At what age?

[JenPooh]

The other day Tanner and Troy were talking at the dinner table. It was about salvation. Tanner has always known what salvation is, how you obtain it, etc. This conversation was a little different though than the others we have had in the past. He wanted to know what he had to do in order to be officially saved and explained how he wanted to tell God that he believed and wanted that salvation. Tanner had expressed this before, but not in the way he was explaining this time. I really think he gets it, but I am always leery at such a young age, but it's also not my place to judge his heart...only God's. We told him a long time ago, when he excepted Christ in his heart, that he would then get baptized and take communion. In our house, that is the prerequisite before doing either of those. He has been wanting to "get dunked"...LOL...and take communion for a long time, but we were waiting for that moment where he didn't just see them as "bath play time" and a "snack". He had to understand the seriousness of it all first.

Do you think there is an age that is too young? Tanner is 6. Sometimes I wonder if he's just following because that is how he was taught and is what he is told (we also tell him how not everyone believes what we believe though), but I also believe that with the right direction that a child will grow up to chose the path of Christ for themselves.

[Twice]

For Communion, where my kids are concerned, they participate in the feet washing ceremony. At every communion Service,a special offering is collected for the needy and the kids enjoy taking part in that cause as well .
But where the bread & wine part is concerned ... 'we want to wait until after they are Baptized; (and my oldest are 11) so it can really mean something instead of it being free food and drink'.

This is my two cents. I'm sure others have their own take on the issue.

[Emma's#1fan]

I think that when a child is old enough to understand and believe what it all respresents, then I would allow it. Just because a child can recite what it means doesn't mean they are ready. Often times they are repeating what they have heard. I guess this doesn't help much because it goes back to the question, when are they ready.LOL
As parents this is where a lot of wisdom comes into play.
Can a 6 year old truly understand this? Tough question.

[Ohio Mom]

Jen, age is not the issue here, it's whether or not he truly believes that Jesus died on the cross for him and that he has sinned and he is in need of a Saviour! If he truly believes that then, yes, he is ready for repentence and a relationship with Jesus Christ. James Dobson and Corrie TenBoom were under the age of 6 when they were saved. Tanner is the only one that will know for sure.

[sixcloar]

It is a very tough issue. My advice to to let the conversations be completely child-led. I'll give you a brief version of the Awana training on leading children to Christ.
Do not ask these questions:
Will you invite Jesus into your heart?
Will you surrender your life to Christ?
Will you confess your sins and ask Jesus to forgive you?
Will you give your heart to Jesus?
Will you accept Jesus and trust him as your personal Savior?

These are types of questions are confusing to children, and open the door for the child to say "yes" to please you, or because it sounds like the right answer. Children are also very literal thinkers, so questions with wording like "give your heart to Jesus" are scary to them.

This plan tells us to ask the child, "Will you believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose form the grave?" This focuses on the death of Christ on the cross and his resurrection, which are essential to salvation.

You need more that just that one question. Tanner needs to know what sin is (disobeying God). He needs to understand that he is a sinner. He needs to know that God sent Jesus to be our Savior, that Jesus died on the cross, that he rose again. If he understands those things, he may very well be ready.

It sounds like you have given Tanner the knowledge he needs. You just have to decide if he truly understands. Ask God for discernment!

My oldest started asking questions at 4. I always answered questions truthfully, but never asked him if he wanted to make that commitment. I wanted it to come from his heart, not mine. At 8, he came to me and said he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart.

DD10, came to me this summer and told me she wanted to accept Christ. With her, there had not been a lot of questions, though she definitely knew the basics. I was worried that she had been pressured by a neighbor's daughter, so I prayed and asked God to show me if she was ready. The next week, one of her Sunday School teachers came to me and said dd showed all the signs of being ready. I knew then she was being genuine.

DD7 also knows all the logistics, but has not expressed the want, yet.

I agree that age is not the key. I think very few really young children have the capability to really understand, but there are some who do.

I come from a generation who was lined up at VBS and asked "Who wants to go to heaven?" HUH? Who doesn't? I am appalled to think how many children think they got a free ticket to heaven by repeating a prayer at VBS, when they didn't even understand what they were doing. My goal is to make sure my children really know!

I'll be praying for discernment for you and Troy. Nothing is this world is sweeter than leading your own child to Christ.

[Jackie]

I use to teach 2yo Sunday School. We never discussed "salvation" with them. We would talk about how "Jesus loves us", "Jesus akes care of us", etc. But, believe it or not, I had TWO different children ask Jesus into their hearts! One was almost three, and the other just turned three. They did not do it "with me" in my class, but with their parents. Both of these little girls initiated it, NOT their parents. One was having her diaper changed at the time, and announced, "Mommy, I want Jesus in my heart. Jesus, come into my heart. Amen!" And her mom says there was actually a CHANGE in her, even at that young age!

When my girls were 3 and 5, something was said to Faythe about it. And Rachael informed me, "Oh, Mommy, I already explained all that to her and she did it!" I wasn't there, so I don't know WHAT happened, but I'm sure not going to say it DIDN'T happen!

