Bishop RE Howard, General Overseer - Church of God of Prophecy

. . . our vision 

calls us to aim 

for the “Young 

Harvest” to 

impact our 

communities. 

2 WWM APRIL 2010 

Bishop R. E. Howard, General Overseer 

Catching the Little Ones 

Recently, I was privileged to hear Sharon Daugherty speak. She was the wife of 

Billy Joe Daugherty, founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Since her husband’s death, Sharon has become the Senior Pastor and shares a vibrant 

word of hope, faith, and vision. The entire journey of Victory Christian Center has been 

a testimony to just those virtues. 

Pastor Daugherty asked a friend visiting him once, “Do you catch many big fish 

when you fish?” The friend thought about his fishing experiences and realized that he 

had caught few large fish in comparison to catching many small fish. Pastor Daugherty 

shared that as they had grown the ministry of the church there, he had learned the 

same lesson. It had seemed hard to catch big fish, but God had given them little fish 

often and in abundance through their ministry. He was speaking of reaching out to 

the children of their communities. 

Pastor Daugherty went on to say that one of the most significant and enduring 

visions of his church through the years had been to reach out to children. Sharon 

Daugherty elaborated that they had for years gone to the neighborhoods of Tulsa, 

even areas most would not want to go. They had used many different strategies over 

time to touch the lives of children and to impact them and their families for eternity. 

Today their commitment to reach children beyond their church has flourished into a 

development of many acres dedicated to community outreach, serving the poor, and 

touching the lives of these little fish. 

I will never forget going fishing with my uncle in Wyoming when I was quite young. 

He was an excellent veteran fisherman who made his own lures and enjoyed all kinds 

of game fishing. As he took me on this outing, he rigged my line, knowing that there 

were small, insignificant fish in these waters that hindered him from catching the “big 

ones” he aimed to bag. My job was to reel in as many of the small ones as possible 

while he went for the prize fish. 

I cannot recall what success he had that day. But what I will never forget was the 

thrill I had reeling in fish after fish as long as we were there. Each one was a big game 

fish for me, and the thrill was so intense that the adventure is branded in my memory 

for life. 

Perhaps, our ministries may be tempted to emulate the big game strategy at times, 

going for the “big ones,” when God is sending abundant opportunities to reach the 

small ones in mass. Perhaps, our gauge of success and our sense of thrill should be 

calibrated again toward the excitement of catching many of these small ones and 

watching them develop into a “prize catch” for eternity and the Kingdom. The words 

of Christ still ring out: “Suffer the little children to come unto me . . .” (Mark 10:14), 

and our vision calls us to aim for the “Young Harvest” to impact our communities.

Contents 

April 2010 • Volume 86, Number 9 

E D I T O R I A L 

2 Facing Forward: Catching the Little Ones 

by R. E. Howard 

F E A T U R E S 

4 Center Stage: A Look at Postmodern Kids 

by Abigail Spears Velázquez 

6 Redesigning the Set: What the Church Must Do to 

Engage Kids in Christ-Centered Living by Kathy Creasy 

1 0 Act I: Helping Kids KNOW God’s Word 

by Sandy Knowles and Kathy Creasy 

1 2 Act II: Tools That Will Equip Kids to LIVE Out Their Faith 

by Karrie Endecott and Kathy Creasy 

1 4 Act III: It’s Their SERVE by Melissa Minter 

1 6 Raising Christ-Centered Kids by Jill Carnuccio 

1 8 Where Are the Elis? Nurturing the Spiritual Gifts of 

Children by R. Lee Creasy 

2 0 Center Stage: One Day Training Intensive Brochure 

M I N I S T R I E S 

2 1 Global Outreach: Focusing Children’s Hearts 

Toward Missions 

2 2 Stewardship Ministries: Tithing Begins at 

Home Hopefully 

2 3 Tomlinson Center Brochure 

2 4 Youth Ministries: Youth Harvest Training • Omega 

Conference 2010 • Missions Project 2010 

2 7 Women’s Ministries: Assembly Mission Breakfast 

C O L U M N 

2 8 Inspirational: The Courtroom Became a Church 

by Arleta Lefler 

U P D A T E S 

3 0 Local Church News: First Deaconess for the State of Georgia 

• Testimonies • In His Presence • New Churches 

Executive Editor/Publisher 

Finance and Publications Director 

Managing Editor 

Copy Editor 

Editorial Assistant/Marketing Coordinator 

Graphic Artists 

International Office 

Subscriptions 

R. E. Howard 

Benjamin Feliz 

Virginia Chatham 

Elizabeth Witt 

Todd Bagley 

Perry Horner and Joann Nope 

(423) 559-5100 

(423) 559-5114 

White Wing Messenger (ISSN 0043-5007) (USPS 683-020) is published monthly as the official publication of the 

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to White Wing Messenger, PO Box 2910, Cleveland, TN 37320-2910. 

Messenger Moments 

Virginia Chatham, Managing Editor 

Helping Kids Live Christ-Centered Lives 

This issue of the White Wing Messenger is dedicated to 

Children’s Ministries, and we extend our thanks to Children’s 

Ministries International Director Kathy Creasy for her contribution 

and oversight as she launches a new directive for the ministry 

of children. 

In the first article, “Center Stage: A Look at Postmodern 

Kids,” writer Abigail Spears Velázquez states, “The generation 

of children who sit in our churches today were born into a 

postmodern world, and whether we associate postmodern with 

negative or positive connotations, we cannot ignore the shift in 

our culture.” Next, Kathy Creasy, in her article, “Redesigning the 

Set: What the Church Must Do to Engage Kids in Christ-Centered 

Living,” writes that now is the time to redesign ministry to 

disciple and equip children to live for Christ. She continues that 

“nurturing Christ-Centered kids is God’s will, and He has 

provided all the necessary equipments—prayer, relationships 

within His body, and content of God’s Word.” 

In “Act I: Helping Kids KNOW God’s Word,” Sandy Knowles 

and Kathy Creasy write that “Christ-centered living requires 

our children to know God’s Word in such a way that its truths 

affect everything they do. . . .” Then, in “Act II: Tools That Equip 

Kids to LIVE Out Their Faith,” Karrie Endecott and Kathy Creasy 

acknowledge that “as our children grow in their knowledge of 

God, they must live out their faith in Him every day” and make 

several suggestions as to ways to teach children about faith. 

In “Act III: It’s Their Serve,” Melissa Minter suggests that 

children must meet “the God of the Bible for themselves and 

experience Him on a daily basis, God will just be another fairy 

tale to abandon when they become adults.” 

The remaining feature children’s articles focus on nurturing, 

training, and equipping our children for the future. 

Please submit all material to the White Wing Messenger; 

Managing Editor; P. O. Box 2910; Cleveland, TN 37320-2910; 

phone (423) 559-5128; e-mail us at Editorial@cogop.org. 

Bringing honor to the WORD by the printed word, the 

White Wing Messenger strives to inspire Christian thought and 

practice as it imparts the “good news” of the Gospel while 

serving the connectivity needs of our church community. 

The White Wing Messenger is the official 

publication of the Church of God of Prophecy. 

White Wing Messenger Editorial Board 

Londa Richardson, Chair 

Daniel Chatham Cervin McKinnon 

Perry Horner Tapio Sätilä 

Shaun McKinley Adrian Varlack 

WWM APRIL 2010 3

Recently there has been a lot of buzz 

about Apple’s new product, the iPad. As 

a book lover, I was initially interested in 

such a gadget whose primary purpose 

is to allow the owner access to literature 

of all kinds, electronically, in the form 

of “eBooks.” But when Steve Jobs, CEO 

of Apple, unveiled the iPad, I became 

the product’s biggest critic. He raved 

about the various applications of the 

iPad, searched for sushi on Google 

maps, and showed a live baseball game 


being played. It became evident that 

the biggest selling point for this product 

is not the fact that it stores thousands of 

eBooks, but that one can, for $29.99 a 

month, have unlimited Internet access 

and check Facebook as often as he or 

she would like. 

In the past 15 or so years, churches 

have approached children’s ministry in 

the same manner. We try to dazzle the 

customers (parents) with our awardwinning 

pageants, high-tech children’s 

by Abigail Spears Velázquez 

chapels, great prize-give-aways, and, of 

course, the promise that the child will 

be entertained while the parent(s) sit in 

real church—all under the pretext 

of ministry. 

Our statements of purpose claim 

that children’s ministers are dedicated 

to winning kids for Christ and nurturing 

them in their faith (and I do not doubt 

the sincerity of children’s ministers), 

but more often than not, a children’s 

pastor is hired based on his or her

ability to attract the crowds with their 

spectacular light shows on Sunday 

mornings and Wednesday evenings. 

The church is caught trying to be 

culturally relevant but fails to see the 

real changes in culture that run much 

deeper than technology. 

These cultural changes that are taking 

place are happening slowly, but they 

are inevitable. We are living in what 

sociologists call the postmodern era, 

or rather, we are living after the era of 

modernity. The generation of children 

and youth who sit in our churches 

today were born into a postmodern 

world, and whether we associate 

postmodern with negative or positive 

connotations, we cannot ignore the 

shift in our culture. 

What exactly is meant by the word 

postmodern? Ivy Beckwith, in her book 

Postmodern Children’s Ministry, gives 

this explanation: “Postmoderns believe 

that reality or truth is always subjective. 

One’s reality or truth grows out of one’s 

perspective and life experiences. It is 

not imposed from the outside.”* To a 

Christian, that may sound quite scary. 

But let’s take a moment to analyze 

what this means and how it affects the 

way that children are taught to think 

in this day and age before we come to 

any conclusions about whether we like 

postmodernism or not. 

Postmodern thinking and philosophy, 

the idea that the truth is what one 

experiences, is something that has 

permeated the way society thinks and 

operates, though many rationalists (or 

moderns) have tried to reject it and 

show its folly in that there is absolute 

truth we can hold onto and proclaim. 

This comes from both Christians and 

non-Christians alike who are afraid 

of confronting the postmodern way 

of thinking. 

So what does all of this have to 

do with children’s ministry? The key 

is in experience. Truth is found in 

experience. Children are looking to 

experience God, and I am not talking 

about a spiritual experience, though 

that is important. While I do not want 

to undermine the faith of a child or the 

power of God to move upon a child 

in a supernatural way, it is important 

to understand that these spiritual 

experiences end up having a disconnect 

in the child’s heart once he or she 

becomes an adolescent or young adult. 

Children are seeking to put faith into 

action. From what I understand in Acts, 

the purpose of the Baptism of the Holy 

Spirit was so that one could go out in 

the power of Jesus to do great things 

for the Kingdom of God. We have not 

communicated this to our children nor 

have we demonstrated this effectively. 

A postmodern can only be taught 

God’s love through a concrete 

experience. A child who is seven years 

old does not need to be told what not 

to do, but needs to be shown what to 

do. When a postmodern child sees a 

family, who does not believe in Christ, 

treating each other with more kindness 

than his or her own family, he or she 

will begin to wonder if Christianity is the 

only option out there. If a child can be 

taught what is right by demonstration, 

the chance is greater that he or she will 

continue to serve God throughout his or 

her lifetime. 

