The Holland (Michigan) Church loves children. In fact, they have been intentional about caring for the spiritual needs of the children in their church in special ways for years. Members have supported Bible Labs outreach projects at the school, organized quarterly children’s worship services, and encouraged the children to become involved in ministry based on their spiritual gifts. Some children were even coached to give Bible studies and enjoyed the thrill of seeing friends make decisions for baptism. Much of the church’s vision for encouraging ministry for and by children came under the leadership of Don MacLafferty, their former pastor.

During his five years in ministry at the Holland Church, Don wrestled with the importance of children to God and tried to understand His plans for them. He says, “It was there that I had the joy of partnering with the church family to involve children in the worship, ministry, and mission of the church.” When Don left Holland, church members continued to look for ways to nurture the children in their church and Don continued his personal quest “to discover how to better grow kids in Christ and in personal outreach.”

Holland Church members were excited to learn of their former pastor’s involvement in establishing The Kids in Discipleship Center at the Collegedale (Tennessee) Church and of its mission "to mentor kids as empowered disciples of Jesus NOW." They discovered the Center is a working model where leadership teams receive training and coaching using Kids in Discipleship (K.I.D.), a curriculum for families and children.

A ten-person leadership team from the Holland Church traveled to the Center in Fall 2004 for training. Don expressed, “Imagine my excitement when Holland, my former church, sent a team of lay leaders to be trained. … It has been a joy to witness a much-loved church family invest themselves in equipping families to disciple their children.” Don has asked the Holland team to pilot the new program and provide feedback about its effectiveness in their church.

The team returned home and now parents from the team are actively involved in a process to mentor their children spiritually, led by group leaders LaVonda Schutt and Nancy Wolcott. Wanting to experience the blessings of the K.I.D. program before teaching it to others in the church, team members with children completed Footprints in the Sand I, a nine-week class, to prepare them to lead their children through a 32-week discipleship adventure. Through this experience, participating parents have rediscovered Jesus’ call to discipleship in their own homes.

LaVonda and Nancy are now leading four families each through Footprints in the Sand II, an interactive study. The children have learned about TAG Time, which helps them enjoy personal, daily time with God, and will learn the Biblical foundation of faith and how to use their gifts in worship, ministry, and mission. At the end of the 32-week class, children are trained to lead unchurched friends to Christ.

Paula Olsen and her husband Tom are leading their four daughters through the class and have found they really enjoy their daily TAG Time. Paula says, “We liked the fact that this was for the entire family. I had morning devotionals with the girls but it did not include my husband. … God impressed us to begin making it a priority to do evening devotionals together. K.I.D. has really impacted our whole family.” Other children are heard quoting scripture and speaking openly about what they are learning during TAG Time.

At designated times in the small groups the participants separate into family units. During this time, parents share with their children how different biblical truths have had meaning in their lives and encourage them to see and express the relevance for their daily life also. They are encouraged to ask questions, like, “What does this mean to you?” LaVonda says her group has finished 11 or 12 lessons.

LaVonda never felt comfortable leading adults. She said, “I always looked for volunteer jobs to do where I didn’t have to be up front. I like to be behind the scenes.” But she says she has learned God doesn’t always call us to do things we are comfortable doing; He equips us to do the things He needs us to do. So she accepted the challenge of leading a small group. It has been thrilling for her to see the families recommit their time to disciple their children.

Alarmed by statistics that show how many Adventist children are leaving our church and by other statistics that indicate some of our young people’s lack of assurance of salvation, LaVonda knew she wanted to get involved in this ministry. She says, “I have been surprised to learn that many times we say things to our children and think they understand, but they do not. I was recently telling the children how Jesus wants us to be fishers of men and asked if they knew what this meant. I was surprised to find they did not. One young child said, ‘Jesus is the best fisherman. If we watch Him we’ll be the best fisherman.’” She encourages parents to ask questions and give their children time to share what they understand and think about the lessons.

