I was visiting some friends in their home recently and I saw something on their refrigerator that caught my eye. It was a picture of me and their son. I was giving him a Bible. Each year I have the privilege of giving the 1^st graders a Bible as a gift from our church. This is always very special for me as I get to present to our children the most important book that they will ever read. As we present the Bibles to the children, we take pictures of me handing the Bible to them and we then send it to the parents in a magnetic frame.

I’ll have to admit that over these 20 years here at FBCA, I’ve had the honor of seeing myself on the side of fridges several times. So, it wasn’t too much of a surprise for me to see this picture on their fridge. However, something about seeing this picture at this particular time made me pause for just a moment. A lot has changed since that picture was taken. Their son was all grown up. He no longer looked like that 1^st grader in the picture, and I will also have to admit that I looked somewhat different as well. My hair is much whiter now than it was when that picture was taken.

I started thinking about all the 1^st graders who have come through our ministry and received their Bibles from our church. I realized that even though much has changed, there is so much that has not. We give those Bibles to our 1^st graders because our church continues to encourage and equip children with God’s Word on their spiritual journey to a relationship with Jesus. We help them to use their Bibles to learn of God’s amazing love for us and His desire for His children to follow Him. We don’t keep their Bibles at church, it is theirs to take so boys and girls and moms and dads can read the wonderful stories of God’s redemptive plan together.

I’m thankful to be a part of a church that makes families a priority and equips parents to be the spiritual leader for their children. I’m thankful  for parents that take the time to help their children learn how to use their Bibles and let them discover for themselves God’s amazing grace.

David Butts
Children’s Minister

P.S. The next time you see a young child with their Bible open in Church thank God for parents who are teaching them to follow Jesus.