Postmodern children are also looking 

for a community of believers. Too many 

times we have stressed a personal 

relationship with Jesus Christ to our 

children, telling them to pray and read 

the Bible for themselves so that they 

can understand what God is speaking 

to them. Remember, a postmodern 

needs truth through experience. A child 

of postmodernity cannot understand 

God’s Holy Word without a community 

to instruct, guide, and correct when 

in error. 

Children are intelligent. They are 

capable. But they are vulnerable and 

need a community to support them, 

love them, and let them know that 

if they mess up, the community will 

embrace them. If the community does 

not embrace their mistakes and forgive 

as Christ teaches, they will just as easily 

find another community who accepts 

them as they are. 

Our church can effectively witness, 

disciple, and teach the Gospel of Christ 

to postmodern kids in several ways: 

first, by demonstrating God’s love and 

the power of the Spirit and not just 

talking about these issues; second, by 

offering a community that will love and 

nurture them unconditionally; and third, 

by validating a child’s experience as a 

young Christian capable of witnessing 

God’s love through the power of the 

Holy Spirit that leads to action. 

A postmodern 

can only be 

taught God’s 

love through 

a concrete 

experience. 

As a church, we must confront 

the cultural challenges and offer 

experiences that are real and concrete. 

Children aren’t impressed by our 

technology and cultural relevance. They 

are impressed by men and women who 

will teach them that there is truth and 

relevance in Jesus Christ and who will 

allow them to take an active part in 

God’s Kingdom. 

_____________ 

*Ivy Beckwith, Postmodern Children’s Ministry, 

Ministry to Children in the 21 st Century 

(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004). 

Abigail Spears Velázquez 

is a senior at Princeton 

Theological Seminary in 

New Jersey and will finish 

in May with an M.Div. She 

is currently pursuing a 

ministerial license in the COGOP and would 

one day very soon love to be involved in fulltime 

ministry, preaching and teaching issues 

of social justice within our communities. 

WWM APRIL 2010 5

WWhen the Barna Research Group 

interviewed 13-year-olds, they found 

that nine out of ten said they were 

Christians, but only one-third were 

“absolutely committed to the Christian 

faith.” Only four percent had a belief 

system that was strongly aligned with 

biblical teachings. Sam and Thom 

Rainer’s research reveals that 70 percent 

of churched kids are walking away from 

Christianity between the ages of 18 and 

22 because they do not feel that the 

church has ever been essential in 

their lives. 1 

These statistics are just a small 

portion of data that is available 

regarding the local church’s inefficiency 

in making lifelong disciples of children 

and youth. Because children’s belief 

systems are in place by the age of ten, 

we have a short window of time to help 

them embrace Christ-centered living. 

Now is the time to redesign the 

set. We have an opportunity to take 

a look at what is currently happening 

in our ministries and evaluate their 

effectiveness in light of the biblical 

purposes of children’s ministry— 

evangelism and discipleship of 

children. We have an opportunity 

to redesign ministry so that kids are 

intentionally discipled and equipped 

to live Christ-centered lives for the 

rest of their lives. 

ELEMENTS 

OF DESIGN 

What are the key elements that 

must be included in a redesign of our 

ministries? Because children’s ministries 

are usually centered on programs and 

events, we are tempted to begin the 

redesign there. However, discipleship 

can only occur through programs and 

events if the key elements of effective 

discipleship are in place. The key 

elements are prayer, relationship, 

and content. 

6 WWM APRIL 2010

y Kathy Creasy 

Prayer 

Discipleship, helping kids live 

Christ-centered lives, is not dependent 

on programs, curricula, facilities, or 

resources. Discipleship is dependent on 

God’s work. 

“For I am confident of this very thing, 

that He who began a good work in you 

will perfect it until the day of Christ 

Jesus” (Philippians 1:6 NASB). 

“For it is God who is at work in you, 

both to will and to work for His good 

pleasure” (2:13 NASB). 

“Now may the God of peace Himself 

sanctify you entirely. . . . Faithful is He 

who calls you and He also will bring it to 

pass” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 NASB). 

Because discipleship is dependent on 

God’s work in the heart of the child, we 

must depend on God. This dependence 

is evidenced in prayer. 

We see this dependence exhibited by 

Jesus when He corrected Peter during 

His Last Supper with the disciples: 

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift 

you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, 

Simon, that your faith may not fail. And 

when you have turned back, strengthen 

your brothers” (Luke 22:31, 32 NIV). 

Effective discipleship ministries are 

birthed in prayer and sustained by 

consistent prayer. Children are prayed 

over by individuals and groups of 

people in the faith community. These 

prayers are consistent and focused 

prayers. Children are taught the value 

of prayer, learn how to pray, and are 

involved in the ministry of prayer. 

Relationship 

Jesus recognized the powerful 

influence of relationship. Mark 3:14 (NIV) 

records that He chose 12 men to “. . . be 

WWM APRIL 2010 7

with him. . . .” It was in the context of 

relationship that they became disciples. 

Children will never become Christcentered 

simply through programs and 

events. They will become true disciples 

in the context of relationships. 

What relationships are biblically 

significant in the discipleship 

of children? 

1. Parent-child relationship. Parents have 

been given a divine mandate in 

both the Old and New Testaments 

to disciple their children. (See 

Deuteronomy 6:6, 7; Ephesians 

6:4.) Why? Family relationships are 

the most influential relationships 

in a child’s life. If the family unit 

(parents, siblings, and extended 

family members) is healthy and 

Christian, instruction, training, and 

correction are done in the context of 

loving relationships. Bible truths are 

taught and lived out (modeled) in the 

context of everyday life. 

Many parents have failed to 

accept responsibility. Some parents 

are unsaved. Some parents are 

saved but unwilling. Some parents 

are willing but do not feel equipped 

to disciple their children. In each 

of these cases, what is the 

church’s responsibility? 

In his book, Rock-Solid Kids, 

Larry Fowler challenges us to “give 

it back” 2 —to give the responsibility 

for discipleship of children back 

to parents. The church is not to 

assume the parents’ responsibility for 

discipleship. The church is to equip 

parents to fulfill a responsibility that is 

rightfully theirs. 

Each congregation must 

prayerfully consider what steps 

must be taken to give parents back 

the responsibility of teaching their 

children in the ways of the Lord. 

2. Church-child relationship. Yes, parents 

have a biblical mandate to disciple 

their children. But as we give parents 

back their responsibility, the church 

cannot neglect its responsibility. 

Ephesians 4:11–13 (NIV) paints a 

very detailed portrait of the church’s 


Bible truths are 

taught and 

lived out. 

responsibility in the discipleship of 

children: “It was he who gave some 

to be apostles, some to be prophets, 

some to be evangelists, and some to 

be pastors and teachers, to prepare 

God’s people for works of service, so 

that the body of Christ may be built 

up until we all reach unity in the faith 

and in the knowledge of the Son of 

God and become mature, attaining 

to the whole measure of the fullness 

of Christ.” 

The body of Christ, the church, 

definitely has a responsibility not only 

to evangelize children (Matthew 28:19, 

20; Mark 16:15) but to disciple them 

as well. Saved children are “God’s 

people.” Saved children are part of 

the “we all” who must be brought 

to spiritual maturity. 

3. Minister-child relationship. Often, 

in local church ministries to children, 

relationships between children’s 

ministers and kids stop at the teacherstudent 

level. Relationship with kids 

is “cubbyholed” into the 45 minutes 

of instruction on Sunday morning. 

The children’s minister focuses on 

the content of the lesson rather 

than the context of relationship, and 

relationships do not extend beyond 

the ministry session. 

Jesus was in a teacher-student 

relationship with many of His 

followers. But there were some 

whom He called disciples. He moved 

from the role of teacher into the role 

of mentor in His relationship with 

these men and women. He prayed 

for them. He taught them. He was 

involved in their everyday lives. He 

modeled right actions and attitudes. 

He included them in ministry. 

The local church must encourage 

and facilitate children’s ministers 

rethinking their roles. Will they be 

teachers or mentors? Will some 

continue in a teacher/student 

relationship while others develop a 

mentor/disciple relationship? What 

will children’s ministers do differently 

in the role of mentor? Will children’s 

ministry programs need to change 

so that relational disciplemaking can 

take place? 

Content 

Paul wrote to Timothy, “But as for 

you, continue in what you have learned 

and have become convinced of, 

because you know those from whom 

you learned it, and how from infancy 

you have known the holy Scriptures, 

which are able to make you wise 

for salvation through faith in Christ 

Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed 

and is useful for teaching, rebuking, 

correcting and training in righteousness, 

so that the man of God may be 

thoroughly equipped for every good 

work” (2 Timothy 3:14–17 NIV). 

What had Timothy learned? He had 

learned the Holy Scriptures. From whom 

had he learned the Holy Scriptures? 

He had learned from his mother and 

grandmother. They had fulfilled their 

God-given responsibility as parents. 

Paul, along with others, had fulfilled 

the God-given responsibility of the body 

of Christ. What did the content of the

Holy Scriptures accomplish? It made 

Timothy wise to receive salvation, 

and it equipped Timothy for every 

good work. Paul’s words verify that it 

is the Holy Scriptures, God’s Word, that 

must be the content of our ministries 

to children. 

Each of us would probably be quick 

to affirm that the content of each 

program and ministry session is God’s 

Word. Yet Barna’s statistics demonstrate 

that church-going kids are not 

committed to Christ and do not have 

a belief system that is consistent with 

biblical principles. 

We must look intently at the content 

we are teaching children. Before 

children reach 13 years old, their belief 

system is in place. During childhood, 

we have the opportunity to help 

them develop a belief system that is 

consistent with the truths of God’s 

Word. How will we do this? 

1. We must be students of God’s Word. 

In 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV), Paul 

reminded Timothy to “Do your best 

to present yourself to God as one 

approved, a workman who does not 

need to be ashamed and who 

correctly handles the word of truth.” 

Children’s ministers, parents, and 

others who speak God’s Word to 

kids must correctly handle it. We 

must avoid teaching traditions, 

personal experiences, or knowledge 

gained from sources other than the 

Bible unless these are consistent with 

Scripture. Our teaching and behavior 

must affirm the authority of God’s 

Word as the ultimate source of truth, 

wisdom, and guidance. 

2. We must help children develop a 

commanding knowledge of the Bible. 

A commanding knowledge of the 

Bible goes beyond being able to 

retell a Bible story or recite a Bible 

verse. A commanding knowledge of 

the Bible is a knowledge that 

includes the following: 

• Understanding principle Bible 

truths such as “Who is God?” 

“Who is Jesus?” “How can I be 

Nurturing 

Christ-centered 

kids is God’s will. 

saved?” “Why am I here?” “Who is 

the devil?” “What is sin?” “Is the 

Bible God’s Word?” “Where will I 

go after I die?” 

• Committing Bible verses to longterm 

memory that affirm these 

principles and provide insight on 

how to live out Bible truth. 

• Correctly applying Bible truths to 

life situations so that the child’s 

responses honor God. 

• The ability to use the Bible 

and basic study tools so the 

child is able to study God’s 

Word independently. 

