As I noted late yesterday, we are in the midst of our annual Vacation Bible School and we are using Desiring God’s Things Hidden: A Study for Children on Kingdom Parables curriculum.

For those of you familiar with this curriculum, you know that there is no specific “altar call” or “sinner’s prayer” or “prayer of asking Jesus into your heart as your personal savior.” Those of you unfamiliar with this curriculum might think that’s a bit odd for a curriculum specifically designed for Vacation Bible School outreaches. After all, isn’t that when we get all those kids to make “commitments?” If you’re not leading children down the aisle, then what are you doing? In reflecting on this, I’d like to quote from the introduction to the curriculum, written by Sally Michael:

The goal of this curriculum is not to lead a child to “accept Jesus” or to pray a conversion prayer. It is relatively easy to lead children to make such a step but in many cases, the child really doesn’t understand what he is doing and does not experience true conversion. This is not to say that childhood conversions are not valid. many are in fact valid, lasting, true conversions. But after only five lessons, it is very possible for children to respond to the teacher’s desire that the child “accept Jesus” only to please the teacher, because it looks like fun, because someone else is doing so, or for any number of insignificant reasons. Is this true conversion or just a response to persuasion?

This indeed is a different approach to much children evangelism and this is much of the reason why we use this curriculum. Conversion of the soul is up to God. Our job is to get children to think spiritually and awaken spiritual interest in children, feeding spiritual hunger by exposing them to truth. We continually proclaim the Gospel throughout the week, inviting children to speak with an adult if God is indeed drawing them, but we do not have a “mass altar call,” because, as Sally Michael has pointed out, it’s easy enough to get children to walk down an aisle and even say a prayer or sign a card, but true conversion is the work of the Lord, not man.

Please continue to pray that God would glorify Himself and add to His kingdom during this time and I praise Him that He has not left the most important job in the world up to man. we are to faithfully proclaim, we are to obediently disciple, but far be it for us to raise the dead (Ephesians 2:1-10, etc.).

• Visit our church website
• Visit the Children Desiring God website for great, God-centered children’s resources