Down through the ages attitudes toward children have varied from culture to culture. The Bible indicates that children are precious to God even before they are born (Psalm 139:13-16). They are also to be considered a blessing from heaven. (Psalm127:3).

When two people bring their baby to our church for Christian dedication (we do not practise infant baptism)the parents, godparents and church members all promise to participate in nurturing and training of that child throughout its developmental years.

The Bible clearly indicates that children need both love and discipline to become stable, mature adults. (Hebrews 12:7-11; Ephesians 6:4; Col. 3:21).Historically, formal education of children began in religious institutions. Although the church’s main focus is on the spiritual and moral life of children other aspects of education are recognised as also being important for well-rounded development; personal,social, health, physical etc. We aim to foster knowledge, skills and attitudes in all these areas. Our main objective is to promote children’s spiritual development by teaching them about what the Bible says concerning life. Both the Old and New Testaments are full of practical wisdom and stories which illustrate how to handle our emotions, how to deal with success as well as frustration and disappointments; how we are to relate to one another, personal integrity, perseverance and much more.We also explore with the children fundamental issues of life: creation and the universe; human origins;good morals; suffering and inequalities; the purpose of our existence; the person and work of Jesus Christ; life after death etc. The level at which these are approached and the teaching methods employed vary according to the age and developmental stage of the children involved. We aim to provide a range of activities and also include children in aspects of the mainstream praise and worship services.

In our experience we have found that some children will express a wish to make a personal commitment to following Jesus. We find this entirely appropriate as Christ himself said in Matthew 19:14, Let the little children come unto me. Don't stop them because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like these children.(New Century Version Youth Bible). If God accepts the implicit trust and simple faith of children, who are we to say they are too young to know what they are doing? Obviously as children grow up their level of understanding will increase and their faith will mature in the process of their development.

CHILD WELFARE

The welfare of children and young people entrusted to our care has always been of paramount importance. The Children's Act 1989 now requires the church to produce a policy on its arrangements regarding child protection. The church's National Youth and Christian Education Department is responsible for producing this document and for developing guidelines for training (paid and voluntary) children/youth workers. Briefly the policy addresses issues concerning:

Allegations of abuse or neglect, including those made against church leaders or church members. Appointment of children's/youth workers.

(Prospective youth workers now have to complete a job application form and agree to Police and Department of Health checks).

Supporting victims of violent and sex abuse. Working with Offenders.

The church does not operate in isolation but works collaboratively with other child care agencies as necessary e.g.. Social Services, and the Local Education Authority.

CONCLUSION

The children of the twenty-first century are growing up in a world that is vastly different to that of previous eras. Rather than provide real solutions, accelerated scientific, medical and technological advances tend to raise greater moral and ethical

questions. The world is in flux politically, spiritually, morally, financially and environmentally as never before. The Bible describes this situation in Matthew 24:6-8; 2 Timothy 3:1-7 and Hebrews 12:27. Only one thing remains constant in all of this instability: ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday,today and forever.’ (Hebrews 13:8).This is the timeless message of hope we give to our young people. Jesus Christ is real. His Gospel is relevant. It has power to change individual lives and as more individual people begin to ‘walk the talk’of Christ the world will become a better place for us all.