Are children's classes important?

This is the "classroom" for the kids at El Mamon near Santo Domingo. No, it's not much, but this church is not rich and the rest of the building is about the same. The important thing is that they built it. In most churches outside this country there are no children's classes. As a result most churches lose their teenagers--maybe half are baptized and even remain active until they get married, go to college, or otherwise move out of the family home. It is sad to meet young men who are leading singing, prayer, even preaching a little and 2-3 years later come back to find them gone.

But that is beginning to change as churches realize that children are the church of the future. Both of the churches we visited in San Isidro were working on a classroom. Vacation Bible school in Dominica had almost as many kids as are enrolled in the village school.

How seriously do you take children's classes? Are they just something you have to do to keep the kids occupied so their parents can have study? Having children in a classroom for 30 minutes does not necessarily teaching them and does not guarantee their learning. Remember, children are the church of the future.

Tol