Some of you may know, but most of you probably don’t know what C.E.C stands for. Well in Kansas City, at the International House of Prayer, C.E.C stands for ‘Children’s Equipping Center’ and the name of their sunday school building is a perfect description of the mission that IHOP has for raising up kids in the Lord, and they do it well. We arrived here in KC last Saturday night and attended the Sunday morning service at IHOP with anticipation. What we didn’t expect was that while we were doing church in the sanctuary, our kids would be experiencing Christ in sunday school in ways that we had only ever dreamed and hoped for.
Before I say anymore I want to commend and honor the saints of God who pour themselves out tirelessly and faithfully on the battleground that is Sunday School. Those men and women who see Jesus in the faces of our children. Those men and women who believe in the coming generation of believers, who believe that children are important and integral in the coming of the Kingdom of God, who believe that the Holy Spirit can and will touch, fill and move children in the church today in apostolic power and anointing. Thank You to the Jep Banda’s, the Dave Stroeve’s, the many who serve tirelessly and thanklessly raising up our children to be who God has called them to be. Thank You.
This last Thursday night we dropped our kids off for what we presumed was going to be childcare for the ‘Prayer and Prophetic Conference’ we were attending at IHOP. What we discovered later, however, was that we had dropped them off for a divine appointment with Jesus Christ. We had a great time at the Thursday evening session. Awesome worship, great teaching, but that was all eclipsed by what the Lord was doing in our kids in the C.E.C. right next door. When I went to pick up our older 3 children I found them deep in prayer seeking Jesus and interceding for each other in groups. As we walked to the van to go home our children could not contain the glorious wonders of the evening and all the excited testimony burst forth. “God told me ‘that He would take my old heart away, and give me a new heart’ Isaac told us ‘and that I would be in His heart forever and ever”. Our children had been experiencing the Love and Grace of God for themselves. The next session when we picked up the kids it was the same thing. Eiryn told us “I was praying for a girl, and as I was laying hands on her and praying for her I just started crying and I couldn’t stop” The Holy Spirit had fallen on her as she was praying. Isaac told us that as he was raising his hands and worshipping that he felt God touch him and that His power went into him. And Carsyn told us she wasn’t afraid to raise her hands in worship anymore. Incredible. As the sessions have continued our kids have continued to grow in their experience of Jesus. Not just learning about Him, but experiencing Him and learning to know Him.
Children are the future. What kind of future church are we raising up?
Lets commit ourselves to raising up children who aren’t content with seeking God one hour a week, one day a week. Lets commit ourselves to raising up kids who hear His voice, who walk in the place of intimacy with Him, who understand their authority in Him, and who will obey Him no matter what the cost. Lets commit to giving our children a vision of God that is worthy of God. The speaker tonight said something that blew my mind, he said “It would be absolutely impossible to ever exaggerate His infinite greatness and glory”. Wow. That is the vision of God I want to catch ahold of myself, and cast for the upcoming generation.
Shayne and I have a heart for children and youth, we have a deep desire to see kids raised up and released and we are so thankful that churches like ROL, IHOP and many more are pursuing this goal passionately. I will leave you with a testimony we heard from Daniel Hooteigling the other day. He told us about a 5 year old girl who was in the prayer room here at IHOP and she told Daniel “As I was praying, God gave me a prayer language”. Don’t ever underestimate your child or Gods ability to use them, and serve your church’s sunday school program passionately believing God for greater things in these kids than you’ve ever seen before.
Thanks for Journeying with us
The Schafers
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