When our children were younger and still living at home, we discovered that there were times
when they were much more successful at getting something done than we were. Especially if it
involved getting our parents to do something, or maybe inviting another family to come over,
who had children about the same age as ours. Under certain circumstances, some people are more
likely to do a thing when asked or invited by a child.
I heard about a recent situation where one of our families in the congregation successfully
arranged a visit to the services by a parent. But it wasn’t because they invited him, it was because
one of the children did. It’s hard to say no to a loving child who sincerely asks you to do
something important to them.
If you are a young person, you might consider how you can contribute to personal evangelism.
Don’t count yourself out, or convince yourself that this is something only adults can do. Indeed,
you may have more success than anyone else. Consider the following story, which I recently
received from our friend, Sandra Oliver: “During Vacation Bible School this summer, we had
three little girls come from the community. Two of them were in my class, and one was in a
younger class. They loved VBS and expressed a desire to come to Bible study. We made contact
with the mother, and she was agreeable to having someone pick them up every Sunday and
Wednesday. These girls had been attending a denominational church with their mother before
the pandemic, but they had not returned since things opened up. They seemed to love class and
worship, and we have been hopeful that we could get the mother and father to start attending.
Because the children are from a blended family, there has been the interruption of other family
members wanting to do things with one or more of the girls. School has started, and that has
interfered with their Wednesday evening attendance. As you might guess, they have stopped
coming. Mom wants them to attend, but we haven’t been able to get her to come with them. My
precious little great niece knew the younger girl, and she did everything to welcome her. She sat
with her in class and during worship. One day I told her that what she was doing was personal
work. She was surprised that she could do personal work, something she thought was just for
grown-ups. One of the girls in my class is friends with one of the other girls, and she has been
disturbed by the fact that the girls have quit attending. She told me a few weeks ago that she asks
her often why she doesn’t come back. The girl tells her that she is ok even if she doesn’t attend
all the time. She says as long as she believes in Jesus, she is ok. I was very proud of the answer
from her friend. She said, “Oh, no! You have so much to learn. There are so many more stories
in the Bible we need to know. You need to come to class so you can learn them. What a great
start these two girls have on being personal workers. They both love Bible class, and they love
the Bible. They want others to love those things too. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all had that
attitude about seeking the lost and inviting people to worship with us?” [from Light for Our Age,
7/2022]
Young people, personal evangelism is for you too! You can make a great difference in personal
work, and can even do things that the adults could never accomplish. You are not only “the church
of tomorrow,” in many ways you are the church of today!
– by Robert C. Veil, Jr.
