“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.” —Matthew 16:13-20

We have been

to DO what Jesus says. BELIEVE who Jesus is. LOVE who Jesus loves. SHARE what Jesus did. And GO where Jesus leads!

For the

time in American history we are raising children in a country where Christians are a minority.

Children and youth ministries are more important now than

previous time in American history.

In Jewish culture

is everything…because your identity grounds you in your past and opens the door to your future.

Jesus’ question, “But who do you say that I am?” is the most

question you’ll ever answer in your lifetime.

Who is going to teach our children the answer to that question if

don’t?

Messiah means “

one,” and Son of the Living God means Jesus is both human and God.

We know that Peter takes this great charge and

miserably.

But Christ doesn’t give up on Peter. And eventually Peter is

after his failure and becomes a committed follower of Christ.

Every child deserves the same chance that Peter had. And that will only happen if we

ourselves to raising the next generation of Christians.

Action Steps

If you are already ministering to children and youth,

yourself to that ministry. And if you are not, find a way to help.

for our children, our youth and their families.