Christian young people in Japan are few and far between. With an average church size of 35, it’s hard for young people to find community, to feel included, and get excited about following Jesus. At the same time, in today’s rapidly changing world, it’s hard for adults to understand and relate to teenagers and sometimes even to their own kids. However, God has called parents to pass the gospel onto the next generation (Deuteronomy 6:1-9) and has called the church to join them in the ministry of discipleship (Psalm 78:4). This is a difficult task, but we want to help!
Nowadays, the onset of puberty is said to begin around the age of 10. As children enter adolescence, they begin to differentiate themselves from their parents and look outside of the nuclear family to test the things they learned from their parents. Research tells us that most children who grow up to follow God in adulthood had a number of Christian adults in their lives who were pursuing a relationship with them and telling them about Jesus. Christian kids need to know that the gospel they learned from their parents is true. Non-Christian kids need to know that there is more to life than what they grew up believing. In order to accomplish this, we need an army of adults who are willing to pursue them with the good news of Jesus.
‘Connect’ continues to look for adult helpers, as well as participants from third grade up to eighteen years old. If you want to know more about this valuable ministry, or would like to help in some way, please click on the following link: