A seminar entitled Children, Church and Christian College took place on December 15, 2009 at Donetsk Christian University. Olga Zaytseva, teacher of Scriptural languages at DCU, was the speaker. Her presentation began with a true story about a rural school playground on the top of a hill. There was a steep slope at the end of this playground and children would fall down and get injured. To solve this problem, the village leaders decided to build a hospital at the bottom of the hill.

This story illustrates the work of the Church where 85% of its ministry is devoted to adults, though children make up 1/3 of the world’s population and are the most fertile part of the Lord’s field. Statistics reveal that 85% of the believers turn to Christ before they are 14 years old. Reviewing Christian history shows that ministry to children has never been of utmost importance for the Church. Although reasons are not stated, perhaps ministers have failed to focus on ministry to children due to the following attitudes:

1. Children are not of great value;
2. Children are not able to understand much about God; and
3. Children are not able to accept Christ and live as Christians.

However, the Bible states clearly that children are of great value to God (Psalm 126: 3-5; Matthew 19:14-15, 18:2-14); they are able to understand much about God (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, 11:18-19; Proverbs 22:6, 2 Timothy 3:15); and they are able to respond to God’s call (1 Samuel 3:7-10, Psalm 77:1-7, Matthew 21:15-16). If we accept God’s opinion of children, we must accept that evangelization and mentoring of children is the work of the Church. Christian institutes of higher education, as a part of the Church, need to contribute to ministry to children.

In particular, it is possible and reasonable for Christian institutes of higher education to:

1. Concentrate on teaching children a variety of subjects;
2. Encourage students to participate in the work of Sunday schools and Bible clubs;
3. Improve library data on the work with children;
4. Present special conferences for children;
5. Present Saturday Bible courses for children; and
6. Share the importance of children's ministry with churches.

Olga Zaytseva’s report initiated a lively discussion during which a number of controversial issues and interesting suggestions were considered.