At 9:38 am and pm every day, Christians are praying Matthew 9:38 asking the “Lord of the harvest to send workers out into his harvest field”. There are so many children, 2 billion in the world today, and there are so few children’s ministry workers to reach and disciple them. What can we do? Pray!
But there is something else a young leader in the slums of Kampala, Uganda is doing too. 70% of the children there do not attend school due to lack of funds. Edwin runs a KidsHub each Saturday in the centre of an overcrowded slum where 40 – 60 children, aged 3 – 16 years gather to play games, dance and do school work sheets. Providing the children with some ‘school time’ and activities is meeting a felt need of the parents.
A computer KidsHub has also begun teaching children the basics of computing. “It stops them misbehaving, like stealing the plastic bottles that are collected and stored next to their meeting place for selling to recyclers,” one leader said.
But how does this relate to needing ‘workers for the harvest field’? Edwin runs his KidsHubs with only a few adult leaders. How could these children be effectively mentored and discipled like Jesus modelled when there are so many children, and so few leaders?
His solution was to ask that every child who takes part in the KidsHub agree to be a buddy and mentor to someone else. Even the 3-year-olds are given a buddy to care and look out for. In this way, ongoing mentorship has been developed.
(L to R): Edwin & Nassah
Nassah is a young man just entering University. Edwin has mentored him since he was a young teen first attending the KidsHub. Nassah now mentors other younger children and helps lead the Bible time run for those interested immediately after the Saturday KidsHub. “I mentor Nassah, Nassah mentors others and they mentor others and so it goes,” said Edwin.
When we ask the Lord of the harvest to provide workers we may find many of them are children!