And Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14

One of our greatest joys in working at Kodai School has been to see students profess their faith in Jesus and join the church. We celebrated this past Sunday when five young men in Grade 11 became members of The Church That Meets At Kodaikanal International School. One is a missionary kid whose parents serve in South India under the Christian Reformed Church of America. Two were Baptist students from Northeast India – one from Nagaland and the other whose parents are on the staff of the Baptist Eastern Theological College in Jorhat, Assam. All five came to KIS in elementary school, in the years that I headed up that section of the school. It was a joy to see them standing in front of the church proclaiming their desire to join our body of believers. Two of them gave their testimonies that touched the hearts of us all. Another two shared a testimony in song.

The Christian community at the school, and particularly in the church, has been under a strain over the past few years. As adults we too often have disagreements and conflicts. Unfortunately, many of these center around the whole focus of our ministry – the many children that we serve in the school. There aren’t many churches that average 75% of the congregation at the Sunday worship service to be 18 or under. But I want to tell you that God works through the rough times as well as the calm. Despite the struggles many students have joined the church and become active in its ministries. Three of boys who joined the church are active in ministry leadership with me.

Jesus showed us how important children were to him during his ministry- taking time to be with them, to heal them, to bless them. “Children are at the very center of life in the kingdom,” is how Eugene Peterson paraphrases Jesus’ words in Mark 10:14. I am excited about the willingness, even eagerness, of the kids to be student leaders in the ministries of the church. There has been a burst of interest here at KIS, particularly in the 11th grade class that our daughter Kara is part. We have a team of students and a few staff who lead a praise and worship service once a month. This team also leads the music for the weekly youth group meeting, where 60 to 100 high school kids meet and hear the Good News. This is not easy task for these kids with their busy schedules and some negative peer pressure. Yet they have not deterred from the work that God has for them.

It’s just really cool how God works!