3. We must help children develop a 

passionate desire to obey God’s 

Word. It is at this point when the 

other elements become so crucial. 

Prayer prepares our children’s 

hearts to receive the Word of God 

with joy and obedience. Relationships 

allow them to see obedience to the 

Word of God modeled by men and 

women who are intimately involved 

in their lives. Content provides 

instruction, reproof, correction, and 

training in righteousness, which 

will show them how to live Christcentered 

lives. 

Conclusion 

Ivy Beckwith says, “There will never 

be a kit available at the local Christian 

bookstore that provides everything 

needed for the spiritual nurture of the 

children in the emerging church of 

the 21st century.” 3 Thus, an effective 

plan for nurturing Christ-centered kids 

doesn’t come in a box with instructions. 

But nurturing Christ-centered kids is 

God’s will, and He has provided all 

the necessary ingredients—prayer, 

relationships within His body, and 

God’s Word. Our responsibility is to 

prayerfully put them all together in the 

ways that work best for the children and 

families of our congregation and our 

communities. When we begin doing 

this, God will work with us to make 

sure the children we serve live Christcentered 

lives for the rest of their lives. 

________________ 

1 George Barna, Transforming Children Into 

Spiritual Champions (Ventura, CA: Issachar 

Resources, 2003). 

2 Larry Fowler, Rock Solid Kids (Ventura, CA: 

Gospel Light, 2005). 

3 Ivy Beckwith, Postmodern Children’s Ministry, 

Ministry to Children in the 21st Century 

(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004). 

For the past 18 years, 

Kathy Creasy has served 

as the Coordinator of 

Children’s Ministries for 

the International Offices 

of the Church of God of 

Prophecy. Her passion is to develop leaders 

in children’s ministry who will multiply 

themselves and impact the lives of children 

in their churches and communities. Kathy 

has earned a Masters of Science degree 

in Early Childhood Education and has 

taught in the public schools of Georgia, 

Tennessee, and Virginia. In May of 2003, 

Kathy completed a graduate certificate in 

Children’s Ministry from Lancaster Bible 

College. Kathy and her husband, Rick, live 

in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, with their 

two adult sons, Lee and Clint, and a lovely 

daughter-in-law, Sarah. 

WWM APRIL 2010 9

IIt may surprise you to know that a 

majority of today’s teenagers say they 

attended church regularly (at least two 

times a month) until they reached the 

age of 13. These teens said they were 

exposed to Bible stories, learned about 

the lives of great Bible characters, and 

had a positive experience. But the 

survey done by the Barna Research 

Group also found that almost half of 

these teens said that they did not gain 

enough understanding of the Bible to 

make decisions that were based on 

biblical principles. 

Yes, many kids know Bible stories 

and are familiar with well-known Bible 

characters. However, that knowledge 

alone is not enough for children to live 

Christ-centered lives. Christ-centered 

living requires our children to know 

God’s Word in such a way that its truths 

affect everything they do, especially the 

decisions that they make each day. 

How can we help 

children KNOW God’s 

Word in such a way? 

We must first come to an understanding 

that children are not too young to know 

and understand God’s Word. Just as 

sponges are made to absorb water, 

no matter what their size, children 

are created by God to absorb and 

understand the Word of God. Paul said 

of Timothy, “. . . from childhood you 

have known the Holy Scriptures, which 

are able to make you wise for salvation 

through faith which is in Christ Jesus” 

(2 Timothy 3:15 NKJV). The knowledge 

of God’s Word that Timothy gained 

in childhood enabled him to pursue 

a life of Christ-centered living as a 

young man. 


INTENTIONALLY teach God’s Word. 

To understand what is meant by 

“intentional teaching,” think about the 

analogy of hunting with a rifle versus 

a shotgun. Rifles are designed for 

accuracy to hit a precise point or target 

at long-range with a single projectile. 

Shotguns are designed to shoot a spread 

of shot at short-range moving targets. 

The word intentional means to be 

“done or said on purpose” or “planned, 

weighed, or estimated in advance.” 

Intentional teaching is teaching that 

is planned for, that is thought out in 

advance; it is teaching in which the 

content has been weighed in advance 

for the benefit of the learner. It is like 

aiming for the precise, long-range target 

with the rifle. 

In our homes, our children’s ministries, 

and our congregations, we must be 

intentional in teaching God’s Word to 

our children. How do we do this? 

1. Make the Bible prominent. 

Does the Bible have a prominent 

place in your home, in your classroom, 

and in your church? When our Bibles 

have a prominent place in our homes 

and ministries, children understand 

without being told that the Bible is a 

special book that helps us determine 

how to live every day. 

Make the Bible prominent by 

doing the following: 

• Have a special but accessible 

place for the Bible. 

• Read the Bible to and with 

children. Bible storybooks and 

children’s devotions are good to 

use to help children understand 

the Bible more easily. But don’t 

substitute these for reading 

directly from the Bible. 

by Sandy Knowles 

and Kathy Creasy 

• Help children understand and 

memorize Scripture verses and 

passages. As soon as a child can 

memorize nursery rhymes, he or 

she can begin memorizing verses 

of Scripture. 

• Apply specific verses to life 

situations that the child encounters. 

For example, when a child is 

afraid, encourage him or her to 

read and memorize Isaiah 41:10 

(NASB): “Do not fear, for I am 

with you. . . .” 

2. Teach Bible skills. 

For many children (and adults), 

the Bible is a very difficult book to 

comprehend. They don’t understand 

its structure, content, timeline, or 

how to use the tools of Bible study. If 

children don’t feel comfortable using 

the Bible, they will never come to 

KNOW and absorb God’s Word. 

If our children are to have a 

commanding knowledge of the 

Bible, they must grow 

into an independent 

reader and student 

of God’s Word. 

To accomplish 

this goal, our 

children must 

develop basic 

skills that will 

help them 

to navigate 

the Bible.

Visit http://www.lifeway. 

com/lwc/files/lwcF_kids_ 

LevelsofBibleSkillsPDF_2009.pdf for 

an excellent, downloadable resource 

on helping children from nursery 

through sixth grade develop 

Bible skills. 

3. Teach Bible content. 

The Bible is filled with truths that 

will help our children learn how to 

live Christ-centered lives. However, 

many times, even children from 

Christian homes who attend church 

regularly are suffering from spiritual 

malnutrition. Rather than being 

systematically and consistently 

fed biblical truth that is age-level 

appropriate, children are often fed 

random Bible stories and lessons. 

If our children are to have a 

thorough knowledge of the key 

principles of the Christian faith, they 

must be taught intentionally and 

systematically. As you prayerfully 

determine what you will teach 

the children in your home or in 

your ministry from God’s Word, 

consider their age, life experiences, 

and spiritual maturity. Don’t just 

teach truth that is relevant such as 

being kind, giving our tithes and 

offerings, etc. Also teach truth that 

is foundational to the Christian faith. 

The Apostles’ Creed provides a very 

simple state of the foundational 

principles of the Christian faith. 

Make sure your children know 

these basic truths and more. 

Help children ENGAGE 

with God’s Word. 

True discipleship must go 

beyond knowing biblical 

principles and the skills 

needed to navigate 

the Bible. Even Satan 

knew God’s Word. 

He quoted Scripture when he was 

tempting Jesus in the wilderness 

(Matthew 4:1–7). It was Jesus who 

understood Scripture and applied it to 

His situation, choosing not to throw 

Himself down from the temple. 

If children are to live Christ-centered 

lives, they must engage with the 

Word in such a way that they develop 

a mindset that is eternal rather than 

temporal. They must be able and willing 

to apply biblical principles to everyday 

life circumstances and relationships. 

How can we help children become 

engaged with God’s Word? 

• Spiritual labor. Paul wrote, “My 

dear children, for whom I am 

again in the pains of childbirth 

until Christ is formed in you” 

(Galatians 4:19 NIV). In this 

context, the word travail means 

“to strive with intense effort and 

anguish.” Our children will not 

become Christ-centered disciples 

through reading bedtime Bible 

stories and providing “boxed” 

children’s ministry programs. We 

must labor intensely in prayer, 

study of God’s Word, teaching, 

modeling, loving relationships, 

and more. 

• Life application. Christ-centered 

living is about being and doing. 

Children can be taught to 

respond to relationships and 

circumstances with obedience to 

biblical principles. They can be 

given opportunities to live out 

their faith through service, giving, 

witnessing, and more. 

• Spirit-led ministry. Too often, 

our family devotion times 

and our Sunday school 

class times are simply 

times of instruction. 

There are seldom 

times of 

ministry when children are given 

opportunities to respond to God’s 

Word in confession, repentance, 

thanksgiving, praise, or supplication. 

Times of ministry allow children to 

experience God’s presence quite 

intimately, which engages their 

hearts in a lifetime of obedience. 

Whatever a sponge absorbs will come 

out when the sponge is squeezed. 

The same is true with our children. The 

youth culture, family dysfunction, peer 

pressure, and many other circumstances 

will continually “put the squeeze” on 

saved children. 

If we have labored intensely to equip 

them with a good understanding of 

biblical principles and skills, we can 

be sure that the outflow will be Christcentered 

living. 

____________ 

Sandy Knowles has been involved in 

Children’s Ministries for more than seven 

years. She has served as the Children’s 

Pastor at Summerville Family Worship Center 

in Summerville, South Carolina, for five 

years, and most recently as Children’s Pastor 

at Bethesda Ministries in Elizabethtown, 

Kentucky and Bethany Family Worship 

Center in Bethany, North Carolina. 

WWM APRIL 2010 11

Suppose I had a collection of 

cookbooks. I read these cookbooks 

often, carefully studying the recipes and 

looking at the photographs of delicious 

dishes. You might think that with all 

of these cookbooks I must be a great 

cook, but I’m not. I don’t cook at all! To 

be a cook, I not only have to read the 

recipe, I have to actually do what it says. 

The Bible is like a cookbook. The 

Bible has God’s recipe for living a Christcentered 

life. But knowing the Bible 

won’t make you a Christian any more 

than reading a cookbook will make you 

a cook. We must follow the recipe in 

our everyday lives. 

James 1:22 reminds us, “And 

remember, it is a message to obey, 

not just to listen to. If you don’t obey, 

you are only fooling yourself” (NLT). As 

our children grow in their knowledge 

of God, they must live out their faith 

in Him every day. How can we move 

children from simply knowing God and 

His Word to living out that knowledge in 

the context of their daily lives? 

Offer children a sense 

of expectation and 

divine purpose. 

God said to Jeremiah, “Before I 

formed you in the womb I knew you, 

before you were born I set you apart; 

I appointed you as a prophet to the 

nations” (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV). Jesus said 

to Peter, James, and John, “Come follow 

me, and I will make you fishers of 

men” (Matthew 4:19 NIV). 

Even in very young children, we can 

build a sense of expectation of what 

God is going to do with their lives. 

Rather than adapting the mindset of 


culture that says, “I can determine what 

I will do with my life,” we can encourage 

the child to begin asking, “Lord, what do 

You desire to do with my life?” We can 

help them develop a mindset of yielding 

their lives to God’s purposes. 

