“No” to Church

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, August 10.

By Andrew McChesney

O

ne Sabbath, Aaron declared that he didn’t want to go to church anymore.

The Covid-19 quarantine had been lifted a few weeks earlier in Colombia. People could finally go to church after being stuck at home for many months. But something was different. There were no children who were Aaron’s age at church, and 9-year-old Aaron, who was outgoing, didn’t like that at all.

On the third Sabbath, he announced his decision to his mother.

“I don’t want to go back to church,” he said.

Mother didn’t say anything, but she felt very sad.

Later that day, she talked it over with Father.

“We have to do something about this,” she said. “If Aaron’s friends don’t go to church, we have to bring the church to our home.”

Father thought it was a good idea. So, he and Mother drew up a plan and presented it to Aaron. “We are going to open our house, and you are going to invite over your friends,” Mother said.

Father said they would watch a movie about Jesus.

“We’re going to teach them about Jesus,” he said. “We’re going to do mission.”

Aaron smiled. He liked the idea, and he exclaimed, “Yes!”

Aaron liked challenges. Inviting friends home to learn about Jesus definitely was a challenge.

He ran out of the house and almost immediately saw a 9-year-old friend who lived nearby.

“Would you like to come to my house and watch a cartoon about Jesus on Wednesday evening?” he asked.

“Yes!” the boy exclaimed.

Aaron found a second friend and asked the same question. The friend also agreed to come.

But some friends declined his invitation. One said, “I can’t come because I have to play soccer.” A girl said, “I definitely cannot come because I have to go to a party.” A third friend said, “I can’t come because I have to go eat at that time.”

Aaron didn’t mind. He understood that not everyone loves Jesus or wants to know more about Him.

On the first Wednesday evening, 15 boys and girls gathered at Aaron’s home.

First, Aaron asked the children about their week. Then they sang some Christian songs, and Aaron asked if anyone had any prayer requests. After praying, they watched a cartoon about the creation of the earth.

Afterward, Father asked the children what they had learned about God. He said that he had learned that God created all people. “We did not evolve from monkeys,” he said.

As children came to Aaron’s house week after week, Father and Mother realized that they needed to do more than watch Christian cartoons. Several boys and girls spoke very rudely. One boy was always hitting the other children. Watching a cartoon was not enough to teach the children to have good values.

So, Aaron began to invite his friends to another meeting on Sabbath afternoons. Each meeting taught good values through Bible verses and fun activities.

Before long, many, many children were coming to Aaron’s house on Wednesday evenings and Sabbath afternoons. Aaron began to invite them to go with him to church on Sabbath mornings as well.

Six months after Aaron told Mother that he no longer wanted to go to church, he had changed his mind. He was happy to go to church on Sabbath because the church was filled with children who were his own age. He had brought them all there. In fact, he had brought enough friends to church to form their very own Sabbath School class — and 10 of his friends were preparing to give their hearts to Jesus and get baptized.

“I’m happy to go to church because the church has children my age,” Aaron said.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help children learn about Jesus in Colombia. Thank you for planning a generous offering on September 28.