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Re-reading some of Urban Harvest tonight by Joslin Roy, especially on Youth Work. Mental how perceptive a book it was, how almost prophetic it's been since it was written, and how the church has failed to learn many of it's lessons. Here's some snippets worth considering:
‘For all the dedication of godly Sunday School teachers over many years, it appears that much of that effort was like pouring water into a badly holed bucket or, to be more biblical, like trying to catch fish with some badly torn gospel nets...
...Why was it that so many children who swam into the gospel nets in their earlier years had on the whole swum out again before adult years had been reached?’
‘Elaborate doctrinal teaching may be inculcated in childhood, but its influence is not likely to last unless maintained by the atmosphere of the home or unless supported by social usage…
...Thus with regard to the working classes we seem to arrive at a deadlock. There is no hope of social usage, & to create religious homes a new generation of religious minded parents must arise; while until we have the social usage or the religious homes all advance is stopped...
… There will be no widespread and lasting influence of the gospel among children until there is a God-sent revival of true religion among adults, particularly the parents of families.’
‘Should some of the present Sunday School teachers switch their service to evangelism among adults, so that the church might look to that method as a more realistic approach to evangelism and as a better way of securing the future work of the Sunday School?’
‘Apparent success in the Sunday School work of one decade is no guarantee of a thriving local church in the next. As a general rule, I believe that evangelism among adults ought to have the priority…
...We shall need to be a tougher breed of Christians, biblically equipped to face up to the challenge of witness and evangelising away from the security and familiarity of the local church sanctuary.’
‘Better to catch and keep fewer fish, than to enclose a much greater number who swim into our nets and out again.’
