Do you ever wonder why we have church auditoriums filled with youth and adults who have no relationship with the Holy Spirit? Before you throw stones at the Pastor or Youth Pastor, you might want to consider these facts.
1. In a calendar year, few if any children are baptized in the Holy Spirit in any of the children’s ministries provided by the local church. It is extremely rare to find reports of children being filled with the Holy Spirit in a Sunday school class, children’s church service, or mid-week Bible club in the local church. Am I right?
2. In a calendar year, those children who are filled with the Holy Spirit are Spirit-baptized at a summer Kid’s Camp or retreat. I’m thankful for these events. They provide a powerful time of ministry. Unfortunately only a very small percentage of our children are able to go to these events due to calendar problems, finances, etc. With both #1 and #2 being true, this means that only a small percentage of our children are provided an opportunity to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Am I right?
3. In a calendar year, most children are rarely, if ever, in an adult service and never have the opportunity to see the workings of the Holy Spirit. The largest percentage of our children have never witnessed the Gifts of the Spirit in operation. They have never seen the Book of Acts come alive. Am I right?
What is the end result of #1, #2, and #3? Children pass through our ministries and then go into the youth ministry and then eventually into the adult ministry without having the opportunity to experience God’s power. They don’t know the benefits of walking through life Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and Spirit-equipped. They will go through life without the assistance provided by heaven to fulfill their life assignments. They will struggle through challenges they aren’t equipped or designed to handle alone.
Children’s Pastor/Sunday school teacher/mid-week Bible club leader, the Spirit-baptized adults of tomorrow are the children in your ministry today. We need to need to allow the Holy Spirit to show up each and every time that we meet! We need to allow Him to speak and demonstrate His power. We must allow the children to begin a relationship with the Holy Spirit. We can’t relegate this to just camps and retreats.
The Joel 2 generation is waiting for you to open the door for the Holy Spirit. Will you begin this today?
