DOUG CREAMER COLUMN: Passing the torch

Published 10:28 am Tuesday, April 27, 2021

After a long pause caused by COVID, our church has decided to begin offering children’s church again. Our children enjoy the music with their parents, and then we take them to their own space for a lesson that is on their level. We divide the children into two groups. There is the 2- to 4-year-old class…God bless them and their teachers. I do not have the skills or abilities to teach or reach that age group.

Doug Creamer writes a religion column for the SNAP.

I work with the older kids. Currently, they are from 5 to 10 years old. We start these children off with a Bible lesson, and then we will do an activity to reinforce what they learned. After that, we take the kids into a room where they can play on some inflatables. Where were they when I was a kid? Naturally, the kids have fun while they are learning.

The interesting thing is that the kids are learning. Our first lesson began with a short video that I thought was a little corny. The kids laughed hysterically at the corny jokes. The lesson itself was short, but packed with details. After the video, there was a quiz to test what they learned, and the kids got most of the questions right. I was very impressed with what they picked up on in the lesson.

The kids left with knowledge about the Bible story, a few laughs at the corny jokes, the activity we did and a few minutes of fun in the inflatables. They were excited and told their parents that they liked it and want to come back. Isn’t that what Jesus would want, leaving them hungry for more? That is exactly what will happen as the students and teachers engage with the curriculum.

I was thinking about attending Sunday school back when I was a kid. I can still remember some of the lessons I learned. One in particular that stands out is making the tablets with the Ten Commandments on them. We cut Styrofoam into the shape of the tablets. We covered them with some type of paper that looked like stone. Then we pasted the Ten Commandments on them. I remember that lesson vividly, and that was more than 50 years ago.

The point I want to make is this. I assure you that the two women in the room helping us to create our stone tablets did not have seminary degrees. I imagine they were just moms from our congregation. They taught the children in that classroom lots of lessons, and at least one of those kids grew up to believe in Jesus as savior.

I assure you that my co-worker and I made mistakes while we taught our lesson the other day. The women who taught me as a child made errors. But the point is that we each got in there and did our best to pass on our faith to the next generation. What will the kids remember? They will remember that we loved them, laughed with them and taught them something from the Bible. We passed our faith on to them.

That’s what we are called to do: pass on the torch of our faith. Whether it is the next generation of children, or our neighbors, co-workers, or friends, Jesus calls each one of us to pass along our faith. We are called to let others know the reason for our hope and joy. We can’t live with our faith hidden; it must shine brightly in the darkness.

Jesus came into the world to reveal God’s great love for mankind. We were already painfully aware that our sin had separated us from God’s love. Jesus showed us the way back to the Father through the sacrifice of His life. We are forgiven and welcomed home like prodigal sons and daughters. How can we keep silent with such a wonderful message? If you stumble and make a mistake while sharing this message of hope, don’t worry, because God’s love is greater, and the lost and little children need to hear it.

I want to encourage you to share the light of hope that burns brightly inside you. I imagine your church could use some help one Sunday a month with the children. It’s a great place to start. Don’t forget the waitress, cashier, your neighbors and your lost friends. Share a smile, give them an encouraging word and let them know that they are loved by the God who made them. It’s our job to pass the torch that we have been given. Let’s dispel the darkness with God’s glorious light. Share God’s love with others.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041 or doug@dougcreamer.com.