By Hannah Yeo
In November and December last year, Grace BP Church was involved in a number of evangelistic activities. These included visits to relatives, friends, and even a nearby Home for the Aged Sick with recorded songs and messages. There were also three Sundays where a number of us conducted online English sessions with children from our neighbouring country, which included sharing the good news about Jesus Christ.
Given that we could not have our normal carolling sessions because of the prevailing COVID-19 situation, it was certainly heart-warming to see many Gracians involved in these activities. I am grateful that in spite of the situation, we as a church were still able to share the good news to people around us.
The Children’s ministry anchored their evangelistic session on a special Christmas program which was conducted both onsite in church as well as online. This was in accordance with the prevailing COVID-19 Safe Management Plans for Grace BPC. As can be seen from the above, evangelism can be done with people from all walks of life and of all ages.
“What is ‘evangelism’?” Some may ask. In his book, entitled, “Why Evangelize Children?” Sam Doherty gives a simple and clear definition that “evangelism” is,
the proclamation of good news to lost sinners—that Jesus Christ died for their sins, that He rose again, and that He is willing and able to save all those who want to turn from their sin (repent) and put their trust in Him as Lord and Saviour (Mark 16 v15; Luke 24 v46–48; 1 Corinthians 15 v1–4).
The clear mandate for all who have trusted Christ as Saviour to be involved in evangelism comes from Mark 16:15, where Jesus exhorted His disciples to “proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (ESV) before He returned to heaven. The “whole creation,” refers to people of all races and ages.
For some of us at Grace BPC, Mark 16:15 comes in the form of reaching out to children who have yet to know about God’s love via the Holiday Children’s meetings at Sis Gim Choon’s place in Sengkang.
I would like to share some benefits of this work with our fellow Gracians.
1. The work provides an opportunity to reach children who may have difficulty coming to church.
In our country, children are under their parents’ jurisdiction. Many parents who have yet to know about Christ are usually reluctant to be involved in Christian activities or are also not willing to allow their children to be involved. This could be due to a multitude of reasons ranging from their own personal prejudices, fear, and the sheer inconvenience of allowing their children to attend meetings in church.
Having a Holiday Children’s meetings in a church member’s house with good standing and trust established with neighbours is beneficial. This is because parents with prejudices or fears may be more willing to allow their children to attend such meetings. If these meetings are just next door or at a nearby block, parents who view going to church as inconvenient may be more willing to consider allowing their children to attend these Holiday Children's meetings.
2. The Holiday Children’s meetings in church member’s homes can be an opportunity in the long run for sharing the gospel with the parents of the children who come. This is especially so, if the child has trusted in Christ and shows a marked change in his/her behaviour for good. This will provide a great opportunity for future outreach opportunities to their unbelieving parents as well.
3. Having Holiday Children’s meetings in the homes of Grace BPC members can provide avenues of service for fellow Gracians who also want to be part of the ministry of evangelism. A typical Holiday Children’s Program for children consists of many parts. More than one person can be involved to ensure that there is a variety in the program for the children.
Apart from the benefits of the work mentioned above, there have been times when the work was not easy. There were occasions where just two or three children attended our meetings. Occasionally, we also had to put up with prank calls. For Sis Gim Choon, there was a real threat of possible harassment due to the inclusion of personal contact information printed on invites distributed to children in the neighbourhood.
However, we can testify that this work has largely been rewarding. We have been given the opportunity to share the gospel message with many children. Some children have even prayed to receive Christ as Saviour. We are thankful that God in His mercy has used us as His instruments to share about His good news with the children.
Due to the current COVID-19 situation, we have decided to run a Children’s Holiday Club via Zoom on 17 March this year during the school vacation. Please pray for us as we work out the details.
We would also like to encourage more Gracians to be involved in this wonderful work. Those who are interested to host the holiday clubs in their own houses must note the importance to be personally involved in giving out invites in their own neighbourhood as well as to be present during the running of these meetings.
Please feel free to contact Hannah Yeo for more details.
Comments