Leading Kids to Jesus: How to Have One-on-One Conversations about Faith [Paperback]

David Staal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2006

According to a study by George Barna, a person is most likely to become a Christian between the ages of four and fourteen. Yet the majority of evangelism training is designed to reach adults, not children. Leading Kids to Jesus equips children's ministry leaders with proven principles to help them have life-changing discussions with kids. The focus is exclusively on personal interactions, not corporate presentations or prop-driven illustrations. Readers learn the best ways to communicate God's love to toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary school children in words they understand. The book adapts two simple communication tools from the bestselling evangelism course Becoming a Contagious Christian, which helps you develop your own three-part story and the four components of the gospel message. Included is a survey of what questions to expect from kids, along with other helps and children's ministry experience from Willow Creek's Promiseland staff and volunteers. A companion volume for parents called Leading Your Child to Jesus is also available.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Staal serves as the president of Kids Hope USA, a national non-profit organization that partners local churches with elementary schools to provide mentors for at-risk students. Prior to this assignment, David led Promiseland, the children's ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois. Other leadership roles he held at Willow Creek include director of communications and director of children's ministry for the Willow Creek Association. David authored Word Kids Need to Hear (2008), Leading Your Child to Jesus and Leading Kids to Jesus (2006), and Making Your Children's Ministry the Best Hour of Every Kid's Week (2004, co-authored with Sue Miller). David also serves as the senior editor of Today's Children's Ministry, an electronic publication and web site from Christianity Today International. He lives in Grand Haven, MI, with his wife Becky, son Scott, and daughter Erin. SPANISH BIO: David Staal es director de Promiseland, ministerio de ninos de la Iglesia de la Comunidad de Willow Creek en Barrington, Illinois. Con Sue Miller, escribio Haga que su ministerio de ninos sea la mejor hora de la semana para ellos. Tambien escribe y es editor de today's Children's Ministry, una publicacion electronica y sitio en Internet de Christianity Today International.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Leading Kids to Jesus Copyright 2005 by Willow Creek Association Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Staal, David. Leading kids to Jesus : how to have one-on-one coversations about faith / David Staal. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-310-26382-1 (softcover) ISBN-10: 0-310-26382-4 (softcover) 1. Church work with children. 2. Evangelistic work. I. Title. BV639.C4S68 2005 259'.22 --- dc22 2005013228 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked 'NRSV' are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked 'MSG' are from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for their content for the life of this book. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means --- electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other --- except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Interior design by Beth Shagene Illustrations by Liz Conrad Printed in the United States of America Ch a p t er 1 The Game Is One-on-One Some seek the thrill; others cringe in fear. The world consists of two types of people --- those who like roller coasters and those who don't. I'm in the latter camp. So I felt a genuine jolt of panic when my son, Scott, met the minimum height requirement to ride a giant coaster during our annual trip to a nearby theme park. The line for the premier attraction, one of the largest wooden roller coasters in the country, lasted ninety minutes. During this slow march to self-inflicted torture, I pictured every worst-case scenario we might encounter. Or so I thought. Finally, we stepped into the little car that would hurl us toward certain death. At least that's how I viewed it. Scott, on the other hand, jumped in and squirmed with excitement. As the iron safety bar lowered and locked across my lap, I grabbed it and told him, 'Scotty, hold onto the bar like Daddy and do not let go!' My breathing was rapid and shallow, and veins on the top of my hands popped out as I clamped onto the bar of life. The train of cars slowly ascended up the first hill, paused at the top, and then screamed down the track toward the ground. (Okay, it was not the car screaming, it was me!) Despite the growing gravitational force that invisibly pushed my head back, I managed to squeak out high-pitched words, 'How ya doing, Scotty?' 'Not too good right now, Daddy,' was the alarming response I heard. Pure adrenalin washed away my fear when I saw what had happened. While the iron safety mechanism remained locked in place across my lap, a gap existed between Scott's much thinner lap and the bar. This resulted in my son slipping forward, barely on the seat at this point, with hands still clinging to the bar that was now at his neck. Immediately I unglued my fingers from the bar and, in one big heave, pulled him upright and pressed the locking mechanism down farther. This meant the iron bar was now holding him securely but cutting off circulation to my lower body. I wisely reasoned, 'Better to experience excruciating pain than to tell my wife I let our son fly off the roller coaster!' I held onto him with one hand for the rest of the ride, while the other hand resumed its grip of life. As we climbed out of the car, I tried to control my trembling as Scott asked, 'Can we go on it again?' I share this story to illustrate an important point. Despite all the wonderful activities taking place throughout that theme park, and even surrounded by workers responsible for our safety and fun, I had to take appropriate action. And