The Children’s Ministries Web page seeks to provide helpful resources for those who minister to children and families.
We invite you to reflect on the following excerpt from Judith M. Gundry-Volf’s essay "The Least and the Greatest" from the book The Child in Christian Thought edited by Marcia J. Bunge.
In light of the traditional reception of the New Testament teaching, the most significant challenge before us is to recapture in our own particular contexts the radicalness of Jesus’ teaching on children. Children are not only subordinate but sharers with adults in the life of faith; they are not only to be formed but to be imitated; they are not only ignorant but capable of receiving spiritual insight; they are not "just" children but representatives of Christ. What makes that challenge so difficult is that it would entail changing not only how adults relate to children but how we conceive of our social world. Jesus did not just teach how to make an adult world kinder and more just for children; he taught the arrival of a social world in part defined by and organized around children. He cast judgment on the adult world because it is not the child’s world. He made being a disciple dependent on inhabiting this "small world." He invited the children to come to him not so that he might initiate them into the adult realm but so that they might receive what is properly theirs—the reign of God
It is clear through a serious study of the Gospels that children were at the heart of Jesus' ministry. They should be at the heart of our ministry, too! Take time to intentionally pray for the children you know. How can you make a difference in their lives? How can the church make a difference in their lives and in the lives of families?
What would it mean for all of us if we took Jesus' teaching seriously and placed children and childhood as top priority?
Free Downloadable Resources
Resources Available through Judson Press
To offer feedback about these resources, contact the Rev. Lisa Harris.
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