LaVonda realizes time is one of the family’s biggest enemies and that the devil would love for families to crowd out the essential discipleship training that should begin in the home. She says, “Discipling our children really is our responsibility. God gave us these children but so many times we are too busy. Many children do not know what the Bible teaches, cannot quote memory verses, or do not find meaning in their lives." She believes one of the most helpful things about the K.I.D. program are the daily practical suggestions provided for parents to implement during the week between small group meetings so the principles become anchored in the lives of their children. LaVonda is looking forward to later lessons when children will apply the truths they have learned in worship and mission experiences.

As LaVonda worked with English-speaking families in the Holland Church, she and a friend, Christine Wold, became convicted they should reach out to the Laotian families in their congregation as well. For the past ten years some 50 Laotians have attended the Holland Church. LaVonda said, “They were with us, but not of us.” She felt impressed to do something more for them. LaVonda said, “Christine and I couldn’t sleep at night. We kept asking ourselves, ‘is this me or is it the Lord?'”

They visited with the Laotian group leader and some members and said, “The Lord has put it on our hearts to work with you.” They told them about the K.I.D. program and how they thought it could be helpful to learn the principles being taught, and then for them to pass them on to their children. They asked, “Would you like that or not like that?" They knew the Lord had directed them when one of the Laotian members responded, “We just had prayer last week that someone from the mother church would come help us.”

LaVonda teaches the English K.I.D. class on a weeknight. Then each Friday evening she teaches a K.I.D. class to the Laotian children because many are familiar with the English language. During Sabbath school, the adult Laotian K.I.D. class is taught by LaVonda and Christine. Approximately 20 individuals attend. Some who attend are Adventist members and others are guests from the community, including a highly-respected Laotian leader of the Buddhist faith. The K.I.D. lessons are being adapted to reach the needs of the group as questions arise.

Since the K.I.D. lessons are in English, LaVonda and Christine need a translator when they speak to the Laotians. However, there is only one English-speaking Laotian pastor in the United States. He has been coming to help with translation, but will soon leave the Theological Seminary at Andrews University to return to California. As a result, LaVonda and Christine are looking for other ways to continue to communicate with their Laotian friends. LaVonda says, “It is a slow process sometimes, but we just pray, ‘Lord, help them hear what they need to hear.'”

Christine and LaVonda wanted to help the Laotian members become fluent in English so they looked for a curriculum to teach English as a second language (ESL). When Christine located a curriculum, they contacted Holland member Carol Burns, a former teacher, and asked her to lead out. She accepted, and now another ministry has been launched.

Some students in the class have asked for help passing their G.E.D. test. When the ESL class ends, LaVonda says she promised to find someone who can teach classes to help some of the students pass their G.E.D. so they can attain further education and better jobs.

Through all this, LaVonda has learned “it is not our timetable, it is God’s.” She says at times she told her husband, “I’m too busy to teach these three classes.” But when she sees how God leads in the lives of the children, their families, and her new Laotian friends, she says she is “refreshed … and it’s worth it.”

One young mother has only finished half the K.I.D. lessons and has already brought a friend to class. Another grandma in the class returned to Laos and witnessed about Jesus to her villagers. She has returned to Holland and has requested baptism. Some guests have also requested for their children to attend the Holland school next fall.

LaVonda says she "wholeheartedly" believes in the intent of the K.I.D. program and prays Holland children will develop a close personal relationship with Jesus and know they are called to be disciples of Christ … now.

She also prays God will use the K.I.D. program and ESL classes as a tool to strengthen friendships with the Laotian members and to reach many other Laotians in the community. She challenges her Laotian friends to be disciples and to share what they are learning in their communities.

For additional information about K.I.D., contact The K.I.D. Center at (423) 396-2134 or visit www.kidcenter.org.

Diane Thurber is the Lake Union Herald managing editor and Don MacLafferty is The K.I.D. Center director.