I had to do it alone. My response to my son made a big difference to him --- possibly a life-or-death difference. Scott needed me. In like fashion, crucial opportunities exist for anyone who spends time with kids. There will be times when you can make an eternal impact based on how you react --- and someone will need you to do that well. Maybe you won't ever have to tighten a safety bar for a child, but you might play a role in locking in their salvation. And the purpose of this book is to prepare you to meet the challenge of those situations. For sake of clarity, the focus of Leading Kids to Jesus is to equip adults to help kids start a life of faith by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. To that end, we'll examine how to do this as an individual --- not through large outreach programs, elaborate presentations, or clever illustrations. Specifically, preparation will focus on personal interactions --- one-to-one conversations --- with kids about key spiritual matters. This topic nearly bursts with importance because incredible and unpredictable opportunities for personal talks about faith exist both at church and at home. If you are a small group leader, Sunday school teacher, ministry director, Christian education worker, or children's church volunteer, this book is for you. Likewise, if you are a parent you'll find the concepts work well at home with your own kids, which is another reason this book is for you. And just as a ride on a coaster goes by fast, the time we have to impact youngsters also flies by quickly. So the time for preparation is now --- because the urgency is real. Salvation at an Early Age Respected pollster George Barna conducted studies to determine the probability that people of various ages will ask Jesus to be their Savior. The results heavily favor children five through twelve years old: Probability of Asking Jesus to Be Savior Barna's conclusion? 'If people do not embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior before they reach their teenage years, their chance of doing so at all is slim.'1 Author and speaker Karyn Henley agrees that kids are more inclined than adults to accept the gospel. She writes, 'Children are more likely to express a matter-of-fact faith in God than we adults who only believe in what we can experience with our five senses.' The Bible dispels any skepticism about the validity of a kid's matter-of-fact faith. Just look at Acts 2:39 in which Peter says, 'The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off --- for all whom the Lord our God will call' (emphasis added). The Greek word used in this verse (teknon) literally means 'child' --- as in a daughter or son.3 The promise Peter speaks of is that of salvation, and clearly it's available to kids. Romans 10:9 reveals the criteria for salvation: 'If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.' This verse articulates the inclusive nature of God's saving grace and mandates no minimum age. Of course the ability to comprehend the promise and the timing in which it happens varies by person --- whether child or adult. Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson describes his salvation experience at age three.4 Moody Bible Institute's former president, Joe Stowell, accepted Christ at six.5 Evangelist Billy Graham made his decision at sixteen.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (March 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310263824
• ISBN-13: 978-0310263821
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #629,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Staal serves as the president of Kids Hope USA, a national non-profit organization that partners local churches with elementary schools to provide mentors for at-risk students. Prior to this assignment, David led Promiseland, the children's ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois. Other leadership roles he held at Willow Creek include director of communications and director of children's ministry for the Willow Creek Association. David authored Word Kids Need to Hear (2008), Leading Your Child to Jesus and Leading Kids to Jesus (2006), and Making Your Children's Ministry the Best Hour of Every Kid's Week (2004, co-authored with Sue Miller). David also serves as the senior editor of Today's Children's Ministry, an electronic publication and web site from Christianity Today International. He lives in Grand Haven, MI, with his wife Becky, son Scott, and daughter Erin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great resource for parents!, June 26, 2008

By 

Jonathan Morrow - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leading Kids to Jesus: How to Have One-on-One Conversations about Faith (Paperback)

Clearly communicating the gospel is essential regardless of who we are talking with. But we must know our audience. As a parent of a 3 year old and a 5 month old, I am excited about the practical suggestions contained in this book that I can tuck away in my mind for future conversations with my children about Jesus...that they will be able to grasp. I am thankful that a book like this exists. For those of you who may not know what to say or how to say it, I think you will find help and encouragement in these pages. A great resource for parents and children's ministry workers!

Welcome to College: A Christ-Follower's Guide for the Journey

5.0 out of 5 stars great book for SS teachers, May 7, 2009

By 

S. Lewis (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leading Kids to Jesus: How to Have One-on-One Conversations about Faith (Paperback)

What a great help this is to me! It's very informative and uplifting. It helps me because I teach Sunday school lessons in conjunction with a christian Mom's day out program in our area, as well as being a lead Sunday
morning supervisor in the birth to 3 year old section of our local church.
I use it as well as the Bible, pre-printed Sunday school lessons and various children's craft books to aid in the teaching of the lessons to my 2-3 year olds. I highly recommend it to anyone who teaches in a Sunday school setting.