Every year, usually around the first of March, our mission-minded church has week when we focus almost exclusively on missions. This is a time when we celebrate the missionaries our church supports, and our congregation is challenged as to how they will participate in missions in the coming year: Will we choose to pray, give, or go? (In our family, it’s all three!)
To wrap up Missions Week, visiting full-time missionaries come speak to Sunday Bible study classes throughout our church to share about their ministries, how God is working, and so forth. This year an Austrian missionary named Wolfgang spoke to our class.
Wolfgang believes that Christian families are the hope of the world. In Europe, conversions to Christianity are far and few between. When the young people he works in sports ministry with come to know and follow Christ, he prays that they will someday choose to marry another Christ-follower and raise children in a loving Christian family. This may not be the most dramatic way to spread the gospel, but certainly a very powerful way.
Currently, the Muslim faith is growing quickly in Europe. Part of the reason is that their culture still believes in having large families. Wolfgang pointed out that somewhere along the way our Western culture stopped believing what God said in His word about children being a blessing; now our culture has become all about how not to have children, or at the very least, how to avoid having “too many” children.
When Wolfgang’s first two children were no longer little, he and his wife were praying about whether she should go back to her job as a teacher. One day she came to him and said she felt that it was more worthy in the eyes of the Lord for her to raise children than to go back to any job, even one as positive as teaching. And so, they had more children. And eventually, they also adopted twin boys. [Actually, they permanently foster the boys because in Austria, you cannot adopt if you have biological children of your own. Weird.]
Wolfgang reminded us that God intended us to have and want children! In his delightful Austrian accent and English-not-his-first-language wording, Wolfgang said this:
Be not afraid to have children!
Ken and I had been talking for quite some time before this about whether or not to grow our family, and when Wolfgang said these words, we looked at each other and knew we were both thinking the same thing. God is not subtle when He really wants to get a point across, and this was one of those times. Wolfgang’s words were the culmination of many God-nudges we’d been getting for a while. So: more children? It seems so! We don’t know exactly this will look like in our family, but I invite you to join us on the journey to find out.
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This is such a thought-provoking post, Jamie. I watched a movie on Netflix recently about a Jewish Hasidic community in NY and one reason they have large families is to keep the faith going and to keep the community thriving for the next generations. There are going to be children who leave the tradition, but with big numbers, the group has a better chance of surviving. And from the looks of what I saw in the movie, they cherish their children so much – and that, too, is a way to keep a group alive: cherish each other.
Amen! We are so thankful for our 7 children. I only wish I had gotten “it” – the gift they really are- sooner and had even more by now. I heard on another blog that our word and actions don’t match when we prevent pregnancies, yet say our kids are a blessing. You only try to prevent bad things from happening, not good. So often, we see in the mirror dimly, but one day we will see face to face.
What wise words!
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Yay! I am always excited to hear when families are wanting to grow! I know we have been so blessed by our growing children… I do believe it was all orchestrated for the Lord, and I feel he is still speaking to my heart, about growing it more…. (Now, he just needs to speak to my hubby too! haha)
Hi Jamie,
I am stopping by from HHH. Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I have really enjoyed reading your post this morning. Great, Great words! I feel that today, in America, if you have more than 2 people think there is something wrong with you. We have 3 right now and are considering adding soon to our family, this time through adoption. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this issue, and I look forward to reading about your “new” journey on adding to your family.
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Amen! Preach it, sister.
)
Excellant post. Thank you for sharing the truth.
My prayers will be with you and your husband as you follow God’s will.
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Excellent decision. God bless you!
Beverly recently posted..Remember Me
So exciting when God sets out the “neon lights” for us, isn’t it?! He did that for us at Moody Bible Institute’s Founder’s Week Conference in 2008. Praying for you new God-journey!
Phyllis recently posted..Raised To Walk In Newness Of Life
It’s been said that we not only need to OUT-EDUCATE non-christians —– we also need to OUT-POPULATE them.
Good luck with your family endeavors!
Thank you for this post. Our church has a lot of little children (we have 4 ourselves). But often I am made to feel there that these young disciples are of secondary importance and we need to be reaching out to non-Christians more. And I don’t want to diminish evangelizing and doing missionary work but it is also nice to hear that what I am doing, raising and homeschooling 4 kids, is important too.
Yes, raising up a new generation of Jesus loving people has got to be a wonderful technique!!!!
And Nebby…I don’t know you but God has called you to minister and to evangelize to your own children first. We are a missionary family and we work on this very hard with our little ones, after all….it wouldn’t matter how many I led to the Lord in Mexico if my little ones were living in darkness. How tragic would that be? You have a great attitude and you continue to focus on your children and raise them up in God’s word and you will see them changing hearts before you know it! (I know because I have two older children in Texas) Big hugs!!!!
Praying for you Jamie and what God has planned for your family:)
Kimberley Byrd recently posted..Prayer Retreat
WE believe that God’s primary way of growing His church is through covenant children being born, raised for Him, and blessed by Him. We have only four (weren’t able to have after our last one), but I know that you will never regret having more….
Loving this blog! x
How wonderful and inspiring!!! We are so thankful to have just the two that we have. We have had a long hard road, but the Lord has blessed us with them! We are not able to have more, but we have have always kept adoption in mind. This post might have pushed those thoughts to the forefront a little more!
Amen! great post!
Looking forward to hearing about your decisions and where the Lord takes you!
Carissa
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Jamie that’s great! We fostered for 9 years and were also blessed with two forever kiddos that way. Congratulations and I look forward to seeing what God does!
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Interesting observation about Western Culture all being about not having children. Sad but true.
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Oh Wolfgang said it well when he said God intended to us to want and have children. Yes! Because my husband and I keep getting that “nudge” to have more children. Many people cannot understand it–even Christians!
One of the most popular questions I receive is, “Do you plan to have more” or “Are you having any more”. I usually say, “Probably”. I just turned 30 this year–and I have 5 children. We have been listening to God about having children since baby #3–it was the first time we both had heard specifically from God about getting pregnant again. Ever since then, it’s just a matter of time when we both get “the nudge”. And we both have to have it in order for it to be confirmed that it’s God.
Well, “the nudge” has come.
I’d love to talk to you more about this subject! It’s incredible what God has done!
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Great post! There was an audio I listened to a while back called “The place of family in Evangelism and Discipleship” and it discussed this very thing…how in only a few generations the same thing will be occurring in the US, as in Europe.
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Wonderful admonition in this encouraging and inspiring post. From one who has “too many” according to our culture (ten children). Thanks for sharing!
It’s encouraging to hear about families who aren’t afraid to have lots of children. My husband and I have always felt that a big(ger) family is what we have wanted. We’re not sure how many that will actually end up being, but we believe that God will direct us. There aren’t many people around us who feel the same way though.
I just bumped into this post and I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly. I unfortunately didn’t realize children are a blessing until I had my own first happy surprise at age 33 (second at 35). My husband and I are almost a little sad that we didn’t trust God until we were a little older. Now we have to wait and see if we are blessed with any more (we’re still a little worried about keeping up with little ones in our middle age!). Thanks for the post. I like this Wolfgang.
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