Children are valuable to Jesus. Jesus recognised the importance of children and youth. He was asked by the disciples, “‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ “He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.“ ‘If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea’ ” (Matt. 18:1–6, NIV).
Ellen White wrote that, “It is still true that children are the most susceptible to the teachings of the gospel; their hearts are open to divine influences, and strong to retain the lessons received.” Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1940), 515.
I am Colleen Savage; I am passionate about teaching children about Jesus’ amazing love for them. I love seeing their awestruck faces when they learn the stories in the Bible and then want to read further about those stories in their own Bibles. I believe that everyone needs to feel included, no matter what their age – this includes children. Serving others give adults and children a sense of worth and belonging, it teaches us empathy and to think of others, outside of ourselves. I have seen that if children are valued and their strengths and gifts are utilised and encouraged in the church setting, they have a sense of belonging, which is what we want – we all belong in God’s kingdom. Therefore, the intergenerational church is so important- all ages respecting and worshipping together and building each other up. “Let us encourage each other and build each other up” 1 Thessalonians 5:11.
I have a passion for children’s ministries and have held the role of children’s ministries leader for my home churches in Auckland and Sydney. In this role we organised various events for the local church and community. I am looking forward to hearing what you are doing in your local church and would love to assist where I can. I have a Bachelor of Education (Primary), and as well as teaching in our Seventh-day Adventist Schools, I have taught community classes on parenting and child development to single parents. Recently, I completed a Masters in Social Work, and have a passion for empowering families who are vulnerable and giving them the resources they need to be safe, strong, and resilient members in our communities.
Together, let’s work in unity to further the work of the Lord’s kingdom.
Special Religious Education is a very special opportunity to minister to children in schools. The Seventh-day Adventist Church (North New South Wales Conference) Ltd encourages all its members to be involved in Special Religious Education for the good of local school communities. This is a privilege we do not accept lightly and by accrediting and training our teachers we intend to support the high standard of education in our local schools.
