Child Evangelism

Scripture teaches evangelism of children. When I write “evangelism,” some people may have heard the word, but don’t really know what it means. “Evangelism” means “preaching the gospel.” Evangelism of children is the preaching of the gospel to children. Evangelism itself doesn’t imply that someone received the gospel, just that a person heard a true, biblical gospel. If that’s the case, someone evangelized that person.

“Gospel” itself is “good news” and in particular the good news of salvation. If someone hears the gospel, he hears the plan of salvation from the Bible. First, children need to hear the gospel as early as they can hear it. Paul wrote Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” Paul commends that Timothy heard what scripture said about salvation from when he was a child. Other verses say the same, but this one validates this. Children are not too young to hear it.

Second, children need to hear the gospel from scripture. The knowledge of scripture makes a child wise unto salvation. The evangelist must take the gospel from scripture to the child, reading the appropriate verses in their context and explaining them.

Today very often, and this has occurred for quite awhile throughout the world, children hear a plan of salvation that is adjusted in some way to what a person thinks a child should hear. Most of the time it becomes less than a biblical salvation plan. Children need to learn a scriptural gospel.