Glen, with his family, served with CMS in Tanzania for many years. As both schoolteacher and principal, Glen saw firsthand the eternal value of teaching the gospel to future generations. Here, he helps us see why such work matters.

‘… ultimately, we don’t invest in the next generation for strategic reasons. We invest in children and youth because of God’s own heart.’ 

I recently read 2 Timothy, and was struck by how Paul recognised that Timothy’s faith had been passed down from his grandmother Lois to his mother Eunice, and now lived in Timothy also (see 2 Timothy 1:5). That in turn made me grateful that this very same faith had been passed down from my grandparents to my parents, and on to me.

Now as a parent, I too have the responsibility to pass the gospel faith to the next generation of my family, whether it be “walking on the road”, “when I get up” (see Deuteronomy 6:6-9), when I’m doing the soccer run, or as we sit around the dinner table.

Pass the gospel on 

The Scriptures clearly call on us to pass our faith to others—not just in our biological family, but to all generations. Like Timothy we have been given the gospel as a “good deposit” (2 Timothy 1:14). Like Timothy, we need to entrust and teach it to others (see 2 Timothy 2:2).

Psalm 145:4 states that “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts”, so that “… the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.” (Psalm 78:6-7).

Start young

The obvious starting point for passing the gospel message on to the next generation is to begin with children and youth. Part of my own story involves attending an international missionary kids’ school. I was under the care of godly Christian teachers who were passionate about raising up Christian children to then serve in the church and the world. Their care inspired me to think about how I, too, could use my gifts in service of our Lord. In God’s kindness, I ended up serving as a teacher in a rural school in Tanzania with the goal of raising up the next generation of Christians.

Why children matter

CMS is involved in many different types of ministries that reach children and pass on the message of faith: teaching in local schools, equipping Sunday schools, developing kids’ resource, caring for the needs of vulnerable children, educating the children of other missionaries, even presenting youth Bible dramas in remote villages.

But in some contexts, ministry to and for children gets ignored or neglected. Such ministry can often be considered just plain hard work, with children seen as a distraction, difficult to work with, and not worth the time. This is not God’s perspective.

In New Testament times, when children were brought to Jesus, his disciples saw them as a hassle. Perhaps they were getting in the way of ‘real’ ministry? But Jesus rebuked his disciples:

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:14-16).

Looking to the future 

In the context where I worked in Tanzania, sometimes children could be treated very poorly when it came to their discipline, their well-being, or the expectations placed upon them. But under the bishop of my diocese, Bishop George, I saw something different. I was so encouraged by the way he lived out and tried to draw attention to the importance of children, their unique needs, their vulnerability, their preciousness and their amazing potential.

Bishop George emphasised that the way we speak about children and the way we treat children shows what we believe about them—that they are made in God’s image and that God loves them. That’s why in the school where I taught, we wanted not only to educate children well, but to train them in the way of Scripture. We wanted to care for them and empower them in faith, so they might also trust in God. These young students of mine would be the future of the nation and the church.

Indeed youth, almost by definition, represent the future all around the world. Investing in the next generation should be a normal thing for Christians—not just within our own families, but through the church and other specialised institutions too. I’m convinced that well-trained young people can change the face of the church and the wider society. Their creativity and enthusiasm can grow the Christian faith where it is small, and even reinvigorate the church where it may be dying, and bring new energy to the mission of Christ across the nations.

God’s own heart 

Working with children and youth is undoubtedly strategic. More than a quarter of the world’s population is under the age of 181. The future health of Christianity is dependent on how we teach and train and disciple these young people.

But ultimately, we don’t invest in the next generation for strategic reasons. We invest in children and youth because of God’s own heart. He loves young people. He cares about the welfare of the orphan, the street children, those facing exploitation, the ones who are studying, and those whose parents send them off to Sunday School each week. He wants them to come to him. May we open our arms to them as part of our mission to see a world that knows Jesus.

CARE

How are you growing children’s hearts for mission? Go to cms.org.au/kids to check out activity sheets on all the countries and regions CMS is serving in.