What could happen in a single week? . . . Seven short days? . . .
I’ve seen God move in amazing ways in my many years in ministry, but almost never have I seen such a move of God as I witnessed in our huge campaign in Cuba this last month.
The Lord has opened multiple evangelistic fronts to us, and in three simultaneous events, we saw more than 1,700 people receive salvation through Jesus’ Name! And who is the Spirit reaching most powerfully?
The answer may surprise you: THE CHILDREN.
But I confess—I didn’t always understand the focus of our Savior on the youngest among us . . .
I remember a sad day in Spain, long ago, during an evangelistic campaign. I announced that all who had made decisions for Christ would receive a Bible.
A sweet little girl, perhaps 10 years of age, stepped up . . . declared that she had received the Lord . . . and wanted her Bible.
I’m sorry to admit—I choked. I had only imagined adults coming forward for Bibles. In that moment, my brain was flooded with objections:
I told that little girl no.
And I could not sleep that night.
In those dark hours of regret, God reminded me that most of us first received the Lord as children.
The next morning, I surveyed our campaign volunteers about their own salvation experiences. They confirmed it. Most of them had come to Christ in childhood . . . just like the little girl I turned away.
For those who may be tempted to shrug off a child’s conversion, our team members also confirmed that a decision made in childhood is indeed the true moment of salvation by faith.
I decided that day, with the strong agreement of our ministry team, that from then on, children would be Christ’s welcome guests in our campaigns. To this very day, this is our strong commitment.
Last week in Cuba, that commitment was verified yet again, when I reconnected with a pastor whom I first met when he was just a child . . .
I remember how this little boy came into a church in Havana, crying out loud, sobbing one phrase over and over: “My dad just died, my dad just died, my dad just died.”
That same heartbroken little fellow became the pastor of a church where we held one of our evangelistic events last week.
I told his story, then invited him to come up to the platform. The people clapped and cheered. He is a beautiful example of what God can do when we love a little child the way Jesus did.
He came to faith as a child and has since then spent decades as a pastor in ever-growing churches. The faith born in his heart at that tragic, dramatic moment has grown steadily, carrying him victoriously through life . . . even as he imparts a victorious faith to many others!
Children’s ministry—sowing and reaping in the fertile field of children’s hearts—led the way in our three efforts in Cuba last week.
A child’s unbiased faith, a child’s humble heart, leaves no doubt as to why Jesus spoke in such strong terms: unless we have faith like a child, we can’t enter the kingdom of heaven!
“And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” —Matthew 18:2-4
Jesus is powerfully spotlighting the faith, the humility, the dependence of a child. He’s telling a group of adults that the attitudes so genuine in a child are the best foundation for entering the kingdom of heaven. We might put it another way: we can see these attitudes at their best—in their purest form—not in the lives of seasoned veterans, with years of experience in life and faith, but in the lives of children.
But even after such a strong statement, Jesus wasn’t finished with His focus on children.
In the very next chapter of Scripture, Jesus addresses His disciples as they try to stop children from coming to Him. Allow them, He said; don’t hinder them.
Why? Because the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who have the humility, trust, and openness characteristic of children. Adults should never hinder children from experiencing God’s love; children will “get it” and live it in ways that adults seem to let slide as time goes by!
And yet, in every generation—in Jesus’ day, and in our day—children are typically not taken seriously. Children’s programs carry a stigma of inferiority, as if they are somehow second-class ministries. Adults automatically assume children lack the maturity and intellect that we value in adults.
But the Creator sees it differently!
We need to get a God’s-eye view of our children.
A child’s journey of faith begins in the tender years, when a heart is open and receptive to the Divine. Childhood is a unique and sacred passage of life, a time when the innocence and curiosity of young hearts allow for a pure and unencumbered relationship with God.
In these formative years, children respond to the wonders of creation and the whispers of the Divine with a sincerity that invites Him into their lives. It is in this ripe moment that they are most prepared to understand love, compassion, and the beauty of following a path guided by faith.
I am grateful to report that your generous giving is reaching children, as well as adults, not only in Cuba but also in mission fields all over the world . . .
India is a gargantuan field where ministry to children has revolutionized the growth and effectiveness of our work together. Mentoring centers are dramatically demonstrating that, contrary to Hindu beliefs, children are not born alienated from the favor of their “gods.”
Outreach to children is so complicated in that culture! India’s modern constitution technically forbids discrimination due to the ancient caste system, yet the system is still very much in place in many circles of society. Millions of children are born in the “wrong” caste, barred from receiving attention and privilege.
But by teaching children that God made them in His image and that we are each a unique creature made by Him and for Him, we have achieved a huge breakthrough . . .
These kids, once doomed to discrimination and poverty, are becoming top-of-the-class students. The attention of a mentoring teacher to remedy their poor learning environment is proving to be a miracle. Parents are discovering that only a misleading philosophy has kept them and their children in darkness and oppression.
We’re seeing how, even in these early lessons, children gain the strength to face life’s challenges with faith. And this ministry multiplies . . .
As you read these words, we have 590 children in our year-round program in India. But there are 500 others who desperately want to join. I remember a conversation a couple years ago, with two brothers leading our ministry in that nation. I told them I was overwhelmed by what God was doing, but also by the challenges, the sheer workload. They were unmoved! “All India needs what you are doing!” they insisted.
And they weren’t finished. “All Nepal needs it as well!” they added. Christians there have seen what’s happening through the children’s mentoring ministry in India and recognize clearly that it’s exactly what’s needed in their own country—because their children and families face the same religious biases.
Yet even this is not the full scope of the opportunity before us. Venezuela needs this ministry to children just as desperately! And obviously, I could list many more nations in the same place of need.
Today, I humbly ask for your generous response of love, to share the Good News with children and their families in far-flung corners of the earth. You may not be able to go overseas personally, but you can make a personal impact. Moses felt inadequate and didn’t know where to start, but God simply asked, “What do you have in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). Think of the victories Moses and the children of Israel achieved from that moment on!
God can take your “ordinary”—whatever is in your hand—and turn it into the extraordinary . . . the miraculous! So I invite you to respond today in the spirit of Ecclesiastes 9:10: Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your strength, for in the afterlife, there are no more opportunities to effect eternal change!
I hope to hear from you soon. And I pray God’s richest blessings upon you in this season of harvest!
Your fellow servant,
Dr. Manny Fernandez