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2012 Stories of JBQ Around the World
CHILDREN AND THE CALL TO
MISSIONS
BY MARY BOYD
The question frequently
asked is, “Can God truly call children to be missionaries?” The answer
is “YES!”
Children who are taught
about missions develop hearts open to the call of God for full-time
missions work. Statistics show that many missionaries experienced
salvation and received God’s call to missions as children. In fact, many
of those in leadership positions in the Assemblies of God World Missions
(AGWM) were called as children.
Children have their whole
lives ahead of them. A missionary once said, “When an adult comes to
Christ, a soul is saved. When a child comes to Christ, a life is saved.”
Children have not yet settled into lifelong occupations that make
missions a difficult decision. Children can prepare early for the call
of missions.
Many times adults cannot
believe that a child can truly hear from God and understand a lifelong
call to missions. Randy Hurst, the director of communications for AGWM,
asserts, “Critical life decisions are made at very early ages. A child’s
capacity to comprehend the truth in adult services and respond to the
Holy Spirit should never be underestimated.”
David Lee, director of U.S.
relations for AGWM states, “As I read the files of candidate
missionaries, I realize that many of them were called to full-time
ministry as children. This common element causes me to wonder if
churches are continuing to give children opportunities to interact with
missionaries, hear their stories, and be changed, challenged, and called
through a missionary’s ministry.”
Lee further explains, “The call of God can be very real to a child. The
Spirit’s invitation to a life of service can give children a sense of
self-esteem and even keep them from yielding to temptation.”
Every month we’ll be posting a testimony of a missionary who was called
as a child and how that called changed a nation or nations because that
child obeyed that call.
THE STORY OF RUTH
(as told by Missionary
Delonn Rance)
A
little girl, four years of age, attends a missionary service in rural
Minnesota. At the close of the service, the missionary speaker, a single
lady who served in Africa, announced that she felt that God was calling
someone from the congregation to missionary service and she invited that
person to come forward for prayer. The little girl immediately went
forward. On seeing the child, the missionary said to her, “Honey, this
isn’t for children.” The little girl took her seat. Again, the
missionary made a passionate appeal to the person God was calling to be
a missionary. And again, the little girl was the only one to go forward.
The missionary responded by saying, “I’m not talking to children,” and
she told the child to sit down.
The
missionary continued, “I am strongly impressed of the Lord that He is
calling someone to missionary service. I don’t want to close without
praying for that person. Please, come forward so that I can pray for
you.” To the missionary’s surprise the little girl came forward once
again, this time with tears streaming down her cheeks. The missionary
said to her, “Honey, what’s wrong?” The four-year-old responded, “Jesus
is calling me to be a missionary tonight.” The missionary knelt beside
the child, placed her hand upon the child’s head, and dedicated her to
missionary service.
Thus
began the incredible missionary career of Ruth Kensinger. Perhaps you
have never heard of David and Ruth Kensinger, most people never have,
but they are true heroes of the faith. In anonymity, they faithfully and
sacrificially responded to the Master’s call. Ruth’s reflections on a
missionary career that spanned 41 years are filled with incredible
stories of God’s faithfulness and the steady, miraculous progress of the
Kingdom. Although they originally thought God had called them to India,
they concurred in prayer and said yes to an invitation to Latin America
where they served first in Nicaragua and then 30 years in Costa Rica
where they pioneered the work—a work that today is comprised of
thousands of believers and hundreds of churches, who in turn have sent
out missionaries throughout the world.
So, does God call children
into ministry? The answer is “Yes!” Don’t every underestimate the age in
which God calls kids. Age doesn’t matter to God. He’s looking for an
open, willing heart that will follow Him in obedience! Challenge your
kids to keep their heart open to the call of God!
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