Under the heading Toddlers taught to evangelise, news.com.au is running a story about young children being taught evangelism skills.
CHILDREN as young as 3 are being taught how to convert people to Christianity using an aggressive American evangelisation method.
Kids’ Evangelism Explosion, which has been criticised by some Christian churches as “confrontational evangelism”, is being used in up to 36 parishes around the country.
An expanded program that targets older children and adults is used in more than 300 parishes nationwide, most of them Protestant and Charismatic.
Used mostly in Sunday school, the interdenominational Kids’ EE program also forms part of some preschool and playgroup activities.
You can read the full story here.
Our kids are 5 and 7 and I find that they quite naturally share about the Christian faith based on what they know. They don’t need any prompting.
Knowing the media’s tendency to report things from their own point of view (don’t we all) I’m not sure what this programme is really all about.
What are your thoughts about teaching evangelism strategies to children?
Posted by Rodney Olsen
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My kids are 6 and 4, (another one’s a bit too young, I think), they talk about Jesus to their school friends and teachers all the time. Sometimes Ellie will even “preach” a little bit in her news time. I don’t see anything wrong if they get involved in things like singing, dancing, drama as outreach evangelical programs. They speak in tongues as young as 3. Ellie has prophetic dreams quite often.
Aggressive American evangelisation method? What is this? I’ve always thought the best way to Evangelise was love… nothing is mentioned about love is it?
You’re right Reid. No mention of love or of just getting alongside people and sharing your faith. But I also wonder how fair the reporter has been while dealing with a subject they know little about.
The programme may mention and focus on love but the article doesn’t.
Wow… I thought that north american presses were hostile to Christians, but from this article, it sounds like it’s worse in Australia.
My point is the same a Rodney’s, I think that though the program may have featured love and community as part of an “evangelization method,” it reads as if that reporter wouldn’t have reported them if it did. But I also have to say that if you are teaching your kids about Jesus and living the Gospel at home, then they will be talking about it, no problem. No need for a military-style evangelism camp. Sounds slightly mormon to me.
Surely a militant evangelistic technique would not have converted the mentioned young girls grandfather – only love manifest in that girl through the holy spirit could have done that work. We should check out the program before we critise its technique – but until then lets judge it by its fruit.
Not sure how I feel about this. I also have a four year old that talks about Jesus with people. I think this is a natural flow of what she here’s at home and at church. There are events for older youth in the US that teach evangelism to teenagers, (Dare to Share, DC/LA) and I think these are good. However training toddlers….hmmm… at that age I think it need to come out of a natural flow of who they are. Toddlers and small children are still in the processing phase of maturing in thier faith. Yes…God can use children to evangelize…but should we allow small children to just be small children. I would be interested in seeing the method of traing for these youngsters.
Kids brought up in faith need no prompting to share with their friends. My daughter is 11 and has always been one of the best “natural” evangelists I know.