WHAT ABOUT GOD
IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS? by Rev. Ron Hafer Director of Alumni Activities Biola College
Jesus Christ right now,” the same boy continued, not discouraged in the lea s t. . . “ I asked Him to come into my heart while I was flying my kite in the park. I was look ing up at the clouds and remem bered that Mrs. Barnes said Jesus was going to come in the clouds. So I just asked Jesus to come into my heart right there.” It might not have been as elo quent as the testimony o f the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill, but to Mrs. Barnes it was one o f the most beautiful testimonies o f the saving grace o f God ever given! Other students f o l lo w e d w ith their experiences. Most o f the boys and girls told o f asking Christ into their hearts while kneeling by their beds at night. In an average Sunday school class or Christian s c h o o l this would not be an unusual account. But that which makes the above account unusual is th is: It took place in a public school classroom — where a Christian school teach er disregarded the hesitancy and reservation within her heart to share her personal faith in Jesus Christ with her students.
The following is a true sto ry : My w ife is the teacher, and Em er son Elementary Grade School in D enver is the s ch o o l. I have changed names to protect char acters. a a RS. B arnes ’ c la s s o f r e d - ■ * ■ blooded, live-wire 5th grad ers was quite accustomed to giv ing reports as a part o f their speech training. One afternoon, following a question-and-answer session (mostly concerning Jesus Christ), Mrs. Barnes concluded with this brief challenge: “ I f any o f you have asked Je sus Christ into your hearts, never be ashamed to tell others about Him. Remember, He w as n o t ashamed to die on Calvary fo r your sins.” Then a hand was quickly raised and the keen little guy on the other end o f it was called upon to speak. “ Well, I’m sure not ashamed o f Jesus and I asked Him into my heart.” Somewhat surprised, Mrs. Barnes suggested that he might reserve his testimony until after class. “ I ’m not ashamed to tell about
Mrs. Barnes te a ch e s a 5 th grade class in a slightly under privileged section in a mid-West- ern city. Monday was no different fo r her than fo r thousands o f other teachers. The thought o f facing 35 enthusiastic youngsters and having to fo rfe it at least half o f the day each Monday convert ing their interest in weekend fun back to classroom studies . . . well, it was challenging. “ Good morning, Class.” “ Good morning, Mrs. Barnes.” “ Would any o f you like to tell the class what you did over the past weekend?” S e v e r a l hands were quickly raised and frantic ally waved to make their presence more conspicuous. She called on a few to share their excitement. “ I went to Sunday school fo r the first time in my life.” “ I went to church, and took my little sister and brother with me, and we heard stories about Jesus Christ.” “ My mother wouldn’t let me go to church . . . but I read the Bible you gave me.” Class proceeded as usual, and after the reading lesson, Mrs.
40
TH E KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker