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John
Tasch and his wife, Shirley, are taking children to the mission field. Not
teens or adults, but kids as young as 8! Since 1991 the Tasch's have
organized training and ministry opportunities for approximately 450
children, ages 8 to 12, and these young evangelists
have preached and laid
hands on the sick in orphanages, hospitals, schools, marketplaces and
meeting halls around the
world.
From
Tasch Ministries International (TMI headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
John and Shirley
have
taken groups of 15 to 40 children to minister in 11 countries during
the last eight years.
Each ministry trip includes children from a variety of churches in
the United States.
Children
minister effectively to both children and adults, John Tasch says.
"We are seeing
phenomenal
things, like children, teens and adults running to the altars and
just weeping
before
the Lord. During a recent children's crusade in Puerto Rico, the
power of God came down
so
strong that teen-agers standing around the edge of the room began
sliding down the walls
under
the power of God, and parents were slain in the Spirit in the parking
lot outside."
Most
of the children who preach, teach, lay hands on the sick, and
minister in drama and
song
are under age 12. The youngest child to participate in a TMI outreach
was 7 years old.
John
Tasch says many opportunities for ministry open up because community
leaders hear that
children,
rather than adults, are teaching and performing in the drama presentations.
Thousands
of children, teens and adults have reportedly made decisions for
Christ during
these
outreaches. Lasting fruit attends the evangelistic work because TMI
works closely with
local
churches that become responsible for discipleship of the new converts.
Before
participating in an evangelistic trip with TMI, children must
complete a 10-week
training
course. Along with Bible studies, prayer commitments and minimal
language study,
children
are given fund-raising ideas to help finance their trips. The favor
of the Lord seems to be
on
the children because Tasch says he has never known of a child who did
not have enough
money
to go.
Plans
are now under way to develop a camp facility in North Carolina where
children will be
trained
to do the work of the ministry. Providing children with ministry opportunities
will
be a key component of the training at the camp. "We must reach
the children and prepare
them
for the work of the ministry while they are still good ground,"
Tasch said, "It is better to
prepare
a boy's life than it is to repair a man's life." -
Renee
DeLoriea
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