Understanding Children

Conference by Wess Stafford

DL Moody- "If I had my life to do it all over again, I would spend it educating children."

In an upside down world... the little ones are big in God's kingdom.

*Everytime a child is mentioned in scripture, God is doing something big... Abraham-Isaac, Miriam- Moses, Eli- Samuel, Josiah, Jesus, little boy with fish and loaves,...

*Satan attacks when people are small... battle over the unborn whether poverty or convience.
Matthew 18:10

*Every child that comes into our path is a divine appointment. 
*Like wet cement, children are so pliable.  All it takes is a moment to change a child's life.


A critical time- Children ages 5-18 (George Barna)
"If you want to shape a person's life... whether you are most concerned about his or her moral spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, or economic development... it is during these critical eight years that lifelong habits, values, beliefs, and attitudes are formed."

Bridge Building

notes from Beyond Enough Conference...

Going the Extra Mile to Build Bridges
by Julia, Brooke, and D'Arcy

Myths about Bridge Building

1.  Building bridges is comfortable
2. Building bridges will change people
3. Success is guaranteed
4. Building bridges is easy and quick
5. The problem is everyone else
6. You can delegate and not be involved
7. One construction method/material to be used
8. Building Bridges does not require homework
9. The bridge will always go in the direction you want
10. Building bridges is convienient
11. You are totally in control of this process.
12.  Building bridges is cheap
13. This isn't going to be worth it
14. The bridge benefits me alone

Jesus' foundation was to do the will of His father
*Am I doing this because it is ithe will of my father?

Implementation of Bridge Building

• with a team
• have grace when abandoned halfway through
• open handed surrender
• long term goals- not our ideas but God's
• gain empahty for others

Truths of Bridges

• beautiful
• strong
• connect
• depict a culture or area
• all unique
• commintment of time
• once they are build you can go farther easier
• not build by one