Opening the windowMartyn Payne |
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Just over twelve years ago a window of Christian experience opened for me that radically influenced and informed my work with children. It is a window that continues to let in more and more light as the years go by and as such never fails to excite and challenge my ministry in countless ways. Put quite simply, it is a window onto the world. Maybe I was just a late starter or perhaps unusually blind, which I can easily believe, but the discovery of the wealth of Christian story that exists from the worldwide family of faith has continued to open my eyes. I grew up into a Christianity here in the West that tended for the most part to promote the church 'out there’—in the majority world—as something to which we sent money and missionaries; a spiritually needy and, dare I say it, less advanced part of the kingdom, which—and please forgive me for once thinking this—we theologically more sound nations were called to serve. How far from the truth this is and I believe our tiny part of God's kingdom is thankfully at last waking up to see things properly! The particular shape of that window twelve years ago was my appointment as National Children's Work Co-ordinator for the Church Mission Society (CMS). This over 200 year-old agency has a rich network of worldwide connections with the Christian family, and it was through the encounter with the stories and the people of those countries that my world view enlarged dramatically and my Christian journey took on a new dimension. Stories of faith in action from war-torn Sudan; the experiences of local Christian work and witness alongside the poor in India; the commitment to justice and evangelism in the heart of the Middle East; the engagement of practical love on the streets of post-communist Romania, all fired my heart and imagination. I still cannot easily pass a shop and not have one eye open for some artifact or other or perhaps a new book that might in some way open up a new window into what it means to be a follower of Jesus in a part the world very different from my own. However, I began by saying that all this has radically influenced and informed my work with children. Let me explain. My passion for sharing the story of Jesus with children in a creative way was given such a boost by the discovery of the life of the Christian family worldwide. The children I talked with were now able to hear about a faith that has quite literally shaken the world and of the truth that this same Jesus who loves them moves hearts of every colour and culture. This added honesty, depth and excitement to the message I was sharing. Christianity was not just some white Western phenomenon that I was peddling—however much that has sadly seemed to be the way it has been for many generations in the past—it was the truth for the whole world. The small Sunday group or midweek club with which I was working were part of the biggest family on earth—the Christian family, with brothers and sisters on every continent working out their faith in all sorts of climates and conditions. This still excites me and empowers what I do through my work for Barnabas in schools and churches nationally. That's all very well on paper, I hear you say, but what does it mean in practice? Well, working that out was been the journey which began with CMS and which still continues. I started by being on the lookout for those stories of faith worldwide which I could pass on to the children I met; stories in particular that had symbol or artefact linked to them. So, whether it was a collection of ethnic hats, or crosses from other countries, or Bibles in different languages, I gathered together materials that could help me and others tell the gospel story in a global context. And surely this is increasingly an imperative for our work among children today. They are global children who are not only increasingly aware of the bigger world through the media, education and travel but who will be grow up to be world citizens with the growing interflow of peoples between nations. I want these children to hear that there are followers of Jesus in every place and that indeed those very believers have riches of insight and experiences of faith to share with us that will help us grow in our faith in God. These very children are in your groups and churches and it is down to us to make sure this window is opened for them. Once I began seriously to be on the lookout for ways into the bigger picture, I found no shortage of materials. Many of the partner mission organizations with which I worked had a rich library of resources, which sadly though was rarely used by most leaders who planned children's programmes. What a treasure they were missing! But there are other gems to be found even closer to home. In most parts of the country now there are 'people resources', too. There are Christians living in our midst who come from a variety of different places around God's world. They have stories to share with your children—stories, which they are sadly often not ever asked about. And if you perhaps feel that your particular community is not rich in this respect, there are nevertheless opportunities via a number of programmes run by mission and aid agencies as well as denominations that set up encounters with overseas Christians. Once again, I have to say, it is schools that lead the way in this. Many of the children in your groups go to schools that are twinned with institutions abroad. Cross-cultural exploration is encouraged and the global dimension is definitely written into our present curriculum. Why then do churches with their extensive and exciting global family keep silent to its own people about all this? The Church of God is bigger than we think! We encourage our children from time to time to join in with larger gatherings in our districts, synods, dioceses or even nationally, in order to remind them that they are not alone. To link them up to God's worldwide web is another way to do just this! Many organizations, which work with children—in particular the uniformed groups—do value and promote international links. This is for example the centenary year of the worldwide Scouting movement and there are international celebrations drawing together young people from many countries. There also many books (and not just especially Christian books) which introduce customs, games, costumes and festival stories from many lands—festivals and games that are enjoyed by Christian boys and girls in those very places. With the resource of the web, it is not difficult nowadays to discover lots about other styles of Christian worship, different designs for church buildings and alternative ways of celebrating Christmas and Easter, as well as an amazing array of artwork from other nations depicting Bible stories. I often use the latter to help me not only to tell the story of Jesus afresh but also to put that into the context of the wider world. During my time with CMS, I was certainly privileged to encounter these global stories first hand and indeed to travel and see for myself church processions on the streets of Damascus, work with children on the streets in Romania, Christian camps in the hills of northern Lebanon and lively worship in the churches of Uganda. Many of my experiences became distilled in material I wrote at the time and one resource in particular A-cross the World is now available as a Barnabas book to enable just this sort of global exploration to happen. Can I urge you not to neglect this aspect of your work with children and to make it part of your programmes. Be on the alert for ways in which your group can connect to the bigger picture. Of course, in our very unequal world, an inevitable part of that connection will be an opportunity for them to give in some way—and that is right and proper. But don't forget also what can be received. James in his epistle puts it in a nutshell:
My dear friends, pay attention. God has given a lot of faith to the poor people in this world. He has also promised them a share in his kingdom that he will give to everyone who loves him.
Below are links to some new ideas as well as some existing ones that have been written for the Ideas section of our Barnabas website. Each of these is designed in some way to help encourage the opening of that world window. I hope you will find them useful and that this might set you too off in search of further ways to enrich the diet of your children's work and so nurture healthy, outward-looking, globally-minded Christians for the future.
The good news is spreading all over the world with great success. It has spread in that same way among you, ever since the first day you leant the truth about God’s wonderful kindness.
Ideas to help open the window: God is so good
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