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Sharing the Gospel with Children 4 and 5 Years Old: highlights from spring 2019

Matthew 19:14 “but Jesus said ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven,'”

As my college semester draws to a close, I thought I would give a very fun update concerning my job. This post won’t detail one specific encounter, rather an overview of the last four months with some highlights, very similar to my past post about my job. The Lord has blessed me greatly with this position at the preschool. These past four months have not been easy, but they have been very rewarding as I look back and see how these children have learned about our Awesome God.

To start, I would like to talk about my position. Three days a week, I supervise one nap room of 5 year old’s and then go on to teach a class of four year old’s. I have gotten to share the gospel in detail with both classes multiple times, but my main teaching time has been with the younger group, and I have seen the most fruit from them. This makes a lot of sense when considering the fact that, surprisingly, the children in the nap room are sleeping most of the time I am in there. 🙂

Speaking of the five year old’s, the class itself usually has about four kids, all boys. I have had the privilege to give them all Albert Brainstein tracts during varied times in the winter. Admittedly, they cannot read…. but I gave it to them in hopes that their parents would. When I gave out the tracts, I read through it with them and something they all really latched onto was the fact that the Ten Commandments are like a mirror for our hearts. One particular student still mentions it today whenever one of the commandments comes up. This is encouraging, and I am thankful to the Lord every time they bring it up because it is an opportunity to talk about what Jesus did on the cross for believers.

In my main classroom, I have integrated catechisms and Christian songs into our daily routine. The one resource I use for this is Tom Ascol’s Truth and Grace Memory Book # 1. Over the summer, I semi-made up a list of catechism questions, but I have to say that I am very thankful for Ascol’s resource. One aspect that I find especially helpful is the Scriptural references that are paired with each question, which is something that I unfortunately neglected last year. After snack and recess, we will all sit down and sing, and then I will ask them the questions. Sometimes (when they are good) they get to hold the book and ask me, and I will answer. To date, they have memorized the first five questions, which are designed for children ages 2-4, and know “Doxology,” “Jesus Loves Me,” and the first two verses of “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

This particular class absolutely loves the songs we sing, and will often ask questions about the lyrics. The Lord gave me an opportunity to talk about the Gospel when one girl asked “Who is Jesus’s little child?” when we were singing “Jesus Loves Me.” I was able to explain to them all that those who believe in what Jesus did on the cross for us are His children. She said in a very matter of fact manner, “I am Jesus’s child, then!” I pray that she is correct! Another moment that was sort of ‘mind blowing’ for these children was our discussion of the cherubim and seraphim mentioned in”Holy, Holy, Holy.” They thought it was very cool how even the angels bowed down before God. Another girl exclaimed “I love Jesus more than the angels!” during that talk. These small moments each day are incredibly encouraging.

The catechisms have also produced fruit in very cool ways. One of the questions, “How can we glorify God? [By loving Him and keeping His commands, Mark 12]” sparked an entire conversation about apologizing to our friends and God. The first day we learned this catechism question, one student was caught lying to another. I had pulled the first student aside to ask him why lying was wrong, and his two answers were “Because it hurts people, and God said so.” I asked him what he should do in light of this, and he said “Apologize to ______ and to God.”

I have to admit that I was incredibly surprised at this answer! I had not specifically told him to do this, but a couple weeks before I had a talk with the class about what repentance was (in a very simple and generalized way). Since then, apologizing to God as well as the other person has become a sort of staple with some students whenever conflict happens within the classroom. Even still, some students just don’t display joy or even a remote interest when it comes time to talk about God or the Gospel. I do not force them to sing with us or to answer the questions, although sometimes I am very tempted to. I am praying now that God replaces their tiny hearts of stone with hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).

Despite the fact that I work in a Christian preschool, most of the students do not come from Christian homes. One boy in the class of five year old’s told me two weeks ago that he thinks his mother hates God, because she tells him that God is not real when he mentions Him. He then whispered to me “But I still believe in God, Ms. Emily,” and fell promptly asleep. Other students have parents who are getting divorced, and it really affects them in a negative way. Hearing the words “I wish I could do stuff with mommy and daddy at the same time” is jarring. These things are heart wrenching and emotionally exhausting, and I often pray that God would save the parents of the children I teach, and that these children’s professions of faith would be genuine.

Please join me in prayer, and also pray for my own patience as I teach and that I could share the gospel even more. Starting in June, my position will change slightly. I will still be with this age group for part of the day, but for the other part I will be traveling from class to class to teach “Bible time” to all of the students in the preschool. This opportunity is so exciting, yet incredibly daunting. I do not know if I am expected to make up the curriculum or if it will be given to me, and that is causing a bit of anxiety. Please pray for me as I transition into this new position in June and that God would save students (and teachers!)



Here are some photos of a craft we recently did based off of the catechism question that I mentioned previously. On the inside of the heart is the answer to the catechism question! They got to paint the hearts as we went over the questions and songs that rainy day!

 
 
 

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