Children & Youth Leader Training Day

“What is Jesus’ heart toward children? What role do children play in the church? Whose responsibility is it to teach children about God?” These are just a few of the questions we discussed with pastors and church leaders this past Saturday at the Children & Youth Leader Training Day (pictures). The day itself was in the works for the past month and came about rather quickly, and the heart behind it has been developing since we first arrived in Adjumani. Children are everywhere. You can’t help but notice them, especially as they run to you with arms stretched forward, where simple greetings become acts of extreme joy. As we foot past schools we hear them diligently repeating their teachers’ lessons in one voice. They are in the fields playing soccer with balls made of bound-up plastic bags. They are in the gardens digging alongside their parents with hoes of the same size. They are in the churches sitting quietly or sleeping on the floors during the Sunday service.

There is so much we learn from children’s example, and their role within the church is often overlooked. Thankfully, Jesus gives us a clear picture of his heart toward children when he tells the disciples in Mark 10:14, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” So on Saturday, pastors, women’s leaders, youth leaders, and Sunday school teachers from 12 MBA churches joined together to learn more about serving their little ones and the important role they play within our families, churches and communities. Pastors Mark Vuconi & Henry Vuyaya, myself, and Nankya Miriam, a dynamic Ugandan woman from Kampala with a God-given gift for teaching children, spoke throughout the day.

Watching Miriam interact with the pastors and church leaders was incredible. She spoke about the importance of preparation, being an example, and teaching God’s Word through story, drama, song, verse memorization and games…and after teaching she modeled it. Soon enough, we had a roomful of adults playing games and singing songs like they were children, all the while learning about the cost of following Jesus.

The day ended with people gathering in small groups to pray for the children and youth in their churches…something I imagine doesn’t happen very often. Our prayer is that the excitement to see children as Jesus does and the lessons learned that day will be put into action. We’re asking ourselves the questions now, of how we can continue encouraging church leaders in this area and how to help them come to a place where they are the ones teaching and strengthening the church by their own initiative. There’s no easy answer, but Pastor Mark’s words of gratitude and joy to me that day give me hope, “When we join hands together, we can continue to help the church see the areas that it has been missing. This was very wonderful.”