Loving the Second Generation as Children
by Executive Editor John Yoder
Over half of those who come to faith in Christ do so before the age of 14. I came to Christ in 7th grade through the ministry of a Christian school. Its chapel services were my first exposure to the gospel.
What would have happened if I had taken a few Spanish classes and heard the gospel in Spanish? Would I have responded if I only understood 30% of the message? Would I have deeply fallen in love with Jesus if I only understood 30% of what he said?
This is the dilemma faced by many children of first-generation immigrants. Their parents have faced great hardships in emigrating to a new country. They are struggling to understand new cultural norms, systems, and in most cases new languages. The majority of first-generation immigrant pastors hold full-time jobs, raising their families and pastoring their churches on the evenings and weekends. Volunteers work together to provide preaching, worship, prayer and other ministries in the language of their beloved homelands. Many have come from countries that have no tradition of providing Bible teaching for children outside of the adult worship service.
Most of these churches are quite small. In the Minneapolis area, the average size of an immigrant congregation is 30. That means they likely have 4 to 8 children from birth to age 11, and 2 to 4 teenagers. That’s not much of a youth group. Many of those born in the U.S. understand little to none of the pastor’s message. They frequently spend the entire worship service on their cell phones. They find both church and Christ boring and irrelevant to their daily lives. They are required to attend church while they still live at home. But as soon as they leave the nest, most permanently disappear from church.
There are at least three different ways an immigrant congregation can provide English-language Bible training for its children.
- Provide it independently. A church may have enough English speakers of its ow to provide quality Bible teaching for its children.
- Discover online resources. www.life.church is a great resource with free weekly online English language children's and youth ministries. Our website, www.immigrantministry.com, also lists helpful resources for the second generation.
- Partner with an American church in the community. American churches have been providing children’s Sunday School for generations, and many are quite good at it. I strongly recommend that American and immigrant pastors befriend one another, not just to accomplish ministry, but to understand what different members of the body of Christ are doing in their own neighborhoods. Such a relationship can give an immigrant church a sister congregation that can provide helpful resources for its families. Many American churches would be open to volunteers from another church working together with its volunteers to serve everyone's children together.
American churches should understand that some of the most valuable resources it can provide for its immigrant Christian neighbors are its children's and youth ministries. That doesn't mean that anyone will come knocking on your door soon. It may take time for them to know and trust you. Western cultures are faster to entrust their children to strangers than many other global cultures. You might need to begin a personal relationship with a pastor or a parent before you're entrusted with the care of their children.
You can learn more about the second generation through our free online course Empowering the Second Generation, available at https://www.immigrantministry.com/secondgen.