For ministry leaders like Carlos, it can be challenging on any Sunday to reach the children in his class. In the area of Chile where he lives, it’s not uncommon for children to live without fathers. “The children come from many different social backgrounds,” Carlos shared. “Some live only with their mothers and some with their grandmothers. This means that the lack of a paternal role models is something they have in common. These kids have feelings of rejection and lack of acceptance, so it is hard for them to know and understand the love of God.”
Even before the pandemic, Carlos had difficulty motivating the children to participate in the activities, to read the Bible for themselves, and to express their feelings. But once the church closed and he began leading his Sunday lessons on Zoom, he felt that the children were even more unreachable. How could he help them to know that they could trust him and that they could trust God?
An online training webinar and a lesson about God’s love provided by the David Caleb Cook Foundation helped him to overcome the barrier. “The children learned that God cares about them, that He loves them…that they are important to Him. They also learned that He loves all people equally—whether they have fathers on earth or not—because He is the Father of all.”
This understanding helped the children to begin to feel more confident about sharing who they are and what they are learning—even about the struggles in their lives. “It was easy for me to see after this lesson that the children feel more free to share their thoughts and their emotions, even on Zoom. Now they will even talk to us about the complicated situations in their homes because they trust us. And they’re having fun! Because of the training, I know that they learn a lot more when they’re having fun!”
Now when Carlos asks the children about the future, they say they want to have good jobs and have their own families—and to be loving mothers and fathers for their children. “God is working on their identities, laying the biblical foundations so that they can become all He wants them to be,” Carlos said. “Having a discipleship program like this one helps me to be a better teacher and helps the students to learn more about what it means to follow Jesus for their whole lives.”
Carlos sends his thanks to all those who support DCCF and its efforts to equip ministry leaders around the globe with the resources they need to see the children in their ministries transformed by God’s love. “Thank you for giving us this resource,” Carlos shared. “This will help us to guide new generations to grow spiritually and extend the kingdom of God in them.”
