Salvation and Kids

Salvation and children is one of my favorite topics. The idea that God has given us the opportunity to share His plan with anyone is a privelege, although I must confess, I don't share nearly as much as I should.

Children's ministries specifically need to be sharing Christ often. Maybe all your children have made a decision for Christ, but you never know when a new child will come to your minisry. Also, teaching children to share Christ with their friends is a spiritual discipline that children can (and should) learn early. My point: even if you are sure you are in a room full of Christians, don't neglect the message!

Because many churches use Lifeway VBS, I am going to use Lifeway's method of sharing the gospel with children. The ABC's are a great tool, but don't forget to use scripture to share. So many times we just throw out "Admit, Believe, and Confess" and never explain what we mean.

First of all, we need to realize that "churchy" language is not a good idea working with children. If you are using it, explain what it means! Words like "sin" may be foreign to a person who has not been in the church culture, so don't talk above a person. Also, children think concretely. Symbolism is never good with children. "Asking Jesus to come into your heart," for example may translate to "I'm having heart surgery?" to a child. Let me give you an example of how this presentation may look.

Becoming a Christian is the most important decision anyone can ever make. Let's talk about what the Bible says about being a Christian.

God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. The Bible says in John 3:16 "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

Sin is anything that we do to disobey God. Sin can be yelling at our parents, stealing, or anything else that is not obeying God. Sin seperates people from God. Sin seperates you from God. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Have you ever did something wrong, something that displeases God?

This is a problem because God cannot be around sin, but all of us have sinned and have done things we shouldn't do. We have a problem because even though God loves us, we are seperated from Him. The Bible also says in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." When we do something wrong, eventually the payment is to die. We may not die right now, but one day we will.

God loved you so much that he sent his Son Jesus so that you would not have to die for your sin. You will die one day, everyone will. But, God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sin. He died, but He didn't stay dead. He came back to life! Romans 5:8says, "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!"

When we die we will either live in Heaven or Hell forever. Heaven is a place with Jesus, while Hell is a place for people who have chosen to not choose God's gift.

Jesus died so even though we do things wrong, called sin, we can still have a relationship with God and not be seperated from Him. This means that if we ask Jesus to come live in our life, He will come into our lives and live with us forever.

We can ask God to come live in our life by using our ABC's. First, admit to God that you are a sinner. The first person God created chose to sin and disobey God. Ever since then all people have chosen to sin and disobey God. We must do something called repenting, which means turning away from our sin. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Secondly, we must believe that Jesus is God's son and accept God's gift of forgiveness from sin. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift--not from works, so that no man can boast."

Third, we must confess our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Romans 10:9-10 and 13 says, "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation (becoming a Christian). For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Saved is a word that means that you have asked Jesus to come into your life and have become a Christian. You are saved from your sin.

God's Holy Spirit will let you know when you are ready to be come a Christian. If it is not time for you to become a Christian, you may need to learn more about Jesus. God will help you to know when it is time for you to pray and invite Jesus to come into your life.

If it is time for you to become a Christian, talk to God and tell him that you are sorry for your sins and that you want Jesus to come into your life and forgive you for your sins. You are promising that you will obey God and live for Him for the rest of your life. You can use whatever words you want, because prayer is talking to God just like you talk to people.

If you just made that decision and invited God to live in your life, you can be sure of a few things. Your sins are forgiven. You are a Christian. You are a child of God. God will always be with you. You will go to Heaven when you die.

So now there are some things that you can do. We don't do these things because we have to. We do these things to show obedience (obeying) to God. First, we should tell other people, especially our parents, that we have become a Christian and that Jesus is your Savior and Lord. It is important to attend church often so that you can learn more about Jesus. You can't have a good relationship without spending time with someone, so it is important to read the Bible and pray every day so that you can get to know God. At some time you need to be baptized to show others that you have become a Christian. *Personally I hestitate to baptize a child right away. I prefer to wait until the child approaches a parent or leader to say that they want to be baptized. This is just a precautionary step to make sure that they have understood their decision and didn't just say a "nice prayer."

Maybe you are asking the question, Will I ever sin again? The answer is yes, everyone sins, even after Jesus comes into their lives. When you do sin, ask God to forgive you and help you to obey Him. He will!

You will never have to become a Christian again. When Jesus becomes your Savior and Lord, your salvation lasts forever. Remember, God has promised you in Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you or forsake you."


I also suggest a diary page or something for the child to go back to to affirm their decision. I know this conversation was long, the message isn't always that long. Most of the time you can gauge where the conversation needs to go with the child. I used Lifeway's ABC's of Becoming a Christian tract, a great resource.

I don't know who may read this, but if you are reading and have realized that you have never asked Jesus to come into your life, I pray that you would make that decision.