Obviously the Sunday school and the church services of the Lord’s Day are ideal for evangelizing the children. Every reader of these pages will doubtless be familiar with these established meetings. What many will not realize is that there are literally millions of people, including- children, who have no regard for the Lord’s Day, and who never attend any church. According to the 1950 census there are approximately 40.000. 000 children in the United States 13 years of age and under. Of these millions, it is estimated that 2 out of 3 have no religious affiliation at all. In other words, there are nearly 28.000. 000 boys and girls in this so-called Christian nation of ours who are entirely pagan. But you say, “What else can we do?” Let me tell you of a few of the methods which have proven fruitful recently. The neighborhood Home Bible Class is one of the most effective means of contacting unchurched children. The class can be held on a weekday at an after-school hour in a home near to a school or public playground. Children will usually respond gladly to an invitation into a home; and surprisingly enough, most parents will not object to a “ Bible Class” held in a friendly neighborhood home. When the weather permits, many children can be reached in the out-of-doors. A park, playground, empty lot, or even a street-corner can become the scene of an open-air meeting in which children may find Christ as their Saviour. You might follow the example of a Child Evangelism worker in Chicago who seeks boys and girls almost daily during the summer months. With a miniature flannelgraph or a wordless book in her hands, this consecrated worker approaches a group of children with a question like “Have you boys and girls ever seen a book without words?” As the youngsters flock around her, she gives them a pointed gospel message and seekf to lead each one to Christ. Vacation Bible Schools, Five-Day Clubs, and Children’s Camps provide excellent opportunities for reaching children. Since these are familiar activities, we shall not dwell upon them here. One very important—though neglected—means of reaching children with the gospel message is the large mass meeting or rally. In spite of the prejudice against such meetings in many quarters, they have proven very successful when prop erly handled. They cannot be planned or directed haphazardly by just anyone. In fact, experienced help should always be sought in planning mass meetings for children. But do not let the problems and difficulties deter you. The prize to be captured for our Lord in the person of young lives will merit all of the effort needed. Leading a Child to Christ Having considered the various methods of reaching children with the gospel message, we will now turn our attention to the problem of leading each individual child into a definite experience of the new birth. Actually, leading a child to Christ is very much like leading an adult to Christ. The facts are the same for both. However, in the case of a young child we must be careful to explain each step thoroughly. First of all, you should show him that he is a sinner. The need for salvation cannot be understood apart from a realiza tion of sin, even in the experience of a child. Usually you can help the child most by asking a few direct questions like, “Have you ever told a lie?” or “ Did you ever take anything that did not belong to you?” He will readily admit to these things, and you can show him why they are sin. After a child realizes that he is a sinner, it is necessary to show him the consequences of sin. Contrast the holiness of God with the sinfulness of man. Show him that while God hates sin, He loves the sinner and desires to deliver him from sin’s punishment. Let me say at this point that it is not usually wise or necessary to dwell upon the subject of hell in telling a child of the consequences of sin. This does not mean that we must omit any reference to hell. But since the child is not a T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Flannelgraph is one of the most widely used and most successful of methods for children’s work. Methods o f Child Evangelism
Assuming we are agreed that reaching children for Christ is an imperative, let us move on to consider a few of the methods which may be used to reach them. In recent years, the field of visual aid has been greatly advanced through the development of flannelgraph. In flannel- graph, a large board is covered with flannel on which scenes of landscape or interiors have been painted. Cut-outs of characters, animals, trees, etc., are then backed with flannel so that they will adhere to the surface of the board. Figures are then placed on the board, moved, or removed to depict the action of the story. With the aid of flannelgraph, every teacher becomes an artist, and every child receives the mes sage with double impact—through the eyegate and the ear- gate. Flannelgraph backgrounds and figures are now available from many sources at reasonable prices so that any teacher can avail himself of their use. Another means of conveying the gospel message to children is the object lesson. As the name suggests, an object is used in this case to capture the attention and furnish the ideas for the message. Such simple objects as a glass of water, a key, or a newspaper will provide excellent material for a message. In the newspaper, for instance, the headlines, the ads, the pictures, the obituary, the classified section can each bring a message to the children. The fact that you hold a newspaper before them as you give the headlines of the Word of God, the pictures of the types and parables, the story of the death of Christ, and the classified needs of mankind will give added impact to your message. In using object lessons, the teacher can use his own imagination, or he can turn to any one of a score or more of books that have been prepared on the subject. The principle of the object lesson has also been adapted into several novelty-type messages. Two of the most outstand ing of these adaptations are the flash-card message, and the wordless book. In the flash-card method, a series of posters is made up to illustrate a single message. As the message un folds, cards illustrating each point are held before the chil dren. In the wordless book, color has been substituted for words so that a black page speaks of sin, a red page tells of Christ’s death, a white page depicts a cleansed heart, a green page suggests fruitfulness, and a gold page portrays the glories of a heavenly home. These ideas, and many others like them are very effective supplements to a children’s mes sage. Therefore, regardless of the type of message you use in speaking to children, be sure they get at least a mental—if not an actual—picture of what you are trying to give them. Now then, where and when shall we gather the children together to hear these messages? Page Twelve
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