by Laura Mbugua-Mwaura
Growing up as a pastor’s kid, I made a pact with myself to avoid introducing the Gospel too early to my kids. Sounds like a great way to be judged as a Christian parent, right? While I do agree that it is absolutely our responsibility as parents to share the Gospel with our children, I disagree with pushing a salvation decision before the child is developmentally ready to comprehend the gravity of the choice.
One of the biggest struggles I had as a small person was whether I was actually, actually saved. Was the simple prayer I experienced in my church basement as a four-year-old enough to be considered saved? Or was it when I was eight years old, and I had a better understanding of what Jesus did on the cross, prayed a more intent prayer, and decided to get baptized? Or was it when I was thirteen years old and truly discovered Jesus at church camp, and I started to read my Bible? Or was it when I was broken and nineteen years old, desperate to find healing in Jesus after walking away from Him?
All these experiences left me confused about the “when.” I knew I had followed Jesus, but my journey with Him was not linear like all the older Christians in my church who had discovered Jesus as adults and left behind a “life of sin.” For my own children, I wanted them to discover and experience Jesus in their own timing and pace. Just like any other evangelism opportunity, it was only my job to introduce them to the Gospel. And not in a once-off, feel-good experience, but in a day-to-day, life-on-life way modeled by Jesus and his disciples. After all, Jesus did not tell us to make sure people prayed a prayer – he asked us to make disciples, people who wholeheartedly follow Jesus all their days (see Matt. 28:19).
So recently, I felt the need to share the Gospel with my children, using the famous wordless book. I do not know what came over me (perhaps my old millennial VBS days), but I felt like all three of my kids were old enough to hear the Gospel in this format. However, all I felt was frustrated – it was not this simple answer with the pre-formed prayer at the end. My kids struggled to focus, I struggled to articulate the different colors, and nobody really walked away any different, aside from answering some questions about Scripture. While I do not have anything against the wordless book and still believe it is a valuable tool in many situations, it did not bring the result or conversation I was looking for.
But you know what has worked in the past eleven years overseas? Living in a country where my kids are surrounded by different faiths. My children attend a public primary school where some of their closest friends come from homes in which Hinduism, Islam, and traditional beliefs are faithfully practiced. On the way to swimming lessons and the store, we pass by mosques, temples, and those having “church” outside, praying to the ancestors. My children asking questions about why friends can only eat Halal food, or why other friends wear red kalawa bands around their wrists, has proven to be a much richer opportunity to share the Gospel than my very sad foam wordless book.
I would argue that TCKs have the benefit of a different perspective. Often TCKs are growing up in a diverse environment in which different faiths surround them on a daily basis.
The difference between raising a child in a Judeo-Christian ethos or environment as opposed to a diverse religious environment is that in a multi-faith environment, your children will question your faith with a fine-tooth comb. I have had conversations with my children such as why do Muslims pray with more intensity and frequency than Christians? Ouch. Or why do Hindu temples look like castles compared to our bare-boned churches? And why are Jesus and Hindu gods both pictured side by side on the back of the bus, are they both equal? From a child’s perspective, faith is concrete – the stuff they can see and touch. And I would argue that Islam and Hinduism often provide clearer and more tangible ways for children to make sense of their faith and the world around them.
So how do we combat the lie of the enemy around us? How do we show the truth of Jesus in light of contradictory faith systems? How do we not make salvation a purely fear-based, transactional experience in which I pray a prayer and Jesus forgives me and allows me into heaven?
We go back to Scripture and present it the way Jesus does.
- Living the Shema (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37): Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind and strength. God wants all of us, not just for Ramadan, not just for Diwali, not just for prayers when someone passes away. And we cannot manipulate God to do our bidding. He is way too big, organized and exciting for that. Instead, the Shema asks us to submit every part of ourselves to God in love. If we can model a faith that is real and genuine (not perfect) in front of our kids, in the face of all the hardship, pain and difficulty that comes with living in a country that is not your passport-country, then we have won half the battle.
- Living in the world: Instead of creating our own tiny Christian enclaves where everything is protected and sanitized down (Christian education, books, movies, friends, etc.), we must model a faith that is not afraid of the enemy. While good Christian materials, media, and community are all vital, we cannot isolate our children from the world while we are trying to reach that same world. Our kids need to be in the field alongside us, although in an age-appropriate manner. If we shield them from all the pain, suffering, and various belief systems in the world around us, how else will they ever see the need for a Savior?
- Presenting the Gospel as a holistic story across the Bible: Reflecting on my own journey with Jesus, some of the most re-affirming experiences with Scripture have been through investigating the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. We sometimes do a disservice by cherry-picking verses to explain the Gospel. Kids need a story, and the Bible does an excellent job of providing a holistic narrative of the Gospel. However, this requires us as parents to tell His story in our daily lives (see Deut. 6).
TCKs have the benefit of a global perspective that is actually an asset rather than an obstacle to sharing the Gospel with our own children. As we go back to the basics with evangelism, it is important to remember than our children’s worldview may be different from our own, but we can still help to nurture a faith in Jesus that stands the test of eternity.
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Laura grew up as a PK in Kansas but found a forever home in Durban, South Africa, eleven years ago. Laura holds a master’s degree in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies. She and her husband have three children and run their own non-profit called Isiseko Imara. You can learn more about their organization at: www.isisekoimara.co.za
