I am amazed as I walk into a local church to take my two girls to a VBS that is mind you well advertised and that we were invited by some friends that go there. I will not reveal the name of the church but here is the story.
I walk in, a lady comes up to me after standing there for a few minutes (I find out later that she is the VBS Director). I ask if there is paperwork to fill out for my children to attend VBS. Her first response is "I don't even know who you are. Are you planning on staying? Who are you?" I tell her my name and where I live. She then says "Well, this one looks a little young, how old are they?" I tell her their ages 3 and soon to be 8. She then says "Well, she is too little to stay, you can talk to the teacher, but she is a little small." She says "Well the other one can stay if she will." I asked Emilea if she wanted to stay (praying she would say no because of how abrupt this lady was being) Of course she wanted to stay. She had friends there. So I gave her my number and she said "It's over at 8:00, you will be back then?" I said yes and went to the car with my three year old kicking because she wanted to stay. I went to my friends house for a planning meeting. Got there and she asked why didn't Valerie go to VBS with Emilea and I told her what happened. She was one of the friends that goes to that church and also has a three year old which was at VBS. She loads Valerie up and here we go back to the church. I don't even get out because I am so upset. She takes her in and the pastor comes out and appoligizes. I explain that it is not his fault. I also tell him that I am over the children's ministry at my church and I would never turn a child away that is wanting to hear the gospel. I said when I walked threw those doors, she did not know if I was "churched or unchurched". What kind of testimony did she just set for your church. Again, he appoligized and said he would "make" her appoligize to me. I told him that was not necessary. He insisted that this should not have happened and he was sorry.
My meeting ran a few minutes over so I sent another friend (that goes to church there) to pick my children up. I receive a phone call from the director asking if it is ok for my friend to pick them up, I tell her yes that would be fine. She then abruptly says "did you arrange that?" I said you know what, I'll come get them. She ended up sending them back with the friend. I get a voicemail from her saying that she "evendentially owes my an appology". She quoted bible scripture to try and justify her actions....AMAZING!!! She said she just did what she would hope I'd do in her position.
I AM in her position every time I walk threw the church doors (responsible for the care of children) and I pray that I NEVER do what she did (turn a child away because I don't know the parent). Here I go quoting scripture but in Matthew it talks about the parents bringing their children to Jesus so he could lay hands on them and pray for them and the diciples getting angry and saying that they were bothering him. We all know what Jesus' reply was "Let the children come to me, Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."
We so often forget that in order to inhiert the Kingdom of Heaven, we have to become like little children. It is a shame that we turn away children from hearing the gospel because it is not convenient for us or because we let out titles, education and sophistication stand in the way of the simple childlike faith that God so desires us to have.
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