Mary said when the angel told her 

she would have a baby, “I am the 

Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you 

have said” (Luke 1:38 NIV). When a 

child’s thoughts are centered on God’s 

purposes and not his or her own, there 

is a confidence and peace because the 

outcome of his or her life is not in his or 

her hands, but in God’s. 

Provide tools that will 

equip children to live 

out their faith. 

Often, we fail to give our children tools 

they need to LIVE out their faith. Equip 

children to LIVE out their faith by teaching 

them to pray, worship, and witness. 

1. Prayer 

“Dear God, What do You do with 

families that don’t have much faith? 

There’s a family on the next block 

like that. I don’t want to get them in 

trouble. I don’t want to say who. See 

you in church.”—Alexis, age 9.* 

Alexis knows how to pray. She talks 

to God as she would to a parent or 

friend. She speaks from her heart 

about things that concern her and 

trusts that God, her Father, hears and 

will answer. 

That’s what prayer should be—an 

intimate, ongoing conversation 

between God and the child. There is 

no certain form that must be followed 

or certain words that must be said. 

by Karrie Endecott and Kathy Creasy 

It is the child talking to God and 

listening as God speaks to him or her. 

• Teach children that prayer is a 

relationship between them and 

their Father in heaven. He wants 

wants to talk with them anytime, 

anywhere. He listens and 

will answer. 

• Teach children to have faith. Help 

them memorize Scriptures such 

as Matthew 7:7, 1 John 5:14, 15, 

and Mark 11:24, which promise 

God will answer. Encourage them 

to pray for the things that concern 

them and then believe that God 

is going to answer. Share your 

testimonies of answered prayer, 

and let them share theirs. 

A pastor’s son was going with 

his father and mother to a city 

where one of his favorite major 

league baseball teams was playing. 

His parents had planned many 

activities, but nothing had been 

said about attending a ball game. 

The boy prayed, asking God to 

make it possible for him to attend 

the ball game. During the weekend, 

the family’s plans changed, and 

the father suggested that he and 

his sons go to the team’s baseball 

game. When the boy got back 

home, he was excited to share with 

his children’s pastor how God had 

answered his prayer. 

No doubt, the boy’s faith was 

increased because of God’s answer 

to his prayer. 

• Help children understand that 

God always answers prayer even 

if the answer is not what we 

expect or want.

• Involve children in prayer. 

Don’t just teach then about 

prayer; let them experience it. 

—Create a prayer list. Together, 

make a list of prayer needs. Pray 

together for each need. Keep a 

record of answered prayers. 

—Teach your children to pray 

“flash” prayers. When they pass 

someone who is in need—sick, 

disabled, poor, in trouble— 

encourage them to ask for 

God’s help. 

—Teach children to pray the 

Scriptures. Begin with simple 

verses such as, “. . . my God 

will supply all your needs . . .” 

(Philippians 4:19 NASB). Show the 

children how to insert his or her 

name or the name of another 

person in the verse: “Thank You, 

God, that You will supply all my 

needs” or “Thank You, God, 

that You will supply all of my 

grandma’s needs.” 

2. Worship 

The children in the temple shouted, 

“Hosanna to the son of David!” 

(Matthew 21:15) when they saw the 

wonderful things that Jesus did. 

Worship was a natural, uninhibited 

response to the presence and work 

of Jesus. How can we enable our 

children to respond with praise 

and thanksgiving to the presence, 

character, and work of God? 

• Teach about worship. The Bible is 

filled with wonderful stories that 

will help children discover who 

we worship, why we worship, 

how we worship, and where 

we worship. 

• Invite children to worship 

wherever they are. 

—Encourage children to be 

awed by God’s work and by His 

character in nature—the changing 

seasons, the mother’s care of her 

baby birds, the uniqueness of 

each snowflake, and the roar of 

the ocean in a seashell. 

—Testify to God’s presence, 

work, and character in your life. 

Invite your children to tell about 

how He is at work in their lives 

as well. 

• Provide opportunities for children 

to freely express worship in 

creative writing, dance, singing, 

playing instruments, testimony, 

and more. 

• Create quiet moments that allow 

children to “be still” so they 

can become aware of God’s 

presence, remember His work, 

and hear His voice. 

3. Sharing their faith 

• Give children opportunities to 

share to family members, friends, 

and in church settings what Jesus 

means to them. 

• Help children memorize key 

salvation scriptures (Romans 3:23; 

6:23; 10:19). Let them mark these 

verses in their Bibles so they can 

find these references easily when 

they are talking with a friend or 

family member. 

• Provide opportunities for children 

to practice sharing their faith. 

• Pray with your children that God 

will help them to share their faith 

wherever they are. 

Conclusion 

Remember the cookbooks? In one 

of these cookbooks is a recipe for 

chocolate chip cookies. I decided 

to look up the recipe and follow it 

carefully. The result was a batch of 

delicious chocolate chip cookies that 

everyone in my family enjoyed. 

Helping children move beyond simply 

knowing God’s Word into living out its 

truth in their everyday lives is much like 

following a recipe. The results will bless 

everyone—his or her family, church, 

community, and him or her personally. 

“Blessed are they whose ways are 

blameless, who walk according to the 

law of the Lord” (Psalm 119:1 NIV). 

_____________ 

*Cheryl Sacks and Arlyn Lawrence, Prayer- 

Saturated Kids: Equipping and Empowering 

Children in Prayer (Colorado Springs, CO: 

NavPress, 2007). 

Karrie lives in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with her 

husband, Darick, and their 4 daughters. Karrie 

serves as the Children’s Ministry Director 

in her local church and in the Midwest 

Region. Karrie and Darick are members of 

the Children’s Ministries Task Force and 

have attended ICM since i1998. Karrie has 

also served as an instructor at International 

Institutes in Trinidad, El Salvador, and Egypt. 

WWM APRIL 2010 13

Have you ever played in a volleyball 

game? When forced to participate as 

a child, I can vividly remember when 

it was my turn to serve. Everyone was 

watching to see if I could get the ball 

over the net. The next few moments 

of the game rested in my hands. 

Unfortunately, for my team, getting 

the ball over the net was not exactly 

my gift. As my hand connected 

with the ball, I can assure you that 

everyone in the gym was aware of 

that fact. Consequently, I have not 

played in a single volleyball game as 

an adult because I never learned to 

serve as a child. I have abandoned 

volleyball forever. 

Many of the young adults in our 

congregations are graduating from high 

school and walking away from church. 

Although I am sure there are many 

reasons for this problem, could one of 

them be that they never learned to serve 

as children? Are we entertaining our 

children with fun Bible stories and games, 

never asking them to live out those Bible 

stories in their lives? Unless children meet 

the God of the Bible for themselves and 

experience Him on a daily basis, God 

will just be another fairy tale to abandon 

when they become adults. 


by Melissa Minter 

Why teach children 

to serve? 

Service brings glory to God. In 

a world that emphasizes personal 

satisfaction, accomplishment, and 

pleasure, we can teach our kids to serve 

others for God’s glory. There are many 

organizations that teach children to 

give back to their community and to 

help others. However, Christian service 

is not just about giving to others. It is 

about bringing glory to God’s name by 

reaching out to others. When people 

see children serving, they often ask 

questions about the motivation behind 

the service. This gives children the 

perfect opportunity to share their faith 

and honor God. 

Service allows kids to give to God. 

Jesus made it clear that when we do for 

others, we are really doing it for Him 

(Matthew 25:40). Because children think 

concretely, it is sometimes difficult for 

them to see how they can actually serve 

God. By involving children in service, 

we teach them that we serve God by 

physically serving others. They begin to 

understand the value of service, not as 

a good deed, but as a gift to God. 

This past December, I smiled at my 

husband as we looked in the rearview 

mirror of our van. There sat five 

giggling girls, ages four to eight. What 

insanity could have prompted us to be 

in this situation? There could have only 

been one thing—the annual Christmas 

caroling event. 

Each year, during the Christmas 

season, our church spends an evening 

visiting the nursing home, the sick, 

and the elderly. The children file onto 

porches and frosty lawns to sing, often 

off-key, about the birth of the Savior. 

Why do we bother? It is because this is 

one opportunity to allow our children to 

physically give a gift to God. 

Service makes kids different. 1 Kids 

benefit from serving others. Children 

for Children, a non-profit organization, 

promoting hands-on volunteerism 

and giving for kids, identifies several 

benefits children reap when they serve. 

They learn traits such as responsibility, 

leadership, critical thinking, problemsolving, 

self-respect, self-discipline, selfmotivation, 

and tolerance. 

With tears in her eyes, a little girl 

told me, “But I want to keep it!” Just 

moments earlier, I had finished giving 

the children directions for our latest 

service project. They were to create 

welcome bags for children who would 

visit our church in the coming weeks. 

Armed with stickers, small toys, candy, 

and notes, the children began work 

on this project. Everything was going 

well until this little girl realized that 

she couldn’t keep one of the bags. 

When understanding dawned that 

they were all to be given away, her 

struggle began. At that instant, one 

little girl found herself in a teachable 

moment. Her character was about to be 

developed, and she would be changed 

in a positive way. 

Service makes kids servants for 

life. 2 When we teach a child to serve, 

we’re also teaching that child to 

become a servant for life because 

children who serve become adults who 

serve. Consider these statistics from

Engaging Youth in Lifelong Service 

(Independent Sector): 

•Adults who volunteered as children 

give more money and volunteer 

more time than adults who began 

serving later in life. 

• Two-thirds of adult volunteers 

began serving as children. 

• Those who volunteer as children 

are twice as likely to volunteer as 

those who don’t. 

• Across incomes and age groups, 

those who volunteered as children 

give and volunteer more than those 

who didn’t. 

• Those who volunteered as youth 

and whose parents volunteered 

became the most generous adults 

when it came to giving their time. 

God’s Word tells us that Jesus took on 

the nature of a servant. Everything He 

did was an act of service to God and to 

others. If our children are to live Christcentered 

lives, they, too, must develop 

the heart of a servant. As you provide 

opportunities for them to invest in what 

touches God’s heart, in the church, and 

in the lives of their families and friends, 

you are working with God to develop 

within them a servant’s heart. 

_____________ 

1 Taken from 19 Ideas to Help Kids Serve at 

Home and Around the World. 

2 Ibid. 

Melissa Minter is the 

children’s pastor at 

Central Community 

Church in Chatsworth, Georgia. She has 

a B.S. degree in Elementary Math and 

Science from Lee University and a M.Ed. 

degree in Curriculum and Instruction 

from Lincoln Memorial University. Melissa 

and her husband, Scott, serve on the 

Children’s Ministry Task Force. She also 

edits the preschool lessons for One 

Accord Curriculum. Melissa is the proud 

homeschooling mom of Laura, age six, and 

Leah, age five. 

Invest in issues that touch the heart of God. In the Bible, God repeatedly 

asks us to take care of the widows, orphans, and those who cannot care 

for themselves. Give your children opportunities to do the following: 

Help other kids. 

•As a family or class, sponsor a child. Let the children save their own 

money to give. Encourage them to write notes, cards, and letters to the 

child. Take time to pray together for the child’s needs. 

•Prepare Easter baskets, back to school packs, or Christmas treat bags 

for foster children, children of prisoners, children in abuse shelters, or 

children who are terminally ill. 

