How often do you share the gospel with kids?
Our mission is to lead children into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Study after study tells us that most people accept Christ as their personal Savior during their elementary and early middle school years. This is why we do what we do!
The gospel presentation is woven throughout our curriculum (252 Basics) multiple times throughout a quarter. We are always careful to capitalize on these lessons and create the kind of environment that makes it easy for a child to pursue a relationship with their Heavenly Father.
We believe that parents should ALWAYS be included in this life-changing decision with their child. We provide a 30-minute class multiple times throughout the year, where parents and kids attend together. This class is called JumpStart.
What is JumpStart?
JumpStart is a 30-minute gospel presentation where parents and children, (grades K-5), learn what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The presentation is centered on John 3:16. Before a child is baptized, he or she is required to attend JumpStart.
Here are some of the logistics of JumpStart:
1. Parents register their kids for JumpStart.
When small group leaders are talking to their kids about faith, they invite the kids and their parents to attend JumpStart. Our small group leaders have a special printed invitation that they can give or mail to their kids.
As a church we also communicate to parents about JumpStart several times throughout the year. We try to be strategic about this communication and connect it to times when we are communicating the salvation message on UpStreet.
Here’s an example of a piece we sent home to parents when teaching our Super Heroes series: parent-card4
2. JumpStart serves two purposes.
It’s a clear presentation of the Gospel that any child can understand.
It gives parents a tool to prompt discussion about the child’s relationship with Jesus Christ.
3. When is JumpStart offered?
JumpStart is offered several times a year, on a Sunday afternoon, after the second service.
4. Who does JumpStart reach?
Kids! This presentation is designed for elementary-aged kids.
And Parents! There are two different kinds of parents:
Christian Parents - Just like a parent would want to be there for their child’s first steps or first word, we want parents to have the privilege of leading their own child to Christ.
Non-Christian Parents - Parents are exposed to the Gospel presentation right along with the kids. Staff is available and ready to guide parents and walk through this with anyone who needs help. At JumpStart, you have the potential to reach kids AND their parents with the Gospel message.
5. Parents follow-up with homework questions.
Parents receive a homework packet at JumpStart with follow-up questions to review with their child. At the end, there is a sample prayer for parents to use in leading their child to Christ.
If the child prays to receive Christ, we ask parents to communicate with us and let us know.
We are currently working on a new website to help streamline this process for parents. We’ll post the link to this site as soon as it’s finished.
January 4th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Sounds awesome!! So do you actually present the gospel and do an “altar call” during worship with the kids where they can come forward or pray to receive Christ? Or is that only during the Jumpstart classes? Do you believe it’s ok to do altar calls with kids without their parents being present or without their parents’ permission or prior knowledge? Do you just tell kids about the gospel in your kids’ services and them have them walk through the salvation prayer during their Jumpstart class with their parents?
We try to get the parents involved as much as possible too, but we don’t have any class like Jumpstart. I love the idea– maybe we can start something similar. Getting parents involved is so important and valuable! Thanks for the ideas and resources!
January 4th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Hi Lynne,
We teach the gospel message and teach our kids what it means to put their faith in Jesus as their personal Savior, but we do not have an alter call and we do not pray with them in our small groups/without their parents to receive Christ. If we have a child who is asking a lot of questions or lets us know that they are ready, then the small group leader communicates with the parents at pick up time and tells them all about JumpStart. We offer the JumpStart class many times through out the year so that kids and parents can participate quickly.
There have been a few times when kids/parents/and small group leaders will talk after class and might pray together to receive Christ. This is great! We love it and we love it even more that we waited just a little bit and got the parents involved in the process. After this happens, we still require that they attend JumpStart before they are baptized. Just a good reinforcement of the decision that they made.
We have honestly never had an issue with a child waiting until we could get their parents involved before walking them through the salvation process. It is a really great way to put parents in the leadership position when it comes to talking to their kids about God and faith.
Kendra
January 8th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Kendra you guys rock. Great stuff as usual thanks for sharing!
March 5th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Wow, this looks fabulous! I can’t wait to see the site! Thank you for developing/sharing with us!
May 4th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Do you guys sell JumpStart materials? How can I get this?
May 5th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Hi Ty,
We are working on a way to deliver the JumpStart materials to you. Keep an eye on this site and I’ll post the information soon.
Kendra