I had the opportunity to take some of the students from Joyful Bible Institute (JBI) to help some good friends of mine, Fedil and Belen, and their ministry. They were the first couple that I trained in children’s ministry and helped them to start and establish their ministry to children. I have been instructing the students in children’s ministry at the institute and teaching them how to tell children about Jesus through songs, drama and other skills. This was their opportunity to put their skills to practice.
The students started out by leading in prayer. It is good to recognize the help of God before starting the service. Here you can see that even without an LCD projector you can still have praise and worship with the help of words written on a plastic bag. Cool!! The students were having much fun while singing to the Lord and served as models for the boys and girls. Some of the students even taught the kids a song with motions.
Some of the students had to eventually move outside as the room filled with children. There were over 100 children packed into the small meeting space. Fedil shared the message with the children and then it was time to thank God and to serve food to the children.
The JBI students donated food. We called this ‘bihon’, a small clear noodle that tastes very good. Belen and some of the students helped to serve the children. Everyone was happy that they were able to help Fedil and Belen and minister to all the children.
Following the service I was able to give each of the students their own Bible written in Cebuano as they begin their own ministries. iRock Ministies in the United States donated these Bibles and hundreds are being distributed to children and adults here in the Philippines. The students were very happy to have received one of these Bibles.
Thank God for what He is doing in the lives of young people at Joyful Bible Institute. I also thank God for Fedil and Belen and their faithfulness in reaching the children in their neighborhood.
As you can see she is very thin and very weak. She is in our neighboring bed. As she struggled to survive I asked her mother if I could pray for her. Her mother is very devoted to Roman Catholic belief and she said that she prays for her daughter and I said ok. When I talked to her daughter and asked her if I could pray for her she said yes. I told her that everybody that looks at her, including myself, would think there is no cure, but I said that I could give her hope in Jesus. I read some scripture about the woman who bleed for 12 years. Imagine 12 years of suffering and she desired to be healed. I said, Like you I believe that you have a desire to be healed but if there is not help from Jesus you can’t be healed even if you have the best doctor. Only Jesus can heal you. So I started to read the scripture and while I read it her mother said that her hair stood on end. I believe that it’s the Holy Spirit and the power of God that was felt by the mother. I explained how to be healed. That she should have faith in Jesus like the woman who bled for 12 years. I prayed and ask her if she was willing to receive Jesus and ask forgiveness for her sin. She said yes. So Princess received salvation that night. Then she slept well.
When I was young, I asked one of the karate experts to be my mentor. He said yes and I was so happy about it. I have a question. If somebody asks you to be their mentor, would you agree? What if they are older than you, not just five years gap? Somebody asked me if she can be my student and I her mentor. I said yes because she is willing to reach out to children. Although she is 67 years old I believe that God will use her mightily to reach children.
After the games, we proceeded to a most important part of our program, the Gospel Message. I did some gospel tricks and also a shared a story with a life changing application.
The great thing about doing children ministry is this; the picture above is the proof that you are not just ministering to the kids but also their parents. It is a culture for us that parents will accompany their children even though they are not invited. And we cater to them also
The kids were very excited. But the excitement didn’t end there. We continued with games and I joined with the kids to play. During the service I saw excitement and joy as they learned about Jesus.
Similar to other groups we told them we would give away a special reward for those who memorized the Words of God. We encouraged them, because the Old Testament said that we need to teach our children about the law of God and meditate on it day and night.
My verse was found in John 1:12. I used the flaming bible illusion and emphasized where we can gain knowledge and proved that we have a right in the Kingdom of God when we accept Jesus in our Life and heart. It was a very powerful message. This was the first time that these children saw a message shared in this style.
Even a child wants to know they own something. Giving them Bibles as their own for the first time brought great joy for all of them. Some of this kids have a hard time buying their own meal. How much more difficult would it be to purchase a bible? But as we shared the Bibles with them, you could see the excitement and joy in their faces as they read the Bible. They waited and lined up to get one Bible. Our purpose of giving the Bible, is to encourage the kids to read and memorize the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. In this way, they are trained on how to use the Bible. That day we gave 50 cebuano Bibles away . As of now we are planning to conduct a competition about verses and books of the Bible. Those who can memorize the books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation will receive something special.
Following the formal training the group took part in visitation. Everybody participated and went house to house or in the street to invite children to a service the following day at the host church location.
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On the day of the service, it was amazing to see the excitement in the children. The service was scheduled to start at three in the afternoon but the kids were there two hours early.
All of the children were taught how to praise and worship God, how to pray, and the importance of scripture memorization. They had fun with games and winning the coloring contest. They were very excited and very happy when they went home. (This child cried because for 13 years this is the first time she received a doll of her own)
After service I instructed the pastor to escort the kids back to their homes with the help of his staff. Because it was raining the staff carried umbrellas so that the parents would feel comfortable and know that their children were safe.
They needed to cross the bridge that had no handles to hold by balancing their body or else they could end up in the murky water below.