Serve the elderly and needy. 

•Help children write letters to residents of assisted living or nursing 

homes. Let children use their allowance to purchase small gifts such as 

lotion or socks to give with the letters. 

•Help children gather canned goods from friends and family members 

to stock a soup kitchen or food pantry. Make arrangements for them to 

help at the soup kitchen prepping the food, washing dishes, etc. 

Be involved in missions. 

•Connect with a mission family through e-mail, Skype, and video clips. 

•Pray together for children around the world impacted by war, natural 

disasters, and other current events. 

•Get your kids involved in a missions project. Helping Hands for Kids 

offers you the opportunity to give to a project that specifically targets 

children; visit www.children.org for more information. 

Invest in God’s church. 

In today’s Christian culture, many people have become consumers. 

People look for a church based upon what the church has to offer. We 

need to teach children that a church is not a building, and it is not staff; 

it is the people! And children are people. Children can give back to their 

church. As they do, they will feel that they belong and are an important 

part of all the church does. 

• Teach kids to give their tithes and offerings. Show them how their 

tithes and offerings are used in the church to help others. 

• Help them discover and use their spiritual gifts, natural abilities, 

and interests. Teach about men and women in the Bible who used 

their abilities and gifts to serve such as Barnabas (encouragement and 

giving), Dorcas (handcrafts), Moses (leadership), and David (worship). 

• Provide kid-sized service opportunities. Involve them in church 

workdays, volunteering in the church nursery or toddler class, greeting 

visitors, prayer ministry, and more. 

Invest in their friends and family. The mission field closest to children 

is their family and friends. Encourage children to serve willingly in their 

homes. Help them discover needs of a family member or friend that they 

could meet. Many children have parents, brothers, sisters, and extended 

family members who do not know Christ. The children’s acts of service 

will open a door for sharing about God. 

WWM APRIL 2010 15


by Jill Carnuccio 

My brother often reminds me, “There are no 

‘normal’ kids, only varying degrees of uniqueness.” 

I like that. I like it for many reasons. It seems the 

sentiment is not only true but also key in parenting. 

Almost 17 years ago, I held my first child in 

my arms. It would be wonderful to say my first 

thoughts were of how beautiful she was or that my 

first feelings were those of deep connection. But 

alas, I must confess, my first thought was, Oh my! 

I’ve given birth to my father-in-law! This was not, 

in any way, what I anticipated. She felt like a little 

alien in my arms. As my child grew, it became 

increasingly clear just how differently we were 

made. A monumental choice rose up before me— 

embrace or reject the differences.

With each of our children, we have 

come to this same crossroad. Each time, 

the Lord has continued to challenge 

my heart, asking, “Will you praise Me? 

For they are fearfully and wonderfully 

made.” Through this attitude of 

thankfulness, He has been able to 

fill us with unconditional love, His 

love. His love reaches out in spite of 

conflict, frustration, and, yes, even 

drastic differences. 

As parents, we want to assist our 

children in knowing and receiving 

God’s love. We want to bring them up 

“in the way that THEY should go.” We 

passionately want them to find the path 

that God has for them to walk in, but they 

will not call Him their God unless they 

experience Him in a way that is uniquely 

personal. That will not happen if Phil and 

I are not tuned into and encouraging 

God’s unique expression in them. 

Sometimes, we as parents fail to see 

how God is at work in our kids because 

they are not what we expected. We 

can become so intent on showing 

them God through our own eyes and 

experience that we forget they must see 

Him from their own eyes and their own 

experience. As we have watched the 

spiritual development of kids around 

us, it has become obvious that in order 

for children to choose a life with Christ, 

they must encounter Him personally. 

Our daughter, Brenna, is a very 

expressive person. Unlike me, she 

often raises her hands, claps, or even 

wants to dance in worship. While 

visiting the church I grew up in, she 

was encouraged to “stay settled 

down.” The warning squashed her and 

consequently squashed the beautiful 

expression of Christ in her. I’m all for 

teaching our children to be sensitive 

and appropriate in their surroundings, 

but how can they feel connected to 

God if they are pretending to be what 

they are not? If we want our children 

to encounter God personally, we must 

allow them to be real. 

The differences within our family 

have provided more than ample 

opportunity for extending grace to be 

real. When we are at an impasse with 

each other and the misunderstandings 

and tensions are piling up, only God can 

We must never give 

up on nurturing, 

training, and protecting 

the life God has given 

our children. 

help us give each other acceptance and 

understanding! What a perfect training 

ground our family disagreements have 

been for handling conflict in the future 

by depending on God; what a prime 

opportunity they have been for God to 

“be real” to them. 

Our last family vacation was miserable. 

We quarreled and grumbled from 

beginning to end. The atmosphere of 

intolerance and stress continued well 

after our week together. Finally, we 

came together and prayed for God to 

intervene in our family. Hearing my 

children call out to God was something 

so precious, I can’t describe it. Within 

24 hours, God answered our prayers in 

miraculous ways. 

These moments have built my 

children’s faith. These are times that 

scream out over the voices of the liespewing 

media, biology teachers, and 

cynical friends with the truth, “Yes, God 

is real. He cares. He is powerful.” If we 

want our children to follow Christ, we 

must help them to engage with Him, 

depend on Him, and see Him work. 

A few years ago, I took a course 

through the Elijah House Ministry. 

The philosophy of Elijah House is 

hinged mainly on two biblical concepts: 

“Judge not, that ye be not judged” 

(Matthew 7:1) and “Honor your father 

and mother, so that you may live long 

in the land the Lord your God is giving 

you” (Exodus 20:12 NIV). 

I have fantastic parents and have 

never considered the fact that there 

could be dishonor lurking in my heart or 

unforgiveness holding me in bondage. 

As the class progressed, however, the 

gracious Spirit of God revealed areas 

in my heart in which I needed to 

extend and receive forgiveness with my 

parents. Amazingly, forgiveness gave 

birth to a freedom in my life I had given 

up hoping for. 

This healing in my own heart has 

motivated me to help my children learn 

to forgive and be forgiven. When we 

have wronged them, we apologize. 

When their perception is that Phil or 

I have wronged them, we seek to 

understand their perspective and lead 

them in forgiveness. 

This concept, in my estimation, is 

how kids can turn out so differently 

within a family. Truly, it is not what is 

done to us that can create barriers with 

God but what we do with what is done 

to us. Forgiveness draws us to God 

while unforgiveness repels us from Him. 

If we want our children to walk with 

Christ, we must teach them to forgive. 

While in the throes of parenting preadolescents 

and adolescents, I have 

been on the verge of throwing up my 

hands in surrender multiple times. When 

my voice has become hoarse from 

shouting, or another school lunch has 

been thrown through the front door with 

a shoe following after, or I am locked 

into silence because of my anger, I think 

of the words of Winston Churchill, and 

“Never give up” rings in my mind. 

Though the good Lord knows I 

become tired and baffled, He whispers, 

“Stay in the battle.” It is a battle worth 

fighting. The enemy is not my child, and 

the victory is the Lord’s. There can be 

no retreat. We must never give up on 

nurturing, training, and protecting the 

life God has given our children. 

I thank God for the challenges 

parenting has brought into my life. 

Phil and I continue to grow in love and 

admiration for our kids even more than 

we grow in frustration with them! We 

joyfully anticipate the future for them 

as they walk with Christ. For as I often 

remind myself, “They are not what they 

will be.” 

Jill lives with her husband, Phil, and three 

children in Westchester, Pennsylvania. 

She enjoys being a mom and teaching 

the truths of God through the arts. 

WWM APRIL 2010 17

Where Are the Elis? 

Nurturing the Spiritual 

Gifts of Children 

R. Lee Creasy 

Downingtown, Pennsylvania 

As a very young child, Samuel was 

brought to the tabernacle to live and 

was placed in the care of the priest, Eli. 

Eli was an old man whose children were 

not obedient to God. 

In the middle of the night, Samuel 

heard a voice calling his name. Each 

time his name was called, Samuel 

went to Eli to ask if he had called him. 

The third time, the Bible says that “Eli 

perceived that the Lord was calling 

[Samuel]” (1 Samuel 3:8 ESV), and Eli 

said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he 

calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for 

your servant hears’” (v. 9 ESV). Samuel 

obeyed Eli, and this began his training 

in learning to hear and obey the voice 

of the Lord. 

Just as Eli equipped Samuel to 

hear and respond to the voice of the 

Lord, the church body, church leaders, 

children’s ministers, and parents must 

be committed to intentionally training 

up children to hear and respond to 

the voice of the Lord so that they can 

know and use their spiritual gifts. We 

must teach the same spiritual gifts to 

children with the intensity and vigor 

that they are taught to adults. We must 

be committed to pointing children in 

the way they should go during their 


intimate times with the Lord. We need 

to provide meaningful encounters and 

opportunities that allow children to 

practice their spiritual gifts. 

First Corinthians 12:4 says that there 

are a variety of gifts, “. . . but the same 

Spirit.” Moreover, it tells us that the 

body has many members and that no 

matter how many parts or the type of 

parts it has, it makes one body and 

operates in one Spirit. This applies to 

children as well. How can it not? If 

they are believers, are they not part 

of the body? The body that lacks in 

any part will not show the diversity of 

the love of Christ that God intends for 

the church. It will not be capable of 

displaying the love that the Bible says 

attracts unbelievers. 

For ministry to adults, church leaders 

create classes to explore spiritual gifts, 

proctor gift inventory tests, host retreats, 

et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam. There 

is an entire sub-industry of Christian 

business built entirely on discovering 

and training spiritual gifts—for adults. 

Children can’t participate in the same 

training as adults do, but we should 

provide the same opportunities for 

children. Children cannot practice their 

spiritual gifts if no one has helped them 

discover what those gifts are. Teaching 

children their spiritual gifting is not 

difficult. Eli showed how easy it is. He 

simply taught Samuel to know and obey 

the voice of God. 

God anointed Samuel that night 

because Eli taught Samuel to know 

and obey the voice of God. The Bible 

continues to say that “. . . none of 

[Samuel’s] words f[e]ll to the ground” 

(v. 19 ESV). Samuel and God entered 

into an intimate relationship. 

We must help direct children into 

intimate times with the Lord so that they 

are able to discern and obey the voice 

of God. When Samuel heard from the 

Lord, he was immediately given a task 

and a decision. He had to tell Eli, his 

mentor and spiritual father, that God 

was displeased with him. Samuel had 

to tell Eli that he and his children were 

going to die. 

Children, when faced with the voice 

of God, will have to make the same 

difficult decisions. Children’s ministers 

and parents must mentor and partner 

with children to help them discern what 

God’s will is. 

Parents, children’s ministers, and 

the church leadership should look into 

the hearts of children. As an adult,

Samuel learned this lesson when he 

sought a king to replace Saul. Samuel 

saw the smallest, youngest, and least 

experienced of Jesse’s sons. God saw 

a heart that was bent toward Him. The 

anointing of the Father gave David 

the power to be a mighty man. His 

heart allowed him to take hold of the 

Father’s anointing. 

