Our Children Know The Great Physician

We are continually amazed at what God is doing here in South Central Los Angeles as we train-up leaders and plant churches. The Good News is getting into people’s hearts and drastically changing them.  We have seen an increase in decisions to follow Jesus, baptisms, new visits and more stepping up into leadership and service these last couple months.  We would like to highlight some of what is happening in the children’s ministry this month.

Sara, one of our youth that we are training in the children’s ministry, was recently teaching about Paul on the island of Malta.  She taught them that at first the natives of the island thought Paul had done something wrong and the snake bite was a deadly punishment.  Later the children heard that the natives began to worship him as a god because he did not die.  The children reacted infuriated that these people were worshipping someone that was not truly God.   The passion they have for the truth was evident.  A strong and ever deepening root in the Word of God has been planted in them over the last two to three years and given them this courage to want to defend their faith and belief in the living God. 

The children also noticed how this passage demonstrates God’s power to do miracles and heal.  Unfortunately, in the period of two weeks, one child’s grandmother died and then her uncle who lived with the family was run over and killed.  Then a friend of another child just died.  The children are being confronted with death at a whole new level.  Yet amidst sharing about these experiences of loosing loved ones came from within the children this desire to ask God for more faith to believe and see miracles. So our class began to pray for a man (an uncle of one of the children) who has an unknown disease in his leg that has caused him to be hospitalized. What an emotional and faith filled time as these children spoke to the great Physician and Healer!

Children are amazing!  They have a seemingly limitless capacity to hear God and call for a touch from their Maker in their lives.  This is our goal…introduce people to Jesus, not just talk about Him and tell stories.  Children and adults alike need to personally know and experience God.  These children’s hearts are full of compassion for their parents and their classmates. While the children are going through hard times – real and bigger-than-life battles – they still come to church and encourage one another.  They also are ‘bringing’ their parents out to church and spurring them on to greater levels of faith and faithfulness.  One of our youth has been going home after Bible studies and opening the Bible and sharing with his non-Christian extended family the amazing truth he is learning and experiencing.

This month we will gather our church together for a huge Hispanic flavored Thanksgiving meal and then go out and share with our community. Our church will be giving hot meals to the homeless and food boxes for those families that are the most in need.  Thank you for partnering with us with your love and encouragement, financial support and prayers!

With thankfulness in our hearts for who you are and what God is doing together through us,

Chad & Fabiola