The Deputy Director of the Children’s Ministry of The Church of Pentecost, Elder Prof. William Otoo Ellis, has urged parents and guardians to model godliness and persist in it in order to cultivate godly attributes in children.
Elder Prof. William Otoo Ellis made this assertion on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, at the November Heads’ Prayer Meeting currently ongoing at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh.
Presenting a paper on the topic “Raising Godly Children To Possess The Nations,” Elder Prof. Ellis said that one of the main reasons why God brings two people together in marriage is to raise godly children (Malachi 2:15), thus children who look like God and honour Him.
He, therefore, admonished Christian parents to always be conscious of the fact that the Lord expects them to raise godly children (Genesis 18:19).
This, he said, could easily be achieved when parents live whatever they teach or transfer to children both in word and lifestyle because more often than not children model the character of their parents, guardians and their teachers.
He also noted that raising godly children is a very painstaking task which involves training and imparting on the physical characteristics of the child’s personality, thus how they have to express themselves in words, in their thoughts and their feelings as they develop.
“Again, raising children involves the training and imparting on the social and emotional learning of the child as well as the intellectual capacity of the growing child,” he explained.
Reading Psalm 127:3, Elder Prof. Ellis cautioned parents that they would be held accountable by God for every child that He blesses them with because children are a heritage from Him.
“The word ‘heritage’ means property or treasure. Therefore, every child is a special gift or treasure that God gives to us to care for, to nurture as stewards for Him,” he explained.
Touching on the role of children in “possessing the nations” agenda of the church, Elder Prof. Ellis underscored the importance of children, describing them as “the foundation base for the present and the future of the church.”
He said that children are, therefore, crucial to the “possessing the nations” agenda. He, however, warned that for children to be useful to the course, there is the need for a focused and purposeful effort to raise children in the way and the things of the Lord.
The Deputy Children’s Director, therefore, urged church leaders to give priority to the focused training of children.
To effectively teach and nurture children in Christ and His word, he proposed that parents and the church adopt the 4Ws nurturing and imparting approach. That is, effectively communicating “the Word of God, the Worth of God, the Ways of God and the Works of God” to the children.
“For communication to be done effectively to achieve desired results it must be done consistently, continuously (Deuteronomy 6:7), convincingly (Deuteronomy 32:46) and must be based on personal testimony and experience,” he added.
Among other things, Elder Prof. William Otoo Ellis called on the church to provide the environment for the focused training and nurturing of the young ones, create an environment for the children to see faith being practised and for them to also practise the Christian faith.
He also urged the church to provide the resources (finances, logistics and quality human personnel) to support the Children’s Ministry in their task of training and nurturing, and also ensure that Children’s Ministry teachers and volunteers are constantly provided with the requisite training to reflect the new vision and the changing times we live in.
PENTECOST NEWS