The "Main Harvest" (Special Promises to Children), By Dr. Elijah Thompson

In Genesis chapter 48, verses 8 and 9 we read: "Joseph who had been separated from his son Joseph..." now reunited asked Joseph, "Who are these with thee?" And Joseph said, "They are my sons which God has given me in this place."

Children are a GIFT of God. I agree with Evangelist Dennis Corle when he says, "They are the MAIN HARVEST. There is no shortage of them." In Matthew 9:37 the Lord asserts "...the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few."  In John 4:35 Jesus proclaims "Say not ye, there are yet four months and then cometh harvest. Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields: for they are white already to harvest." The harvest is over-ripe. Wheat fields are golden when they are ripe for harvest. When they are white, they are past ripe and ready to harvest. If we wait, the Harvest will fall to the ground. Jesus emphasizes the urgency of soul winning. Souls are perishing while we wait to be motivated about soul winning. We need to get busy, not just gathering up the gleanings and leftovers, but by working at WINNING the MAIN HARVEST.

It is important that we find what constitutes the MAIN HARVEST. Statistics show that 60% - 65% of all people who get saved are between the ages of 6 to 12; 20% - 25% of the people who get saved do so between the ages of 13 to 19; only 10% - 15% of all people who get saved are saved after they reach age 20.

It seems by these statistics, the MAIN HARVEST is the crowd that can do very little for the church financially. Thus this is the reason the MAIN HARVEST is wasted. We spend 90% of our time trying to reach those people in the 10% -15% bracket because we are trying to build churches instead of trying to reap the harvest. This is a TRAGIC MISTAKE. Jesus said, "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). This is so plain. The Lord never told you or me to build a church but to win souls, baptize converts and make disciples. He may not build the church up with the souls we win, but He will build the church. 

The Bible directs us to be soul winners and leave the church building to the Lord. Let's start today to mind our own business.

D. L. Moody understood this principle. When asked about soul winning results on a certain day, he replied that he had two and a half saved. The inquirer asked, "You mean two adults and a child?" "No," he answered. "I had two children and one adult. The adult already has his life half-lived. The two children have their entire lives ahead of them." D.L. Moody had over nine million souls come to Christ in his lifetime.

Many years ago, Evangelist J. Wilbur Chapman tested the congregation at a meeting in which there were 4,500 present. These were the results in an era when Child Evangelism was not emphasized:

Of the 2,625 who had been saved, 2,600 of them were saved before the age of 20 and only 25 of them were saved after that age. These are startling statistics. We need to stop foolishly IGNORING the children while they are tenderhearted, only to strive and struggle to reach them ten years later after they have become cold and hardened toward the Gospel. We need to get to work on the main harvest.

Statistically, there is a very interesting breakdown concerning the adult harvest as well:

This ought to serve as a startling reminder to us as soul winners to work on the MAIN HARVEST, to actively and aggressively work at getting the Gospel to the children.

Because children need to be saved. Children can be saved and it is our responsibility to get the Gospel to them. The public schools are not going to do it. The major TV networks won't do it. The humanistic philosophy and atheistic brainwashing they face everyday will not do anything to turn their hearts to the Lord.

If this generation of young people has any chance of hearing the Gospel, their only hope is the love and concern of fundamental churches like Goodwill Baptist Church and others.

As soon as possible. Why? Out in the streets, here in the church and in the homes, children are not the same as they were when we were growing up. They are becoming hard-hearted and steeped in sin at a much earlier age than was the case 10 or 20 years ago. Just last night in our nearby suburbs an 11-year-old boy was caught selling drugs by the police. In Chicago, an 11-year-old shot and killed a 14-year-old girl. Then he was murdered by a gang of teenagers not much older than he was. 

Many are closed to the Gospel. It used to be 16-17-year-olds ...now younger...ages of 13-14 years old. 

In the 70's, you encountered 16-17 year old having children. Now you find 11-12, even 10 years old and younger with illegitimate babies.

The average teenager, out in the world, today, has his heart hardened by sin and his life complicated and even destroyed by sin at a much younger age than ever before in America.

TV, drugs, rock music, humanism, and plain old sin are taking their toll. If we're going to let God use us to salvage their lives, we NEED to win them while their hearts are tender; we have to reach them at an earlier age.

How young is too young? Charles Spurgeon said, "When a child is old enough to sin knowingly, he is old enough to believe savingly." Amen!

Not every child understands the concept of right and wrong at the same age. But it is safe to say the average youngster can comprehend their need of a Saviour between the ages of 5 and 7. We just need to stick with the Bible and do our best in helping children to clearly understand the Gospel message and to genuinely accept Christ.

One of the main things people need to realize is that children think and believe like children and we should not try to reason with them in the same way we would reason with an adult. When dealing with an adult the key is conviction. Adults must be convicted that the Gospel is true. He must see that he is really condemned to Hell in his sin, that he really does need a Saviour, and that Christ paid his penalty. It is not hard for an adult to comprehend what you say, but it is sometimes hard for him to be fully convicted enough to place complete faith in the saving power of the Gospel. 

Yet with a child, the key is comprehension. A child is not hard to convince. Yet we must work a little harder and take a little more time in being sure that they grasp the facts of sin, hell, and that Christ paid the price in their place. Both things are necessary in soul winning: conviction and comprehension. Our efforts in soul winning need to be concentrated more on conviction when we deal with adults and achieving comprehension with the child.

Faith comes very naturally to children and we sometimes fail to take this into consideration. It is very easy for a child to believe that God sent His Son to pay the price in their place. They have no problem accepting the fact that the Lord Jesus came in their hearts if they ask Him to, just because He promised. 

Let's be careful not to do or say anything that would discourage or hinder winning the souls of little children for the cause of Christ. Let's do all we can to reach them while we can because the MAIN HARVEST in soul winning is "THE HARVEST FIELD OF CHILDREN."