We must pray for our children, yes! But we must also do, but we will not do the right thing if we do not understand what to do. If we do not go to the word and by the leading and anointing of the Holy Spirit create a Spirit filled strategy, then we will not win the next generation and if we do not win them then we lose our nation. Consider this:

Genesis 4:2  And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

I spent hours playing with my brothers and sisters. We built tents, played baseball teams, built towns out of all our toys, made farms in the grass and typed newspapers on mom’s old typewriter. Every hour of boredom and every toy was a chance to be creative, to dream, to lay a foundation for who we would become. If we are to win back the children of our nation we (The church) must offer our children oh so much more than we do now, where the Pastor is the “professional” and does it all. So many claim to be Christians while so few attend church. Why? We made ministry into a profession and left no place for everyday Joe. Church should be all about preparing the people for the work of the ministry, to live their faith in the market place (Ephesians 4:12), to go on an adventure, where ever they land in life. But there is no place for the next generation in the church if they are not a pastor, sing in the choir or teach a Sunday school class. Rather than the church helping them become the best of who they are, they are pressed into the mold to the pastors vision for the organization and if they don’t happen to match that there is nothing to do, no adventure to go on, no place of significance and belonging. In the world the media captivates the minds of our children, with thousand of hours of exciting but mindless, meaningless material. Then young people flock to colleges to become the latest hot thing they have seen on a TV show, with little thought as to whether they are suited or not. At best our children are left in a crises of identity, living a surrogate life through a favorite TV show. At worst the media aids the profiteers in controlling the ideas, wants, desires, decisions and if possible even the very identity of our children just so they can pull their purse strings. In our western culture our children have very little chance of becoming who they naturally are, of discovering and being fulfilled by what they contribute. The word says every man has a gift. If we are to win the children we must give them the chance to become who they most naturally are, in the kingdom and to play that out on this earth, for God’s glory and the good of others. We have allowed the TV and computer to become proxy parents and now we have found that our children are not really ours. If the church is to win the next generation for the kingdom we must find ways to involve them, hands on, helping them become the best of who they naturally are. That will give them God esteem, a place of love, acceptance, meaning and the chance to become who they were designed to be. Productivity for God is the greatest key to positive self worth. If there is no place for them to be productive in our little kingdoms inside our little church buildings we will lose them, we will lose our cities and we will lose our nation. If we will find ways to prepare them for and put them into work for the kingdom they will find meaning and the kingdom of God will return to our children, our cities and our nation.

4 – Gen 4 2 Finding Identity  Download