Luke 9:48 – Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all — he is the greatest." (NIV)

Over the past couple of years, we've concentrated at the church on building up our young families. We've helped young mothers through the wonderful MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) program. We've remodelled the church to include a new Family Centre. We encourage our families to come down to the front of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings for the children's sermon, so that parents and children can listen, participate in the lesson, and pray together. And we've also just opened a playground, which is fast becoming a great asset, not only to our church but also to the whole community.

Recently, one of our young moms was out with her son in the playground. She asked him if he liked it. "Oh, yes, mom!" he enthusiastically answered, "because now we can swing with God!"

I couldn't have put it better myself. Welcoming children into our faith community means we welcome Christ into the heart of our church. And I can just picture Him swinging with the children, loving their laughter, and enjoying them at play. O what a wonderful place of love we create when we really welcome the children into our churches!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You have a heart for children. You played with them, blessed them, and delighted in them. We thank You for the precious gift of children in our church. May we continue to accept and welcome them. May we keep growing them in faith, hope, and love. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

John Stuart <traqair@aol.com>
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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