In Matthew chapter eighteen, Jesus does something brilliantly simple—He puts a child on His lap and tells a group of adults arguing about greatness that they must become like children if they want to enter the kingdom of heaven. Imagine the scene: grown men debating their rankings like a fantasy football draft, only to have Jesus interrupt them with a child who still thinks dirt is a snack. Then in Matthew nineteen, when the disciples try to act as Jesus’ scheduling committee and keep children away from Him, He corrects them again: “Let the little children come to Me.” That is striking when compared to how Jesus talks about reaching adults. In Luke chapter fourteen verse twenty-three, He says, “Compel them to come.” Adults often need to be pushed, persuaded, coaxed, and occasionally dragged. Children? Just open the door—they will run in. One evangelist once said, “There are no real converts after age sixty-five.” That may be an exaggeration, but it makes a point: children tend to embrace Jesus with open hearts, while adults tend to embrace Him with open arguments.
Dr. Lois E. LeBar, in her book Children in the Bible, argued that children’s ministry is not a side program—it is strategic. She wrote that a child’s heart is fertile soil for the gospel. Why? Because faith comes naturally when dependence is already a way of life. Toddlers believe juice boxes appear by magic and fathers know everything. Trust is built into childhood. Spiritual habits formed early leave long fingerprints on life. Think about this: Matthew Henry was converted at eleven, Isaac Watts at nine, Jonathan Edwards at eight, and Richard Baxter at six. No wonder their lives made such a profound impact—they had time to grow deep roots. D. L. Moody once said that at one of his services “two and a half” people were saved. When asked if he meant two adults and one child, Moody shook his head. “No,” he said, “two children and one adult. The children have their whole lives ahead of them; the adult’s life is already half spent.”
But it is not only children who benefit from children’s ministry—adults do too. Teaching children forces us to rediscover what Jesus said grown-ups tend to lose: simple faith. Try explaining the Trinity to a room full of eight-year-olds armed with juice pouches and curiosity. It will sharpen your theology and your prayer life. Jesus used children as an object lesson not because they were cute props, but because their faith revealed what adults had forgotten. In Matthew eighteen verse three, Jesus said, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” When God spoke from heaven in Matthew seventeen and said, “This is my beloved Son… listen to Him,” He was talking to adults who still struggled to trust. Perhaps children understand something essential: faith is not complicated—it is humble, trusting, and eager to come close to Jesus. Adults may need to be compelled, but children just need to be welcomed.