"Children have no place on the mission field."

It is tempting for me to try and address this statement from a purely adult viewpoint. However, I thought it might be helpful for us to begin our reflection on whether or not it is true that children have a place on the mission field by  listening to the heart of a young man who believes called God him to serve on the mission field.  This is what this 12 year old had to say at the recent Global NMI Convention in Orlando, Florida during a Canadian Cultural Expressions event:

"My name is Cory Kucey. I live in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, Canada. I go to Pine Ridge Middle School and will be going into grade 7 next year. I have an older brother, Ryan, and younger sister, Karissa. My mother is Rev. Tonya Kucey, the Canadian representative for the Global Nazarene Missions International (NMI) Council as well as the pastor of the Annapolis Valley Community Church of the Nazarene. My dad is Darin.


Cory Kucey played his guitar during a mission trip
to Zambia in the summer of 2009.

"God has been talking to me about serving Him since I was a very small boy. The first time I remember hearing God speak to me about serving Him I was 6 years old. I was going to the Windsor Church of the Nazarene when Don and Evie Gardner, missionaries from Africa, came to our church. When Evie talked to us kids [about serving Jesus in Kenya] and asked if anyone felt like God was telling them He wanted them to be a missionary, I raised my hand. I felt like God told me that He wanted me to go to Africa.

"Since then I have tried to get ready to go to the mission field. I started taking guitar lessons, studying French and serving in my local church in whatever way I could; worship team, nursery worker, teller, greeter, usher, local NMI Council member. I have even been allowed to preach a few times. Some people in my church have said that my mother should be concerned as I might end up taking her job. Maybe it is because I don’t preach as long as she does!

"This year Jesus really surprised me by letting me have my dream of going to Africa. I thought I would have to wait until I was all grown up, but I was wrong. I was able to join a team of 21 other Canadians who went to Zambia to serve some of the 600,000 Zambian orphans who lost their parents to HIV/AIDS.

"Isaiah 6:8 says that God asked: 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' Isaiah responded, 'Here I am! Send me!' I, too, have heard Jesus ask me to go and, like Isaiah, and other kids in Canada, I have answered by saying, 'I am only 12 but I will go!'"

Thanks for sharing, Cory! In addition to Cory, I have witnessed that there are indeed other children and youth who are willing and, I believe, called of God to serve Him in missions. The team Cory served on included close to 50 percent children and youth. The four youngest team members were 10, 11, 12 and 13 years old. Out of these four, three returned home expressing or confirming a call to missionary service! 

Children are called
I think that Cory, and others like him, are seeking to teach us adults what they think about the idea that children have no place on the mission field. They appear to be communicating in their own unique way that they want a chance to serve Jesus alongside of us adults.

Are we listening?

I have heard it said that children and youth are the church of tomorrow. But, in reality, I am convinced that they are the church of today.

When the disciples rebuked children and tried to keep them from Jesus, our Lord got offended. He said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." I am of the mindset that Jesus meant that not only were children able to come to Him as Savior, but that the kingdom of God belonged to them in the sense that they, too, are called to serve in it.

Later he said in Matthew 9:38, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Please take note that Jesus didn’t say, "Send out grown-up workers." He just said, "workers." I think this means that children can be His workers, too. They, too, are called. The harvest is too plentiful for just adult workers. We need "all hands on deck" so to speak. In these days of great harvesting we need servants of all shapes, sizes and ages to stand united in taking the truth of salvation to the nations of the world.

Children are equipped
When Jesus was only 12 years old, the same age that Cory is now, adults in the Temple were shocked that someone so young could understand the things of God. The Bible says in Luke 2:47, "Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers."

Sadly, some adults today are just like those who sat in the Temple that day with Jesus. They think that because children are younger and smaller that they may not be strong or smart enough to serve God. But I don’t think this is true. Jesus said that His servants could do all things through Him who gives us strength. That means that Jesus gives His Spirit to anyone, no matter what age we are, who ask and seek. Jesus promises that when His followers seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him. He said when we knock on the door He will open it.

Does this mean that if children ask, seek and knock to worship and serve Him they will be turned away because they are only children? I find this hard to believe, especially when I consider God’s promise spoken through his servant, Joel: "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions.... I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy." "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For EVERYONE (emphasis added) who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Children are commissioned
If children like Cory ask, seek, will they not also find? If they knock do they also share in the promise that the door to service, even missions ministry, is opened to them? I am convinced that the promises of God are not limited by age or gender, race or economic status. Not only as a pastor but as a parent I hold the strong conviction that children are commissioned by God to go and make disciples in the nations. I am convinced that Jesus gives His Spirit to all who ask. I am of the opinion that the Lord looks not at the age of His servant but whether or not the servant is yielded fully to Him. Yielded-ness, not age, qualifies a missionary!

Are there children in your family or churches who want to serve Jesus as missionaries? Encourage them! Give them opportunities to serve in ways that are in keeping with their ages, desires and abilities. When you hear someone say that children do not belong on the mission field, lovingly remind them that Jesus is looking for lots of workers for His harvest field. He wants servants of all ages to be willing to work for Him.

Lord, help us adults to stand behind in prayer and practical support of those who, like Cory, have responded to Your call to missionary service by saying to You, "Here am I. Send me!"

For more insight into how the Church of the Nazarene sees the value of children and youth, please read Church of the Nazarene Manual Paragraph 903.16 and/or Resolution 20 to the General Assembly 2009.