WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH...

STEVE WOOD maintains believers' children on this tough estate are not suffering as a result

MOST of the families on the church plant have young children, and so inevitably we have been facing the issue of where they will go to school. People (usually Christians) outside the area are horrified to hear that all the children on the church plant will be going to the local schools. The common perception is that since the local people go there, it will be 'rough' and the children will emerge at 16 illiterate!

It has been helpful for us to think this through since it has forced us to assess where our priorities really are to be found. It is true that the academic record of the schools in our area is not as good as in the 'nice' parts of the city However, that is more a reflection on the home life of many of the children, than the school itself. If the children are encouraged to study at home and grow up in a stable, disciplined environment, they can do well no matter what the school is like.

In a church plant situation it is vital that the children go to the local school for two reasons. Firstly, if they don't, they will have very few friends on the estate. It will isolate them since everyone else will be going to the nearby school together. The pressure is great enough on Christian children, without them having the stigma of going to the 'posh' school. Secondly the evangelistic contacts formed through involvement by parents in the activities of the local school are almost limitless. Whether it is chatting at the school gate when collecting the children or helping with classes or organising fund raising, there are numerous openings that can be taken.

If all believers avoid this sort of estate because of their children's education, who is going to evangelise it? Are we really willing to stand before the Lord and explain that we let thousands go to a lost eternity, so that our little precious could get an extra GCSE or two? Judging from the reactions we have had from some Christians, I am forced to wonder whether they worship God or education. They say they want the best for their children, but it seems that the best is defined for them by the world not the Bible, and include a degree and a career.

This church plant has given us time to stop and look again at what really does matter. The two most important issues are that the people on our estate find faith in Christ and that our children grow up to know and love the Lord. Neither of which requires a degree or that they become a solicitor!

Some have accused us of putting our children's future in jeopardy by bringing them on this church plant. My greatest fear for our children is not that they fail academically, but that they grow up second generation Christians with an unreal faith that has never been tested or seen by them to work. There are risks bringing children on a church plant but there are also enormous risks bringing them up in a nice, safe (and boring!) environment where the Christian life is seen to centre around meetings and never results in anything much happening.

All children will one day have to face the challenge of living in a non-Christian world. If they are sheltered while at school they will have to encounter it when at college or university (when they will also be away from any influence of home). If they have learned gradually what the world is like and how to cope with it, they will do better than suddenly going from an unreal, protected environment to all the most exciting temptations the world can offer.

As the church plant gets more established, we hope to see a youth club started and obviously the presence of our church children will be an important factor in this. At the moment we simply do not have the manpower to set it up and to run it effectively

There are a very large number of children and young people on our estate and there are few facilities for them, so it would not only be popular with young people but would also provide a very real opening into many of the homes in the area. It is vital, however, that we have enough people to run it properly, Youth work is very labour intensive and if we try to do it too soon, we will find either we lose control of the meetings and discipline will break down or the quality of the youth work will suffer.

Our prayer is that the next generation growing up on this estate will find a real faith, and live lives changed by the Holy Spirit that will in turn change the whole reputation of the area. Even the Christians will send their children to the local schools then!

Steve Wood is a pseudonym and the place remains unidentified so the project can continue unhindered

New Christian Herald - 20/7/96