how even the most rudimentary truths of the faith?
We spend all of our time looking for the pagan outside of the four walls of the church, and we miss the greatest mission opportunity of the world right before us. That is one of the great tragedies of the modern era.
5 comments:
Arthur:
I know what you mean. When I first came here they wanted to to do some "youth work" so I asked what age they wanted me to teach. They said, "We have teachers, we just need some activites, you know, some games, a trip or two, like that."
The teachers were showing up 20 minutes late to pop in a Veggietales video and didn't bother even to come to church when they weren't teaching.
Thankfully, the teachers we have now are trained, committed, and actually come to church (I know that's a novel concept).
I like the idea of spending as much on children's ministries as you do on foreign missions. I would add that the amount spent should be measured minus the trips and activities.
If I were to add to this assessment, I would say that foreign missions altogether should be excluded when there is no missionary work being done by the local church itself. Giving to missions creates a sedative that numbs the conscience of lazy Christians who dare not go into the field themselves. Cozy Christianity is a direct result of the "my way" worship service, and the "my church" pragmatism that is so prevalent today. Missions, mission giving, and local evangelistic efforts are results of the local congregation doing the Lord's will, not a means to say look at what "we" have been doing.
Paradigm Shift - Giving to missions may be the only option for some saints who are surrounded wall to wall by the unregenerate "church" crowd.
James, I agree. A check in the offering plate is not the fulfillment of the Great Commission. There are just as many sinners in Detroit as there are in Kenya or Thailand, but most of us (including me) can hardly be bothered to witness to those we see every day. Far better to support misssionaries and feel better about ourselves.
Arthur,
I absolutely agree that the church does a poor job of discipling new - and older - Christians of all ages. Where I disagree is that VBS and Awana are part of the problem. Of course, VBS is not intended for discipleship. It is designed for evangelism. What do kids hear at VBS? The main points this year are 1) God is real, and there is no other god, 2) Jesus is God's Son, 3) Jesus is the only Way, and He can be my Savior, 4) The Bible is God's Word and I can learn its truth, and 5) My actions show what I believe, and I can stand for truth. Basic theology, but solid. Yeah, most of the kids who come to VBS are from non-Christian homes - and that's a good thing! They need to hear the gospel, and this might be the only time they willingly come in our door. Should we stop trying to reach out to the kids and families in our community? Should we not have any evangelism programs? In my experience, the problem isn't with the structure or content of VBS, it's with the lack of follow-thru on the church's part. When kids do make a decision to follow Christ, what do we do next? Nothing. No follow-up with the child or the family. We just drop them. And that lack of discipleship is the problem, not VBS itself.
As for Awana, I have no personal experience with it, never having attended or worked in it. I do see my daughter consistently learning scripture in Awana, though, so I don't know how that can be part of the problem. Looking through her book, it looks like it's designed to teach scripture and Biblical truth, and that's the effect it's having on dd. No problem there! (It's definitely much better than how my son spends his Wednesday evenings - running around pretending to shoot people.)
As for youth groups, well, that's another story. In my mind, youth groups should have a strong discipleship focus. In my experience, that's often missing. And that's a problem. Youth groups should have an evangelistic component, too, but that shouldn't translate into the focus being on fun and spiritually "fluffy" activities.
I think the big challenge for the church is to practice true discipleship, which has to be a combination of clear, accurate Bible teaching, modeling a Christ-like life (only truly possible if we are spending time developing our personal relationship with Him), and reaching out to others to tell them about God. If any of these get out of balance, it just doesn't work. Knowing scripture but not applying it to our lives will not further God's kingdom. Knowing scripture and having a vibrant relationship with God but never witnessing to others won't further His kingdom, either. And of course, having a relationship with God and witnessing to others without consistent time in His Word won't benefit Him, either. All three components are necessary, and the church - both as a whole and as individual members - has to do all three to fulfil the great commission.
Just my 2 little pennies,
Debbie
That may be more than 2 pennies worth!
My point is not that the church shouldn't do AWANA or VBS, but that it does them poorly and to the detriment of discipling the kids of believers. We did follow-up with the families of the kids from VBS last summer, and saw nothing from them. Same with most youth programs and AWANA. The kids from "church" families show up at church and most of the kids from "non-church" families never come on Sunday. If the goal is to see lives changed and people saved, then given the lack of real change in lives we do a pretty poor job of it.
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