The church body must let love 

cover the behaviors that are natural to 

children and annoying to adults so that 

they can see through to their hearts. An 

adult staring at a child’s rambunctious 

behavior won’t be able to see the heart 

they are supposed to be molding. 

We will mold a child’s heart by 

prophesying into it and being diligent 

to see the Word of God manifest in the 

child’s life. Timothy was young, yet his 

mother and grandmother were diligent. 

Paul discipled Timothy and was also 

diligent to see God’s promises come to 

fruition in Timothy’s life. He said, 

“. . . in accordance with the prophecies 

previously made about you, that by 

them you may wage the good warfare” 

(1 Timothy 1:18 ESV). Children will be 

able to know and obey God’s Word in 

their lives as the adults around them 

prophesy into them and work with God 

to see that prophecy come to life. 

Finally, children must be presented 

with opportunities to discover and 

practice their spiritual gifts. Eli didn’t tell 

Samuel to stop proclaiming the Word 

of God. Paul didn’t tell Timothy to stop 

preaching either. 

The church body must provide a place 

of grace for anyone practicing the gifts 

of the Spirit. The Spirit is perfect but 

must move through an imperfect adult. 

The same Spirit moves through a child. 

If leaders or parents judge a child for 

wrongly discerning the will of God, they 

will face that judgment themselves. 

Church leaders, children’s ministers, 

and parents are responsible to guide 

children forward in practicing their gifts. 

They cannot minimize or quench the 

manifestation of spiritual gifts in children. 

Instead, Eli and Paul did the opposite. 

They provided fertile ground for the 

gifts of Samuel and Timothy to grow. 

Children can speak wisdom, children 

can speak knowledge, children can 

have faith, children can heal, children 

can work miracles, children can 

prophesy, children can discern spirits, 

and children can speak in tongues. As 

Paul told Timothy, the young cannot 

only practice the gifts of the Spirit, but 

they should set an example in doing so. 

A ten-year-old could set an example 

by teaching a class of five-year-olds. 

A class of children could help prepare 

a worship service. Children can serve 

as part of the intercessions team or 

worship team. The church body can 

involve children in healing ministries 

or make them a part of a community 

outreach. The body must be willing 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

to do whatever it takes to encourage 

and provide opportunities for children 

to serve, practice, and grow in their 

spiritual gifts. 

Can we raise up Samuels if there 

are no Elis? Can children put Christ 

center stage in their lives without godly 

adults coming alongside to help them 

hear and respond to the voice of God? 

Perhaps, God is asking you to become 

Eli to a child in your congregation, 

home, or ministry. If our children are 

to experience Christ-centered living for 

the rest of their lives, the only answer 

is “YES!” 

Eight Ways You Can Be an Eli to Today’s Kids 

Pray for kids—your kids, kids in your church, kids in your 

neighborhood, and kids around the world. Ask God to bring 

these kids to salvation and equip them to live Christ-centered lives. 

Build relationships with kids. Get to know kids’ names, and use them. 

Ask questions about their interests. Get involved in their lives. 

Spend time with kids. Invite a few girls to your house to bake 

cookies. Take a couple of kids to a fast food restaurant for lunch. 

Get some kids together for a game of soccer or baseball. 

Serve kids in need. Needy kids are all around us—homeless kids, 

foster kids, terminally ill kids, kids of prisoners, and abused kids. 

Connect with an organization that serves kids in need, and find 

out how you can help. 

Encourage kids when they exhibit a positive character trait or 

serve using a spiritual gift. 

Model service, and teach kids to serve. Let kids know that no 

task is too insignificant when we are doing it to serve God and 

others. Samuel opened the doors of the tabernacle and lit the 

lamps long on his way to becoming a judge in Israel. Read 

the article “Teaching Kids to Serve With Discernment” at www. 

focusonthefamily.com/parenting/spiritual_growth_for_kids/ 

teaching_servanthood/teaching_service_with_discernment.aspx. 

Speak prophetic words to kids. As you pray for kids and listen 

to God’s voice, He may speak to you about His purposes for a 

specific child. When God nudges you, speak a simple word from 

God to the child that will provide guidance and encouragement. 

Teach kids in your life how to develop a relationship with 

God through the spiritual disciplines, especially prayer and 

Bible reading. Check out the article “How to Foster Spiritual 

Disciplines in Your Children” at www.awana.org/parents/default. 

aspx?id=741. 

WWM APRIL 2010 19

developing leaders impacting kids presents . . . 

Would YOU like to offer training . . . 

• to children’s ministers in your local church that is on-site, 

self-funding, and provides training applicable to every person 

who works with children? Consider hosting a Children’s 

Ministry One-Day Training Intensive in your local church 

or region. 

A one-day intensive . . . 

• provides on-site training at a church or conference facility 

in your region. 

• is funded through registration fees paid by participants. 

Registration fees provide a morning snack, light lunch, 

teaching materials, interactive instruction, and free resources. 

The local church or region hosting the event provides 

the training facility. 

• gives participants opportunity to develop competency in 

one or more ministry skills through interactive learning, 

small-group activities, and a question-answer session. 

One-day training intensives target ministry volunteers but 

also provide training and resources for children’s ministry leaders. 

The intensives focus on personal spiritual growth and the development of ministry and leadership skills. They also 

encourage the development of relationships among ministers in the region and in the local church as well as allow 

regional leaders to target potential leaders for further mentoring, training, and leadership development. 

Because registration costs are low, your entire ministry team can participate. 

Since 2003, the one-day training intensives have provided training both locally and regionally to more than 

1,500 participants. 

“CENTER STAGE,” the 2010 one-day training intensive, is currently being scheduled in local churches and regions 

in North America. 

Filming schedule 

8:30 a.m. Registration 

Book/Resource Browsing 

9:00 a.m. Morning Session 

“Behind the Scenes” 

“Redesigning the Set” 

“ACT 1: Know” 

12:00 p.m. Lunch 

12:45 p.m. Afternoon Session 

“ACT 2: Live” 

“ACT 3: Serve” 

“That’s a Wrap!” 

3:00 p.m. Dismiss 


a one-day training intensive 

Lunch and training materials are included in the 

registration fee of $30 (in advance) or $40 (day of event). 

If you would like to host CENTER STAGE in your local 

church or region, please contact the following: 

Children’s Ministries 

CHURCH OF GOD OF PROPHECY 

P. O. Box 2910 • Cleveland, TN 37320-2910 

423-559-5328 • cgpkids@cogop.org 

http://children.cogop.org

Children are never too young to begin focusing their hearts 

in the right direction. And, certainly, they are never too young 

to be taught about missions. So why not set aside your second 

Sundays to focus on missions during some part of your 

Children’s Ministry hour? 

For example, you can readily find information and photos 

on the World Wide Web to freely share about your local 

church’s Harvest Partner; bring a globe to discuss the location 

of your partner nation; check out library books to teach 

children about the different cultures of the nations; explore 

the exchange rate of currency in the nation, comparing it to 

your nation’s currency or system and discussing whether the 

children of the nation have access to allowances or offerings 

to give at church; etc. 

Take some time to share the lifestyles of how your partner 

nation’s children around the world actually live—what they 

eat; where they sleep; whether or not they have schools and 

education available; what games they like to play and what 

toys are available in their nation; and, most importantly, what 

religious preferences are dominant within your partner’s 

nation; etc. 

These suggestions are just a few pointers to get you 

started on a mission-focused session to enter into teaching 

your children that not every child in the world has the 

freedom to learn about Jesus. And, by all means, you should 

utilize this opportunity as a point of prayer for the children of 

your partner nation. 

Recently, our local church in 

Sabillasville, Maryland, decided to teach 

their children about the principles of giving 

to our orphanage ministry in Uganda. Though 

it’s a very small local church, only having three 

children who participated in this fund-raising effort— 

Tara (age ten), Falon (age eight), and Ian (age six)—these 

children raised $110.67 for this project. 

The children’s teacher, Sister Fay Kuhn, shared that she 

wanted “to encourage the children of our church to have a 

desire to become mission-minded for Jesus.” Sister Fay had 

asked them to bring in their change to assist the orphans, but 

these children took it to heart, became more deeply involved, 

and decided to even contribute their allowances to help the 

children in Uganda. 

Did you know that such an offering as this can provide 

sustenance for one child in Uganda for nearly six months? 

What will you do to instill 

mission vision into your children’s 

tender hearts? 

By everyone working 

together, we can surely make a 

difference for the Kingdom— 

one child at a time. 

Annette Taylor, International Director 

Harvest Partners Ministry 

WWM APRIL 2010 21

Those who learn tithing and giving as a young child 

most often become lifetime tithe givers. Tithing is a 

scriptural principle and a Christian discipline that we need 

to teach our children. In the same way we teach children 

to pray, to worship, to read their Bible, and to memorize 

Scriptures, we teach them the joy and the blessings of 

tithing and giving. 

After a presentation on tithing and giving, a ten-year-old 

boy asked his parents if he could withdraw the $255 in his 

savings account and give it to the Lord. This sensitivity to 

the Word and the Holy Spirit began a giving process in his 

local church. Ultimately, the church built a new building 

debt-free as a result of a “tsunami” of giving that was set 

forward by this child’s pure gift. 

Another child, who heard that not tithing was robbing 

God, asked her parents, “Why are we robbing God?” 

The Sunday lunch table conversation took on a serious 

tone as the parents talked through this with the child. 

In this case, the family thought it best if they would 

just begin to tithe. 


As we all know, children have powerful, anointed 

experiences with their Lord. Tithing must be part of their 

development and growth in their personal relationship 

with the Lord. 

Saving and other biblical principles of personal finance 

should be taught as well. Understanding that the Scripture 

supports saving and condemns hoarding can be beneficial 

in shaping a child’s financial understanding. Knowing 

that Scripture always casts debt in a negative light can 

help a child grow up and live with minimum debt. These 

principles will do nothing but bless those who embrace 

them at any age. 

A great way to begin is to label three jars—one as “Ten 

Percent to God” (tithe), one as “Ten Percent to Savings,” 

and one as “Eighty Percent to Me.” If from an early age we 

practice these principles of giving, saving, and budgeting, 

we will be blessed and more joyful. 

When children receive gifts, allowances, or payment for 

chores, the money should be paid in cash in easily divided 

denominations to enable the child to take out the tithe

immediately and place it in an envelope 

to be given in the next offering at 

church or storehouse. Reading the 

Scripture and putting what we read 

into practice will impact children deeply. 

For example, if the allowance is $10, 

give at least five ones so that $1—the 

tithe—can be separated from the 

remaining money. 

As in all things we teach our children, 

modeling is powerful. Someone has 

said, “Of our words, lessons, and 

modeling, the greatest of these is 

modeling.” Let our children see our 

giving. Talk about God’s provision. 

When there is a financial or material 

need, explain that the tithe has 

been given, and we believe God for 

supernatural help. Read Malachi 3:8–11 

to them, and have them help you watch 

for the miracle. These life lessons from 

the Word never leave us. 

One family prays over their tithe 

and writes the check during family 

devotions. Sometimes, the father 

chooses a child to write out the tithe 

check, and then he signs it. 

