Who Will Bring the Children to Jesus?

Suffer the children to come unto me for of such is the kingdom of Heaven (Matt 19:14). With these words, Christ forever changed who had access to the divine.
Until these words, access to the God and the holy things of faith was thought to be the purview of mature adults. Children were taught about the faith but did not have access to God in the same way as the adults.
As it was in Jesus’ day, there are barriers that modern society erects to keep children from experiencing God. Children’s programing and entertainment, create a world of experiences that have little Godly content. Many childcare and schooling options are secular, having no faith content at all.
On top of this, economic pressures cause many families to rely on incomes from both parents. This not only removes the parents from their children physically but causes them to be tired and checked out when they have time to interact with their children after a long day’s work.
Who should bear the responsibility for bringing the budding generation to faith and life in Jesus the Messiah? It is not the government’s Job, and therefore is not the public school’s job. Instead, the church must take responsibility for raising the next generation in the faith by providing environments that regularly bring children to Jesus, intellectually, relationally, and experientially.
When families need someone to supervise and nurture their young children, and grandparents are unavailable, the church needs to embrace the need and create safe, Godly, programs to fill the need. Starting with childcare for infants and progressing through high school the church needs to provide a distinctly Christian environment for families to bring their children to.
Because the historic church took responsibility for raising and educating the next generation, western society is a bastion of freedom and prosperity to the world today. Churches in the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s started Christian elementary and high schools. They established centers of higher learning that became the great Ivy League schools of today. This foundation of Christian education birthed some of the most prominent leaders and innovators of the age. Names like Mendel, Pascal, Maxwell, Newton, and Kepler would be unknown if not for Christian education and upbringing.
We need to return that the ideal that transformed the world from a place of barbary and slavery into the blessings of free society available today. The church needs to wrestle back the role of educator and shaper of young hearts and minds. The church needs to disciple the next generation and help families instill spirituality into every aspect of daily life.
Church! in Kasson and the new Church! Mantorville are working to fulfill this calling. In 2012 Church! Kasson started the Train a Child Center to provide Christian education to 3-12th grade students.
Now in 2024 the new Church! Mantorville is starting Haven Daycare to meet the needs of families with young children. This Christ centered program needs the prayers and support of the wider Christian Church in the area. Please consider praying for Haven Daycare’s finances, staffing, and the children it will serve.
You can learn more about the new daycare at the Haven Daycare Facebook page. If you know families that are looking for Christian daycare, consider directing them to the Haven Daycare Facebook page or call the Church! Mantorville number at 507-721-2500. Information is also available via email at havendaycaremn@gmail.com.