12 Years Old
How old were you when you first read the bible, had someone share a bible story with you, or attended church for the first time? For many who grew up in church or have attended for years, we have experienced at least one of these things at an early age [even when maybe we didn’t want to], so we often assume that everyone has had at least one of these experiences early on in life as well. But that is not always the case!
Sunday during LFA Kids Church we had a family visiting for the first time. They had a 12-year-old girl and her younger sister who joined in with Kid's Church. During small group time as the leader was getting ready to lead a discussion about the Bible story and had the students turn their Bibles to the story [Bibles are provided to the students who don’t have one], the 12-year-old girl shared that she had never attended church before that day, never opened or read the bible until that day, or even knew a Bible story. This is something we commonly run into with younger children, like her sister, but rarely with older kids. Well, that was all going to change! So we opened the Bible and showed her how to find the day’s Bible story: David & Goliath. After the lesson, our kids were led in a game activity to further help them understand the lesson. As you can imagine she had some questions. We felt blessed to be able to share the Bible and these other church firsts with her. Before her family left we made sure she had her own Bible which she was excited to receive. Who knows, she might just share with someone else who has never experienced the Bible before. We don’t know if we will see her again as she and her family were visiting from out of town to see some relatives, but a seed was planted!
For those who attend church, many may find this revelation shocking. Certainly, that doesn't happen here, I mean yeah it happens in other countries and that's why we help support missionaries to send them to share the gospel. But there are people right in our local community and throughout Oregon who have gone 12 years without anyone sharing the gospel with them.
Did you know that according to a past survey conducted by the Barna Research Group children in America between the ages of 5 to 13 years old have only a probability of 32% of accepting Christ, but teens ages 14 -18 only have a 14% probability of accepting Christ. By the time someone reaches the age of 19 they have a 6% probability, and the percentage falls from there. That means the older someone is the less likely they are to make a decision to follow Christ. Not only that but many people called to the ministry say they were called before the age of 14. So let’s get these kids to church!
Who in your life may have gone 12 years or longer without these first Bible or church experiences that we so easily take for granted? We don’t always play a big role in people’s journeys. Sometimes we are called to play small parts that hopefully have large and lasting impacts!