You are only as happy as your most 

unhappy child. A great deal of time, 

money, and energy go into our children. 

We want them to be saved, fruitful in 

ministry, and happy. Givers are the 

happiest people I know. If you want 

your child to be happy, teach him or 

her the joy of giving. 

Children’s lessons are available 

within seven stewardship manuals— 

six have Spanish translation—that 

will be a great study for Children’s 

Church. Many parents are not teaching 

stewardship in the home. The Church 

must be sure our children understand 

and practice stewardship. 

These children’s stewardship lessons 

are available on the Stewardship website at 

http://www.cogop.org/224548.ihtml, 

by calling the Stewardship Ministries 

Department at 423-559-5109, or through 

e-mail at liz@cogop.org. 

Jan Couch 

Stewardship Ministries Director 

Want to improve your ministry skills? 

Consider the Tomlinson Center. 

Why take Tomlinson Center courses? 

• 

• 

• 

Read what current students are saying: 

“I needed to upgrade my skills for service to complement my 

experience in ministry.” 

—Pastor Randolph P. Curtis, age 43, Bahamas 

“I needed to advance my education of the Bible and to become a 

more-rounded pastor.” 

—Pastor Mike Orr, age 37, Michigan 

“I needed to further my education, to partner with the directive of our 

leadership in the need of leadership development; it’s more 

convenient than moving my family to Cleveland, Tennessee.” 

—Pastor, Michigan 

Tomlinson Center Online College Courses—Fall 2010 

Bible 

Introduction to the Old Testament: 

BIBL 101—Bishop Tim Harper 

The Pastoral Epistles: 

BIBL 304—Bishop Tim Harper 

The Synoptic Gospels: 

BIBL 312—Dr. H. E. Cardin 

Minor Prophets: 

BIBL 313—Pastor Jack Anderson, Jr. 

Introduction to the New Testament (Spanish): 

BIBL 102—Bishop Elias Rodríguez 

Tomlinson 

Center 

H. E. Cardin, M.Div., D.Min. 

Tomlinson Center Director 

Church of God of Prophecy International Offices 

P. O. Box 2910 

3720 Keith St. NW 

Cleveland, TN 37320-2910 

Office phone: (423) 559-5324 

Fax: (423) 559-5461 

E-mail: TCCOGOP@aol.com 

Website: www.TomlinsonCenter.Com 

Pastoral 

The Ministry of Preaching 2: 

PASM 262—Dr. H. E. Cardin 

Contemporary World Religions: 

PASM 353—Pastor Larry Lowry 

The Pastoral Ministry 2: 

PASM 462—Dr. Sylvester Smith 

Pastoral Counseling: 

PASM 464—Bishop Tim Harper 

WWM APRIL 2010 23

YHT North America 

On January 14–17, 2010, Operation Omega International Youth Ministries launched Youth Harvest 

Training (YHT), an all-new training event for overseers, pastors, and youth and camping ministry leaders, 

and it provided training in the areas of leadership development, counseling, camp management, 

administration, outreach, and culture. 

Approximately 130 participants attended the workshops and general 

sessions taught by Paul Robertson, Center for Parent and Youth 

Understanding; Tammy Lopez, Perimeter Church, Atlanta, Georgia; 

Devon Harris, Full Circle Refuge, Savannah, Georgia; key Church 

leaders including Trevor and Aileen Reid, David Bryan, Kathy Creasy, 

Jan Couch, Palma Hutchinson, and Darren Schalk, Sunday School 

Editor; as well as many state/regional youth, children’s, and camping 

ministry leaders and pastors. Bishop Billy Wilson, Director of the 

International Center for Spiritual Renewal, and Bishop Sam Clements, 

North American General Presbyter, challenged each participant with 

inspirational messages. 

A jam-packed weekend, this first 

YHT was not only a great forum of 

learning and developing in ministry skill, but also a great place to 

network with other youth ministry leaders from across the U.S. and 

beyond. This “iron sharpening iron” is perhaps one of the greatest 

benefits to attending such a training event. 

Participants left YHT armed 

with fresh inspiration, renewed 

passion, and new ideas for 

leading their volunteers and 

ministering to their young 

people with excitement 

and excellence.

YHT Dominican Republic 

On February 4–7, YHT traveled to the Dominican Republic 

and was offered concurrently to the National Youth Convention. 

More than 350 youth leaders from across the nation participated 

in the training event. During the day, general sessions and 

workshops provided training in the areas of ministry vision, 

leadership, youth culture, safety, administration, 

and crisis counseling. During the evening, 

YHT participants joined an arena of 3,500 

young people to celebrate and worship at the National Youth 

Convention. All events were held on the national property in 

Santo Domingo. 

On Thursday evening, Aileen Reid, International Youth 

Ministries Co-Director, presented a teaching session entitled, 

“Understanding Their Culture, Hearing Their Cries,” which 

provided attendees with an overview of the challenges facing 

our youth in our postmodern culture. Issues of relationships, 

media influence, and sexuality were presented. 

On Friday evening, Esther Rondon, the newly appointed National 

Youth Ministries Leader of Dominican Republic, brought a challenge 

to the young people to be soldiers in God’s army, capable of doing 

spiritual warfare and engaging the enemy in these last days. 

On Saturday evening, Trevor Reid, International Youth 

Ministries Co-Director, preached a sermon entitled “Receive 

the Spirit of Elijah.” The ministry’s national stadium, which 

housed the event, was charged with an atmosphere of 

expectation. Thousands of young men and women filled 

the altar and stage area seeking God for salvation, 

deliverance, and anointing to serve God with power. 

Each workshop and general session was marked with participants 

eager to learn and a desire to develop as ministry leaders. 

Throughout the day, moments of powerful prayer would erupt, 

indicating the hunger of these leaders to be 

fully engaged in this last days harvest. 

The teaching team for the Dominican 

Republic YHT consisted of Trevor and Aileen 

Reid, Valerie Moreno, Shaun McKinley, and 

William Lamb. Lucas Leys, Latin American 

author and speaker for Youth Specialties, 

participated as a general session guest presenter. 

YHT is the formal training arm of the 

International Youth Ministries for all levels 

of youth and camping ministry leadership. 

Article written by Shaun McKinley 

Trevor and Aileen Reid 

International Youth Ministry Co-Directors

in worship 

Greensboro, 

North Carolina 

July 27–31, 2010 

ricardo sanchez 

Colombia 

South America 

June 25–July 4, 2010 

guest speaker 

Reggie dabBs 

April 16-18, 2010 

Marriott Torrance South Bay 

$99 per night, Book by April 2 

Phone: 800-228-9290 

3635 Fashion Way ∙ Torrance, CA 

Registration 

$30 per person (5 or more), $35 per individual 

After March 20, 2010–$45 per person. 

REGISTER ONLINE AT 

www.operationomega.org 

Our international missions focus for 2010 will be Guinea 

Conakry, West Africa. We aim to raise $25,000 toward 

“Loving Muslims to Jesus.” All youth groups 

are encouraged to support this 

missions effort through prayer 

and sacrificial giving. Log on to 

www.operationomega.org 

for more details. 

West Coast

Imperial Ballroom 

Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons 

Saturday, July 31, 2010 

The Assembly Mission Breakfast has become one of the highlight 

ministries of the International Assembly. The morning provides the 

opportunity to be transported to a beautiful island, an exotic jungle, 

or a historical city for breakfast as representatives from around the world 

are seated at most of the tables. This year, while enjoying a plated 

traditional Southern American breakfast, you will learn about the work, 

needs, cultures, and lifestyles as well as the challenges these missionaries 

encounter in their particular area of ministry. 

Please join me, along with state/regional/national women’s ministries 

directors, and various mission representatives at 7:00 a.m. in the Imperial 

Ballroom at the Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons for this time of sharing with our sisters (and brothers), who are 

ministering on the mission fields. 

Limited space is available, and you must have a ticket to attend; so if you have not already made your reservations, please 

send $25.00 U.S. to the Women’s Ministries Department to reserve your space. Tickets may either be mailed to you or picked 

up at the Women’s Ministries booth. 

Breakfast begins at 7:00 a.m., Saturday, July 31, 2010. See you there! 

Cathy Payne 

Women’s Ministries Director 

2010 Assembly Mission Breakfast Reservation Form 

Name 

Address 

City State Zip 

Telephone E-Mail 

Number of Tickets @ $25.00 each Amount Enclosed 

Please return to the following address: 

Women’s Ministries 

Church of God of Prophecy 

P.O. Box 2910 

Cleveland, TN 37320-2910 

$ 

WWM APRIL 2010 27


The Courtroom Became a Chur 

The article below is a follow-up to the story we ran in the 

February 2010 issue of the White Wing Messenger 

entitled “Alaska Update” on page 20. This is a testimony 

of the power of God. 

Regarding the situation in which the four Muslim men 

had threatened Dirie’s life, the police put out an emergency 

restraining order against the Muslims. During the first week 

of December, Dirie asked me to go to court with him for 

a hearing in which the judge would listen to both Dirie 

and his four attackers, and then decide whether to give a 

continuance of the restraining/protective order. 

I went to court with Dirie, but the four men had not been 

found, so the police had not been able to serve them their 

subpoenas to appear in court. The hearing was postponed 

for a couple weeks to give time for the subpoenas to be 

served. It’s hard to believe that here in the good ole USA, 

there are these Muslims literally looking for a Christian in 

order to kill him. 

Dirie asked me to go with him again to court when it 

was re-scheduled. I told him that I would if he would just 

let me know the day and time. The date came, but Dirie 

had been working some double shifts and was tired and 

had forgotten to tell me about the new date. When he 

remembered it late in the night the night before, he didn’t 

want to call and disturb me, so he decided to just go by 

himself the next day. 

The hearing was at 8:30 a.m., and Dirie arrived there 

first. Right at 8:30, between 50–60 Muslim men entered the 

courtroom, with the four men who had been served the 

restraining order a few weeks before. They had gathered 

together a bunch of the Muslim men and had driven them 

to the courthouse in two big buses. 

So there stood 50–60 angry Muslims and one young 

Christian boy (I call him boy because he seems so young). 

The judge, fearing what might happen, called in a large 

contingent of police officers to stand in the courtroom. The 

judge asked why all those men had come and was told that 

they were there to stand with their four brothers against 

this “man who has left our religion and our god, and is 

trying to lead others into his Christianity.” 

The judge asked Dirie about this claim. He gently said 

that he wasn’t trying to make anyone do anything, but 

that he had chosen to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and no 

one could persuade him to stop. The judge asked more 

questions of the four men and others. 

Finally, the judge turned to Dirie and asked if he would 

like to say anything to the four men and the others. Dirie 

told me that he could feel the Spirit and anointing of God 

fill his being. Boldness began to rise up within him, and 

the Word of God began going through his thoughts. He 

faced all the Muslims and said the quote from David when 

facing Goliath: “You come to me with sword and shield, but 

I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Dirie later told me that he quoted a number of scriptures 

and witnessed to the Muslims of the Lord Jesus Christ and 

His great love for them. He said, “Pastor Arleta, I think I

ch 

preached my first sermon there.” He proceeded to tell 

them that God loved them and that he loved them, but that 

they needed to accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior and not 

Muhammad or Allah. 

