{"id":328,"date":"2012-02-14T15:30:40","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T20:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/?p=328"},"modified":"2014-07-22T11:08:41","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T15:08:41","slug":"gospel-centered-teaching-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Gospel-Centered Teaching, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d I said, almost panicked.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 7-yr.-old across from me had suddenly burst into tears as I asked him questions about sin\u2014questions I had used dozens of times before with children who responded to gospel invitations in summer Bible clubs.<\/span><\/p>\n

But this time was different. \u00a0This little boy was literally sobbing with conviction over his sins. \u00a0\u201cWow!\u201d I thought.\u00a0 \u201cI wish I were as sensitive about my sin as this child is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What an awesome thing it is to be able to help a child come to Christ!<\/span><\/p>\n

In the last blog, we talked about how you can insert the gospel into almost any Bible lesson.\u00a0 But then what?\u00a0 Do you have kids \u201cwalk an aisle\u201d and kneel at the front of the classroom?\u00a0 Do you bring a wading pool into your room and tell anyone who would like to be saved to jump into the pool so you can baptize them? \u00a0What do you do?<\/span><\/p>\n

Invitation<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

After explaining the gospel in your lesson, you need to let the children know that God commands them to respond to the gospel.\u00a0 YOU are inviting them, but GOD is commanding them to respond.\u00a0 You can either tag this to the end of your explanation of \u201cthe way\u201d of salvation, or you can save it as a parting application of your lesson.<\/span><\/p>\n

You will probably develop your own method of asking children to respond, but a helpful method I\u2019ve found is to have children first bow their heads and close their eyes.\u00a0 This helps maximize concentration.\u00a0 Next, you can say something like, \u201cIf you would like to trust Christ as your Savior, you can ask Him to save you right now.\u00a0 If you have questions about how to do that, please talk to me after class.\u201d\u00a0 Then, toward the end of class, have your assistant lead the class in a review game or other activity, while you make yourself available at the back of the room for children to come talk to you about how to be saved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clarification<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Terminology is important as you invite children to respond to the gospel.\u00a0 To you, it might be old hat that \u201cbecoming a child of God,\u201d \u201cbeing saved,\u201d \u201creceiving Christ,\u201d and \u201creceiving eternal life\u201d are phrases that all mean the same thing; but to children who are uninitiated in the art of \u201cChristian-ese,\u201d hearing all these terms can muddy the waters.\u00a0 Pick ONE phrase per lesson and use it consistently.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, pick one \u201cresponse phrase.\u201d By that, I mean, don\u2019t ask a child to \u201ctrust Christ,\u201d \u201cbelieve on Jesus,\u201d and \u201cask Jesus to wash their sins away,\u201d all in the same lesson.\u00a0 Pick ONE phrase and use it throughout your lesson.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a side note, avoid the phrase \u201cask Jesus into your heart.\u201d\u00a0 This phrase confuses younger children especially, who wonder how on earth Jesus is going to fit inside their cardiac organ!\u00a0 I can\u2019t tell you how many children I\u2019ve talked to who are confused by this phrase.\u00a0 Besides, this phrase is found nowhere in the Bible!\u00a0 Try some of the more biblical phrases listed in the paragraph above.\u00a0 I think you\u2019ll find that they\u2019re actually easier to explain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Interrogation<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

So there you sit, at the back of the classroom.\u00a0 You just told children, if you would like to talk to me about how you can trust Christ, I\u2019ll be at the back of the classroom.\u201d\u00a0 A surge of adrenaline hits you as a child stands up and walks to the back of the classroom.\u00a0 Now what?!\u00a0 What do you do?<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t panic!\u00a0 The first thing to do is ask WHY they came back to talk.\u00a0 They may have just heard you say, \u201cIf you want to talk, come to the back of the room.\u201d\u00a0 Resist the urge to prompt them!\u00a0 Let them tell you why they came.\u00a0 If they can\u2019t, then they\u2019re not ready.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, find out what they understood from your presentation of the gospel.\u00a0 Ask questions that demand more than\u00a0“yes” or “no” answers!\u00a0 If you sit there subconsciously nodding your head while you ask, \u201cAre you a sinner?\u201d of course the child is going to give the right answer!\u00a0 He\/She wants to please you!\u00a0 So, ask questions that make them think.\u00a0 Here a few you could try:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cWhat is sin?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cWho has sinned?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cWhat is the punishment for sin?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cWhat did God do so that your sin could be taken away?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cHow did Jesus die?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cWhat happened after Jesus died?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cWhat do you need to do to be saved?\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    At this point, bring out your Bible, if it\u2019s handy, and show the children an invitation verse like Romans 10:13\u2014\u201cFor everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.\u201d Reiterate that there is nothing that anyone can do to save themselves.\u00a0 Only God can save sinners.\u00a0 Then ask them, \u201cWould you like to call out to God to save you?\u201d \u00a0As silly as it sounds, WATCH YOUR HEAD AT THIS POINT.\u00a0 You\u2019ll want to nod it.\u00a0 DON\u2019T!\u00a0 Let the child wrestle and ponder the question for himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

    There is no magic formula for helping a person come to Christ.\u00a0 And the good news is that God can work despite our feeble or botched efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Keep the gospel central!<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cTeacher, I want to ask Jesus to be my Savior.\u201d What would you give to hear those words from the mouth of a child in your Sunday school class? Maybe the next question should be, \u201cWhat would you do if you DID hear those words?\u201d Here are some tips for helping a child respond to the gospel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[24,33],"tags":[145,37,40],"yoast_head":"\nGospel-Centered Teaching, Part 2 - Faith Kids Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gospel-Centered Teaching, Part 2 - Faith Kids Connection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cTeacher, I want to ask Jesus to be my Savior.\u201d What would you give to hear those words from the mouth of a child in your Sunday school class? Maybe the next question should be, \u201cWhat would you do if you DID hear those words?\u201d Here are some tips for helping a child respond to the gospel.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Kids Connection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-07-22T15:08:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/files\/2012\/01\/FatherReadingBible.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"669\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scott Allison\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scott Allison\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/\",\"name\":\"Gospel-Centered Teaching, Part 2 - Faith Kids Connection\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-07-22T15:08:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#\/schema\/person\/d4cbaa92fd35caf5bbd2fbde55a0abbb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gospel-Centered Teaching, Part 2\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/\",\"name\":\"Faith Kids Connection\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#\/schema\/person\/d4cbaa92fd35caf5bbd2fbde55a0abbb\",\"name\":\"Scott Allison\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/20180131152212\/avatar1517430129.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/20180131152212\/avatar1517430129.png\",\"caption\":\"Scott Allison\"},\"description\":\"Scott is a pastoral intern at Faith Church. He and his wife Courtney work in Children's Ministries at the church.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/author\/sallison\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gospel-Centered Teaching, Part 2 - Faith Kids Connection","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gospel-Centered Teaching, Part 2 - Faith Kids Connection","og_description":"\u201cTeacher, I want to ask Jesus to be my Savior.\u201d What would you give to hear those words from the mouth of a child in your Sunday school class? Maybe the next question should be, \u201cWhat would you do if you DID hear those words?\u201d Here are some tips for helping a child respond to the gospel.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/","og_site_name":"Faith Kids Connection","article_published_time":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-07-22T15:08:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":669,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/files\/2012\/01\/FatherReadingBible.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Scott Allison","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Scott Allison","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/","name":"Gospel-Centered Teaching, Part 2 - Faith Kids Connection","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#website"},"datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-07-22T15:08:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#\/schema\/person\/d4cbaa92fd35caf5bbd2fbde55a0abbb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/gospel-centered-teaching-part-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gospel-Centered Teaching, Part 2"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/","name":"Faith Kids Connection","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#\/schema\/person\/d4cbaa92fd35caf5bbd2fbde55a0abbb","name":"Scott Allison","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/20180131152212\/avatar1517430129.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/20180131152212\/avatar1517430129.png","caption":"Scott Allison"},"description":"Scott is a pastoral intern at Faith Church. He and his wife Courtney work in Children's Ministries at the church.","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/author\/sallison\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":482,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328\/revisions\/482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/faithkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}