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4-14 Window

by Pr Daron Pratt

Daron has a Soapbox moment!

 
Our kids are shouting in the temple!  Can you hear them? It is lovely, it is authentic, heavenly and real. The greatest harvest field is right now in our schools.

One of the great privileges of my job is to travel to lots of different schools for chapels, weeks of worship and class worships. Each time I walk into a school I am standing on holy ground.... This Holy ground extends from the church and into the school, the staff, its sacred places and spaces. 

Our schools are possibly the largest, most fruitful ongoing evangelistic campaign on the planet. Hearts are open to receiving the gospel.  Let's not ignore this or mess it up.

"It's in the 4-14 age bracket that the large majority of lifelong decisions for Jesus are made.  Because of this our schools are now our best opportunity for mission and discipleship in this country.  Every classroom is a little church and a divine opportunity to impact every child for the kingdom."

I want to be a part of that, I want to go where it matters most.  I ask you the same question - do you? Are you prepared to do what it takes to align what you do with the school and vice versa?  What would happen if our churches loved on our schools unconditionally?  What would it look like if we put aside our agenda's and assumptions and embraced theirs?

It is time for us as a church to realise that chapel, Friday nights and Weeks/Days of Worship in our School buildings are just as important as what happens on your church campus each week.  Our schools are where the harvest is. Our schools are lively relevant contemporary spiritual places and they are reaching in to our communities in powerful ways on a daily basis.

The spirit is moving in our schools and until we as a church realise this, we will continue to let this window of opportunity pass us by.

We spend thousands of dollars on evangelism when right under our noses is the best evangelism on the planet.  Children inviting their parents and family to come shout in the temple with them.  There is nothing more powerful than a child dragging their parents excitedly to the cross. 

Maybe we need to do more shouting alongside our children in the temple...in the school chapels, weeks of Worship and spread the holy ground beyond our pews.

Matthew 21:15-16 . But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.  "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise'?

Our kids are shouting in the temple!  Can you hear them? It is lovely, it is authentic, heavenly and real.

Daron gets off his soapbox and turns up his hearing aids.

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