Apparently, the judge let Dirie witness (preach) and 

didn’t stop him at all. Then, at some point in the hearing, 

the judge decided the 50–60 men had to leave except for 

the four attackers. He had the police officers escort them 

out, put them back on their buses, and made them leave. 

Then, the judge ordered the continuance of the 

protective restraining order for one year. After the four 

Muslims left, the judge asked to speak to Dirie. He told 

Dirie that even though he had ordered the protective order, 

he was afraid that it still would not protect him. He said he 

feared for Dirie’s life and knew all these men were intent 

on stopping Dirie. He then recommended that Dirie move 

quickly out of Alaska to the lower 48. 

Dirie didn’t really have anywhere to go because the 

family members that he has in the U.S. are against him 

as well because he left the Islamic religion. In fact, if his 

family knew his location, they would quickly report it to the 

Muslim leadership. Brother Isaac, our brother from Nigeria, 

has a brother in the lower 48 who is a Christian. He said 

Dirie could come there and stay with him. So my “little 

brother” left for the lower 48. 

The praise part—the part that has blessed me—is this: 

“The courtroom became a church.” God took a 

courtroom and turned it into a church. He brought in a 

congregation of 50–60 hardened evildoers, who otherwise 

would NEVER have entered any church anywhere in the 

city. He even had the “devil” drive the bus and pick them 

up for this special “church” service. He had the legal 

system (the judge) introduce the preacher and “turn the 

service over to him.” 

God caused Dirie to preach his first sermon, and it was 

one of love and mercy and also of the deity and divinity 

of our Lord. He “held” the “congregation’s” attention with 

a group of angels dressed in police uniforms. And He 

showed them the true “Word of God” and not the Koran or 

any of the other writings of Muhammad. Then, once they 

had heard the message, he had them placed back on the 

bus and taken home. 

Wow! What we could not have accomplished in a 

lifetime perhaps (getting 50–60 Islamic Muslims into a 

church for a Holy Ghost-filled child of God to proclaim the 

Word), God was able to accomplish in just one “service” 

and with one “sermon.” 

After Dirie left the court, a man stopped him outside. 

He was a Muslim and had been in the courtroom with the 

other 50–60 Muslims. He had not come on the bus but 

had come on his own and by himself. He knew about the 

situation (the Muslim community is very close and tight-knit 

here in Anchorage), but he still came on his own. He told 

Dirie that the reason he came was not to help threaten or 

harass Dirie, but he said, “I have never seen or met anyone 

who has ever turned from the Islam religion to Christianity, 

and I wanted to come and see you for myself. I needed to 

actually see someone who has gone over to Christianity.” 

This kind of reminds me of the wise men when they told 

the king, “We have come to see if it is true.” Anyway, I pray 

that this man’s curiosity (conviction) gets control of him, 

and he begins to seek the Lord diligently. 

We pray for Dirie’s protection and his ministry through 

Christ. We also pray for the salvation of approximately 

50–60 men who have now heard the true Word of God and 

must decide what they want to do with it. And we miss our 

little brother terribly. 

Arleta Lefler 

Anchorage, Alaska 

WWM APRIL 2010 29

Local Church News 

First Deaconess 

for the State 

of Georgia 

Geneva Bowman Byrd 

In the last chapter 

of Romans, the apostle 

Paul gave kudos to 

various people who assisted him in his 

ministry. In verse one, he singled 

out by name Phoebe, one of the first 

deaconesses mentioned in Scripture: 

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, 

a servant of the church in Cenchrea. 

I ask you to receive her in the Lord 

in a way worthy of the saints and to 

give her any help she may need 

from you, for she has been a great 

help to many people, including me” 

(Romans 16:1, 2 NIV). 

In his letter to the young minister, 

Timothy, Paul laid out the requirements 

for deacons and deaconesses: “Deacons 

[Deaconesses], likewise, are to be men 

worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging 

in much wine, and not pursuing 

dishonest gain. They must keep hold 

of the deep truths of the faith with a 

clear conscience. They must first be 

tested; and then if there is nothing 

against them, let them serve as deacons 

[deaconesses]” (1 Timothy 3:8, 9 NIV). 

According to Strong’s Dictionary, the 

Greek word for deacon is diakonos 

(dee-ak’-on-os). It is probably from an 

obsolete diako: to run on errands; an 

attendant or a waiter at tables; or in other 

menial duties. It is used specially as a 

Christian teacher and pastor; technically, 

a deacon or deaconess. In the King 


James Version of the Bible, it is translated 

as deacon, minister, and servant. 

On Sunday, December 27, 2009, the 

Rossville Church of God of Prophecy 

ordained Geneva Bowman Byrd as the very 

first deaconess for the Church of God 

of Prophecy in the state of Georgia. Her 

Deaconess Certificate number is 2009-0001. 

From 1955 to 1995, Sister Byrd 

served alongside her deacon husband, 

Clarence Byrd, for 40 years at the East 

Ridge, Tennessee, Church of God of 

Prophecy. She completed all terms of 

the Bible Training Institute in 1975. 

After transferring her membership to 

Rossville in 1999, she completed all the 

requirements for a Certified Teacher 

including the Foundations Course. 

The local church set Sister Byrd forth as 

deaconess in October 2009. In writing 

my recommendation to Georgia State 

Overseer Bishop Billy Adams, I said in 

part, “Geneva Byrd has been doing the 

ministry of a deaconess for over 40 years. 

She assisted her husband, Clarence 

Byrd, in every aspect of his calling as a 

deacon.” Normally, there is a period of 

a year serving as a trial deaconess, but 

due to her prior training and experience 

and the fact she had completed 

the Foundations Course, she was 

immediately set forth as a deaconess. 

The wording of the Deaconess 

Certificate states in part, “She is to 

complement the office of the bishop 

or pastor. She may serve in the 

temporal needs of God’s work, such 

as coordinating relief to the poor 

and needy. She may conduct church 

business affairs and conferences 

when officially authorized by the 

pastor or overseer. She is to teach 

and defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

She may serve in baptism, administering 

the Lord’s Supper, and washing to the 

saints feet. Both biblical and historical 

records confirm that she is to service 

alongside and in harmony with the 

bishop or pastor as a servant to 

the congregation.” 

Sister Jean Byrd, as she likes to be 

called, has definitely been a tremendous 

blessing to the Rossville local church 

and pastor, serving as the church clerk 

and treasurer, a substitute Sunday 

school teacher, a member of the 

Finance and Stewardship Committee, 

and now as a deaconess. 

When her pastor asked Sister Byrd 

about serving as a deaconess, she 

initially told him that she, at 83 years 

of age, she was “too old to serve.” He 

replied, “Better late than never!” 

Article submitted by 

Dr. Douglas R. Stephenson 

Chaplaincy Ministries Director 

Rossville, Georgia 

Testimonies 

I received confirmation at Ladies 

Retreat at Barkley Lake. In the spring, 

they found a large mass on my pancreas. 

I went through many tests. There was 

no fear on my part. I had gotten up 

one morning and felt a heavy load; I 

couldn’t carry the load, it was so heavy. 

I lay before the Lord and told the Lord, 

“Lord, I don’t know what this load is, but 

I can’t handle it; I give it to You.” I didn’t 

know at that time my healing took place. 

I went through the tests, and the doctors 

said that there was no cancer there. I felt 

so good within my body. 

I went to Lake Barkley in November 

and feasted on Dr. Renfro’s message. I 

went at lunchtime, gave him a hug, and 

told him what they had found on my 

pancreas. These were his words: “You 

had cancer, but God healed you.” That 

was my confirmation I needed. 

I have told everyone I see that God 

healed me of pancreatic cancer. I am 

71 years old; this shows that there is no 

age with God. I thank Him every day 

and cry every day because that could 

have been my death warrant. God is 

good all the time; all the time, God 

is good. 

—Pat Hooker

A Gospel Singer’s Report 

There was an awesome presence of 

the Lord at my concert at the Crown 

Heights Church of God of Prophecy 

in Brooklyn, New York. I said, “The 

presence of the Lord is mighty in the 

house,” and I asked for all who were 

sick to stand and lift their hands in faith. 

Then, I went into the congregation and 

prayed for several individuals. 

Two days after the concert, I received 

a telephone call of a healing testimony. 

I was informed that a woman who was 

at the concert had been the victim of a 

motor vehicle accident several months 

earlier and had suffered spinal cord injuries. 

In His Presence 

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! YES! I want to subscribe to the White Wing Messenger: Enclosed is my payment for . . . 

Bundles! 

BISHOP 

Charles Edward Collins; 

Alvin, Texas; October 18, 2009; licensed 

minister for 59 years. 

MINISTERS 

Brazil Kelly; 

Belton, South Carolina; January 22, 2010; 

licensed minister for 65 years. 

Mary M. Goin; 

Bucyrus, Ohio; January 31, 2010; 


Velma Joyce Moore; 

Austinville, Virginia; January 9, 2010; 


At the concert, this woman had said to 

her friend, “There are too many people 

here, and she [myself] will not touch 

me,” so she stood and lifted her hands. 

This woman testified that immediately 

she felt a tingling in her fingers, which 

ran down her arm to her back, and there 

was a loud, cracking sound. The people 

standing closest to her heard the 

cracking sound and asked, “What is that 

sound?” The woman responded, “That’s 

my spine, and the pain is gone.” This dear 

lady was healed by the power of God! 

This same woman and her husband 

were having marital problems and 

were in the process of going through 

a divorce. The husband of this woman 

Curtis Lee Music; 

Alma, Georgia; January 8, 2010; 

licensed minister for six years. 

Juan de Jesus Sanchez; 

Dominican Republic; January 29, 2010; 


MEMBERS 

Michael C. Metaxas; 

Cleveland, Tennessee; 

January 23, 2010. 

Ines Ortiz; 

Newark, Delaware; October 12, 2009; 

widow of Reverend Frank Ortiz. 

Ruby Traficanto; 

Sodus, Michigan; 

December 25, 2009; she was a member 

of the Church for more than 70 years. 

called his wife’s friend and thanked 

her for taking his wife into Brooklyn. 

He affirmed that the “woman who left 

here yesterday evening was not the 

same woman who came back home in 

the night.” He mentioned that the next 

morning, he would visit the attorney 

and cancel the divorce papers because 

he had got his wife back. Monday 

morning came, and the husband went 

and did just as he had promised. 

Not only was this woman healed 

from her spinal cord injuries and pain, 

but her marriage was restored by the 

powerful hand of God! We serve a 

mighty God! 

—Dawn McDowell, Brooklyn, New York 

New Churches 

Green Acres, Florida; 

organized on November 7, 2009; 

Pastor José de los Santos. 

Minneapolis, Minnesota; 

organized on November 8, 2009; 

Pastor Luis Rodriguez Luna. 

Brigham City, Utah; 

organized on January 17, 2010; 

Pastor Jesus Sandoval. 

West Palm Beach, Florida; 

organized on January 17, 2010; Pastor 

Jeffrey Webb. 

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WWM APRIL 2010 31

Bishop RE Howard, General Overseer - Church of God of Prophecy

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