I remember my mother being appalled at the way I left my dolls lying all over my bedroom floor, tossed about haphazardly with their little shoes and dresses scattered like confetti.
“I never treated my dolls like this when I was a kid. I always took care of them,” she sighed. “It’s time to clean your room.”
I would begrudgingly clean them up, not understanding her frustration. What did it matter? I loved my dolls and played with them. I didn’t care if they were cleaned up or not. As I got older, I grew in my ability and my desire to care for my dolls.
Now, as a parent myself, I totally understand my mother’s frustration. I can tell my kids to clean up their toys, but I can’t force them to truly care for their things. I can make sure my kids complete their schoolwork, but I can’t force them to care about the subject matter. Care comes from the heart. Heart change comes from the Holy Spirit.
Prayer for Care
The same is true about teaching our children to care about the gospel going to others. There are so many unbelievers in this world, but the truth is that I can’t force my children—or the children I teach at church—to care about them. Only the work of the Holy Spirit can change children’s hearts. The key to helping your children care about the lost is to pray that the Holy Spirit will soften their hearts.
Make Them Aware
Although I can’t force my children to care, I can make them aware. I can teach my children about Jesus’ love, about the lost near and far, and about the hope of the gospel so that when the Holy Spirit does change their hearts, they already have the awareness they need to jump right into sharing the gospel with the lost.
I can teach my children about Jesus’ love, about the lost near and far, and about the hope of the gospel so that when the Holy Spirit does change their hearts, they already have the awareness they need to jump right into sharing the gospel with the lost.
Aware of Jesus’ Love
For the youngest children, knowing that Jesus loves them gives them the foundation they need to understand that Jesus loves others, too. Developmentally, toddlers and early preschoolers can only see things from their own perspective. Understanding others comes later.
Tell young children often that Jesus loves them. When you tell them, call them by name and look into their eyes. In my mid-week preschool class, when we line up for game time, I stamp the back of each child’s hand with a heart while I say their name, look into their eyes, and tell them, “Jesus loves you.” I include the helpers in the room so the children can see that Jesus loves everyone. This practice not only helps the children to understand Christ’s love for them, but helps them understand that Jesus loves others, too, which is foundational for viewing the lost as made and loved by God.
Aware of the Lost Close By
In order for children to care about the lost, they have to know that they exist. If the children have family members or acquaintances that don’t know Jesus, bring those people to the children’s attention—not in a way that condemns or shames the person, but in a way that builds compassion. For example, when my children were growing up, their great-grandmother whom we visited regularly was not a believer in Jesus, as far as we knew. On our way home from visits, I would tell my children, “I feel sad that Grammy doesn’t know about Jesus. Let’s pray that she comes to believe in him.”
There are some children in my church family who literally don’t know any unbelievers. They are homeschooled or go to a Christian school and have extended family who are all believers. This is a great blessing to those children. And it requires a little extra effort to make them aware of unbelievers. This is when you can point out people as you go to stores or visit the doctor. On the way home, you can wonder aloud, “I wonder if that man or woman knows about Jesus? He/she might not!” That can help children be aware that not everyone in their acquaintance already knows Jesus.
Aware of the Lost Far Away
When my own children were young, I posted a world map in our kitchen at their eye level. After a mealtime, the kids would take turns pointing out a country on the map. I would read the name of the country and then we would pretend we were traveling from our home to the country—swimming across the ocean, flying in an airplane, or riding a camel—while I traced my finger from our home to that location. Then we would pray a simple prayer: “Dear God, help the people in Madagascar to love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.” When they were a bit older, we would use Operation World to read details about the spiritual state of the country and pray accordingly.
In my Sunday morning Children’s Church class, we have chosen a missionary family whom our church supports. This family sends regular email updates that I read portions of to the children, and I highlight the unbelievers that the missionary family mentions. I use an inflatable globe to show where their country is in relation to where we live. We pray for the missionary family as a class, and the children love to hear about them and their work! It helps the kids to know that there are people living around the world who need Jesus.
Aware of the Hope of the Gospel
Many children can give the Sunday school answers about the lost and the gospel: “All have sinned,” “Christ died for us,” and those who “believe in him will not perish but will have eternal life.” If they cannot, continue to give your children opportunities to verbalize the gospel so that they can say it aloud.
Children also need to know that no one is beyond the hope of the gospel. The story of Paul and the road to Damascus lets children know that no one is too wicked to be saved. Even Paul, the Christian-killer, was radically saved by Jesus and began preaching the gospel.
Let children know that the hope of the gospel is still true today. For older children, either in your home or at church, make opportunities for them to hear others share their testimony of how they came to know Jesus as their Savior. At our church one year, we invited four different adults to share their testimonies with the youth group throughout the year. This made a great impression on our teens. These adults whom the teens only knew as good Christians and senior saints shared how Jesus had saved them. One woman described how she had been suspended from school for physically fighting her teacher and later went on to endure an abusive marriage before the Lord saved her. One man hit rock bottom and held his girlfriend at gunpoint before the Lord miraculously saved him—and his girlfriend—all in one night. The teens were amazed that these nice Christian adults used to live so differently! Hearing testimonies helped the teens understand that what was true of Paul was still true today. No one is beyond the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we hear about famous people or close friends who are far from the Lord, we can still speak of them with hope. The lost do not believe in Jesus—yet! There is still hope!
Although we can’t force children to care about spreading the gospel to others, we can make them aware of the hope of the gospel, the love of Jesus, and the lost near and far who aren’t believers in him—at least not yet!