Phillip was four, at our dinner table. Somehow it got brought up, and Carl asked Phillip if he wanted to, which he did. So Carl prayed with him. About a month later, somehow we got talking about where Jesus lived. Rachael says that, if we've asked Jesus into our heart, he "lives" there. Phillip piped up with, "Daddy and I did that at dinner!", so obviously it meant something to him.

All this is to say that there is NO age that is "too young". Yes, a preschooler's understanding may not be what yours and mine is. But God's Spirit speaks to the hearts of a little one, and that little one doesn't have the "baggage" to get rid of. They accept and understand without the millions of questions and rationalizing that we have.

[Jackie]

[quote=sixcloar;218485]

I come from a generation who was lined up at VBS and asked "Who wants to go to heaven?" HUH? Who doesn't? I am appalled to think how many children think they got a free ticket to heaven by repeating a prayer at VBS, when they didn't even understand what they were doing. My goal is to make sure my children really know!

quote]

Unfortunately, I've been THERE, too! Sigh.... And unfortunately, there's still some that operate under those conditions! (Faythe "went forward" once at a kids' meeting. She was four or five. I told her after that she should tell Daddy about what she had done. She looked up and asked, "What DID I do?" I think she thought by going up she was going to get something special. Sigh...so much for "understanding"!)

[JenPooh]

Thank you all. I really do believe Tanner is sincere. He does know what sin is, about salvation, why Christ died and rose, etc. He asks a lot of questions and we answer them. He really loves going to Awana, and thankfully it's at our home church so we know how they are approaching it. Awana has really helped Tanner to understand it all and has been a HUGE blessing!

I think I am going to pray about it, and I will talk to Tanner more when he asks questions, and if he truly wants to I will pray with him. You gals have all been a huge help!

[mamaof3peas]

my dd was saved last year. she was just 7. she had been asking questions and wanting to for over a year, but i told her we needed to pray about it and God would let us know when it was time. well, one nite at bed she said she really wanted to become a christian. well, it was after 9 and i said, as stupid as it sounds, well, we can talk about it in the morning. my sweet dd said, no mom, this is important. it cant wait till morning, i know i need to ask God to come into my heart and im ready. well, we talked for about half hour and i was convinced she was sincere. i felt God leading me not to hold her back from Him. He was her heavenly father and He knew she was sincere. so she prayed right there and committed her life to Christ. now baptism on the other hand was a diff story. she is shy as shy can be. she wanted to be baptised so bad but was so scared to be in front of everyone, i just told her we would pray about it and when it was right God would give her the courage. well about 3 months later she came crying to me and said she wanted to be baptised that sunday. i told her she could wait if she needed to, but crying she said no Jesus would be right there with her and He would help her not be afraid. Well from a childs mouth to Gods ears, what a witness she was to me! she was baptized and was so proud that she had trusted Christ to help her. Now my 6 yr old ds really wants to do this, but he is rather immature spiritually for his age. he understands the facts, but im not sure he emotionally gets it. he wants to go to heaven he said. well i assured him that all children go to heaven, and that we would talk about it whenever he wanted to, but we had to pray and ask God to show us more about it. He really just needed reassurance that at this point he would go to heaven. unfortunately my children had to learn about life and death at early ages, because i lost 2 babies halfway through my pregnancies and they understood that there was a baby in my tummy and now they were in heaven with Jesus. That was soooo hard for them. it broke my heart to hear my dd pray and ask Jesus to take care of her sister and brother and not let another baby die. But we did have a baby this year and they are both overjoyed as are we and thank God for miracles.Sorry so long. I just know how you feel. You will know God will assure you about his sincerety. Your his mom and we just have a way of knowing these things:love::love:

[Jackie]

3Peas, I'm sending you a PM!

[3angelsmom]

I don't think there is a too young. If the child is initiating they are ready, in my opinion
All three of my children came to me at a young age (preschool) and told me they wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts.
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me".

All this is to say that there is NO age that is "too young". Yes, a preschooler's understanding may not be what yours and mine is. But God's Spirit speaks to the hearts of a little one, and that little one doesn't have the "baggage" to get rid of. They accept and understand without the millions of questions and rationalizing that we have.

I agree completely!

[fullhandswith3]

Praise God for the questions your son is asking!! No matter what the age.

[millhouse]

Jennie:

Just wondering wht has happened in the few weeks since this OP.

If you are still praying on it, then you probably do not need any more advice!
But I just want to add our experience.

Me- I was saved when I was 19-1st year of college.
I would say it was many, many years before I was discipled, matured in the faith, and at a place where I was truly walking in a way that I desired to be in His will. I was VERY spiritually immature. Also, I did not get baptized until I was 23. BUT, The Lord has assured me time and again that the day I made that prayer "counted", and He would have saved me had the time come prior to my "maturity".

