The speaker for the services was Rev Dr T Jeyakumar and he spoke from Deut 6:1-25 on "Ministry to the Younger Ones", using the example of John Wesley and the Scripture passage in Deuteronomy.
The message is one that should be driven home in every church on these two main points:
1. The duty and responsibility of teaching and training children in the Lord belongs primarily to the parents, not the church. And more than that, it is through us loving God, experiencing God, studying the Word of God, writing the Word, displaying the Word and speaking the Word at all times at home and out (v.4-9). Parents are to model a Christ-filled life to the children.
2. One of the most important ministries in the church is Christian education of youth and children. Rev Jeyakumar used a Socrates quote to make the point: "Why do you turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth, and yet, take so little care of your own children, to whom one day you must relinquish all." We work tirelessly every day for the children, but we ignore them in the process. In the church context, we spend so much resources and time to build big beautiful churches but forget the building and training of our young ones who will soon take on the work in the church. The example he gave was very poignant--William Carey's original Baptist church in Leicester City in England is now a Hindu temple. Ironically, Carey was the first Baptist missionary in India.
And also a warning to us parents. Why spend so much time building wealth for our children and leave their care to the hands of others, and when we relinquish what we have to them, will they be living their lives in the ways of the Lord? Will they be people of the Kingdom of God?
With that, I decided to purchase a copy of Rev Jeyakumar's book, even though it will be so challenging to stick to reading from print, but I will try nonetheless.
A Family-Friendly Church: Home and Church Joining Hands
by T Jeyakumar
pearlie
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