DS #1- saved at age 7, recommitted at age 11. Asked to be baptized. The church we were at at that time informed us that he would go through 3-4 sessions of this & that with the pastor, some with parents, some without parents. liturgy, liturgy, blah, blah, blah. well, he lost his courage. It kind of burst his bubble. He is now 14 and to this day has NOT been baptized b/c he has not felt moved again. he is definitely saved, and is living it, so I know the Holy Spirit will convict him on that.

DS#2. Saved at age 5. Absolutely 200% genuine. He has always been unusually spiritually mature for his age. To the point that he has come under warfare for which we have annointed & prayed over him while he sleeps. (Another story.) He was baptized in the 3rd grade, at our church, stood there and gave a jaw dropping testimony in front of our whole church (about 600).

When they were very young I withheld them from the Lord's Supper because I wanted to be sure they "knew what I knew" what it really was. But over time, I have been convicted that this is a part of my relationship with my Savior that is very personal, and it is HIS job to make Himself real to my kids through Holy Communion, NOT mine.

All that to say... I still do not COMPLETELY understand my salvation (after 25 years), but God has give it to me anyway!

Blessings to all of you in your house! Please keep us posted so we can celebrate!

Miller:cool:

[JenPooh]

Jennie:

Just wondering wht has happened in the few weeks since this OP.

If you are still praying on it, then you probably do not need any more advice!
But I just want to add our experience.

Me- I was saved when I was 19-1st year of college.
I would say it was many, many years before I was discipled, matured in the faith, and at a place where I was truly walking in a way that I desired to be in His will. I was VERY spiritually immature. Also, I did not get baptized until I was 23. BUT, The Lord has assured me time and again that the day I made that prayer "counted", and He would have saved me had the time come prior to my "maturity".

DS #1- saved at age 7, recommitted at age 11. Asked to be baptized. The church we were at at that time informed us that he would go through 3-4 sessions of this & that with the pastor, some with parents, some without parents. liturgy, liturgy, blah, blah, blah. well, he lost his courage. It kind of burst his bubble. He is now 14 and to this day has NOT been baptized b/c he has not felt moved again. he is definitely saved, and is living it, so I know the Holy Spirit will convict him on that.

DS#2. Saved at age 5. Absolutely 200% genuine. He has always been unusually spiritually mature for his age. To the point that he has come under warfare for which we have annointed & prayed over him while he sleeps. (Another story.) He was baptized in the 3rd grade, at our church, stood there and gave a jaw dropping testimony in front of our whole church (about 600).

When they were very young I withheld them from the Lord's Supper because I wanted to be sure they "knew what I knew" what it really was. But over time, I have been convicted that this is a part of my relationship with my Savior that is very personal, and it is HIS job to make Himself real to my kids through Holy Communion, NOT mine.

All that to say... I still do not COMPLETELY understand my salvation (after 25 years), but God has give it to me anyway!

Blessings to all of you in your house! Please keep us posted so we can celebrate!

Miller:cool:
Thank you so much for your testimony!:love: It was touching, truly was. Nothing else has happened since I started this topic, but I do feel God working in Tanner. I have been trying to pray more with him about things. I myself am still praying about this issue. He hasn't bugged me about it, so I am more or less waiting for him to bring it up again. I don't want him to get discouraged, in a way like your DS#1, but I also don't want to push it with him either and keep bugging him about it. I want to more or less let him lead the way and lead him when he brings it up. He goes to Awana faithfully at our church every Thursday, and we are at church 9 times out of 10 every Sunday, so I know between those and what he gets from home he is getting a long of spiritual guidance.

I think one thing I need to work on more though is a more fruitful prayer life. I pray about a lot, but I feel I need to set a better example for my kids in FRONT of them when it comes to prayer. I don't know how to explain it other than that.

[Deena]

I think a child can accept Christ into their heart at any age, some are younger, some are older. To me, baptism is something you wait for until the child feels convicted to do so, and fully understands the change baptism means---a re-birth, a fully changed and committed life.

My oldest was 12 when he got baptized, my other two were 10. My oldest I was actually proud of him when he waited. His best friend got baptized when he was 11 and was doing so becaus a couple of their other friends were being baptized, not because he felt he particularly REALLY wanted/needed to. My son told him that he wasn't ready yet, and that he did NOT think it was right to get baptized just because their friends were, and that he wanted to take the time to get close to God and feel the conviction!

I was 9 when I felt soooo ready I could almost burst! My parents were concerned that getting baptized at that age I would not really be ready. The pastor spent some time with me going over things and told them, "She knows and understands all she needs to, she feels sincerely that she needs to be baptized now. I feel that if we wait until she's older, it could be discouraging and may never happen!" I sooo appreciated his insight!

So, those are my thoughts and experiences.....

[JenPooh]

Thanks Deena. I really truly appreciate everyone's testimonies. It is really encouraging to hear them all. A positive thing is that Tanner is really eager to please. His heart is very big and I think he really wants to make decisions based on what God wants of him. :) Don't get me wrong...he makes some bad choices, but his heart is really in the right place as far as pleasing God, and I think that's half the battle.