Why I still do altar calls or invitations to be born again.....


I realize that a lot of the church world has moved away from doing alter calls during their services. Many people have questioned why I continue to use this method of evangelism. Let me start off by stating a few things that I see that would cause leaders to shy away from this method.

1. I understand that just because someone comes forward during a service does not mean that a change has taken place in their lives and many people have walked away confused.

2. Another reason would be because of abuse in the past with high pressure and preaching of hell fire and brimstone that would scare people into coming to the front to receive Christ into their lives so that they would miss hell. When people are scared into coming forward it sometimes causes more harm than good.

3. I also realize that there is no biblical example of alter calls in the bible and that it is a method that the modern church world has adapted for evangelism.

Saying all this, I still like to invite people forward to receive Christ during my services. I am always sensitive to the churches that I am ministering in and the fear factor of the people in the audience to come forward. In some churches people are more reluctant to come forward to receive Christ. And when I sense they are, I usually just pray with people where they are in their seats.

When I do give an invitation to come forward to be born again, I almost discourage people from coming forward. Yet the front is always lined with people receiving Christ. I have been in many services in the past where young people went forward just to get close to the person on stage or hoping to get a special gift or something for coming forward. I have had children in the past come forward expecting to get candy or to play a game.

When I invite people to come to the front to receive Jesus and to be born again, I am very specific about who I want to come forward. I always tell the audience not to come forward to get close to me, see the lights, play a game, or get a prize. I tell them not to come forward because their neighbor does or they think it’s cool. The only people that I want to come forward are the ones that are serious and understand what I am talking about. I tell them that if they do not understand or are confused not to come forward.

I am also very specific about what being born again is during my service. I do not just tag an invitation on the end of each service as an afterthought. If I give an invitation to be born again, I spend a little time teaching on the subject.

I believe that faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). If the word is not taught on the subject, how can a person have faith to receive salvation? When an invitation is tagged on the end of each service without any explanation of what we are asking people to respond to, it has caused a lot of confusion in the past.

I am not saying that everyone that has been born again truly understood everything about salvation. God is much bigger than that. I was 6 years old when I was born again. I went forward on New Years Eve in my father’s church. No one even prayed with me but, I knew that I was changed that day. I went home and told my mother that I had become a Christian that night.

A lot of people in the world today have many misconceptions about being a Christian. Many believe that anything from being a good person to belonging to a church makes one a Christian.

In the past I have been accused of herding people to the front during invitations. This is why I have become so specific in whom I want to come forward. I also qualify people before I ask them to come forward. I first ask how many know for sure that they have been born again. With all eyes closed and heads bowed, I ask them to raise their hands. Then I tell them that if they have been born again that they do not have to keep being born again over and over. If they mess up and sin that the bible says in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sin that he is faithful and just to forgive us. This does not mean that we have to keep getting born again and again.

Next, I ask how many have never been born again or are not sure that they have been. With all eyes closed and heads bowed, I ask them to raise their hands. Then I ask for the people that have never been born again and would like to receive this gift to stand up, but only if they are serious and understand what I am talking about. Don’t stand up because you want exercise, because your neighbor does it, or you think it is cool, but because you truly want to become born again.

After waiting a little while to give people a chance to stand up if they want to receive Christ, I then tell them that I want them to do one more thing. But before I do I tell them, I do not want them to come forward to get close to me, play a game, see the lights, or receive a prize. I ask them that if they are serious and understand what I am talking about to come forward. No pressure, no fear, no manipulation, only if this is what they truly want for their lives. 9 out of 10 times the front is lined with people receiving Christ. .

After I get them to the front, I sit them down on the floor around me and ask them what they came down here for. Usually a few children raise their hands and answer to be born again or to ask Jesus into my life. I then ask the group if this is why everyone came down front. I proceed to tell them that this is the only reason I want them down here right now. Then I tell them that I am going to say a prayer, and I want them to repeat it after me. I always ask them if they know that just because they repeat a prayer does not do anything for them. When we pray we are talking to God, so I want you to mean this from your heart. If you pray this to God, and you believe it in your heart, and are serious, he will come in and change you on the inside. I always include the whole audience in the prayer. And I tell all in attendance that even if they did not come forward and have not asked Jesus in their life, that they can be born again right where they are.

I never threaten with hell or in any way scare people into coming forward. I believe that it is the goodness of God that brings man to repentance. When people understand the good news of the gospel and that the price has already been paid for them, they will want to receive this gift that has been offered to them.

By coming forward it is making a public profession of their faith. It lets everyone there know what they did. People have more of a grip on it when they come forward than just repeating a prayer in their seats. It is a more personal environment where I can get close to them and lead them into salvation.

There is a new trend that teaches that it is the parent’s job to lead the children into the new birth. I do not disagree with this. Ultimately it should be the parent that prays with their children to be born again. I prayed with my son to be born again while driving in a car when he was just a child. But to be honest about this, a lot of parents do not have a firm grip on what being born again is themselves, or are not comfortable discussing it with their children. I pray that this changes.

If we always put it in the parents ball park and they drop the ball, or maybe they are not even born again themselves, or they do not go to church themselves, do we let these children creep through the cracks of our system? There must be a time where children have a chance to be born again while they are attending our services. It must be high on our priority list for children coming up through our churches.

I am in no means saying that this is the only way or even the best way to lead people to the Lord, but it is what works for me. The best way would be for churches to go into their communities and personally lead people to the lord individually. If every person in every church would lead at least one or two people to the lord each year our churches would double or triple each year. Unfortunately, this is not happening. Even in churches that teach this method of evangelism or was founded on the premise of personal evangelism. Somewhere it always seems we loose our site of the mission in front of us and leave it up to evangelist like myself, to come into the church and evangelize the small group of the community that will come out to the event that the church is offering.

I pray we as the body of Christ will rise up and take back this generation.



God Bless
Jerry Moyer
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.youtube.com/jubileegang
www.Godtube.com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang Christmas Newsletter

Our 2008 Christmas newsletter is up on our website and can be downloaded at the link below...

http://www.jubileegang.com/pdf/JubileeGangnewsletter11.pdf





God Bless You

Jerry & Candy Moyer
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.youtube.com/jubileegang
www.myspace.com/jubileegang

Over 300 people born again in Sayreville, NJ

We conducted our last event for 2008 today in Sayreville, NJ, at Faith Fellowship. Around 2500 people were in attendance at this Christmas outreach event. We saw over 300 people come forward to be born again during this one day event.

After our ministry time was over each child received lunch and a $20.00 gift from the church. It was awesome to partner with Faith Fellowship to see so many lives touched during this Christmas season.

We have traveled over 36,000 miles this year, ministered in 37 different churches, and saw over 2000 people born again. God is Good!



Below are some pictures for our event is Sayreville, NJ


Crowd of around 2500 at Faith Fellowship
in Sayreville, NJ


Pizza flop game


Jerry and a young man doing an object lesson at
Faith Fellowship in Sayreville, NJ


Jerry praying with over 300 people to be born again
at Faith Fellowship in Sayreville, NJ

We will be off the road until February when we minister at Kidfest in Ocean City, MD. on February 6-8.

Between 800 and 1000 children are expected to be in attendance at Kidfest this year. To register your church or find out more info about Kidfest click on the link below.



http://youth.cogdelmarva-dc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8&Itemid=16


We are now scheduling for 2009. If you are thinking about scheduling us next year contact us ASAP to reserve your date in our schedule. Our 2009 schedule is starting to take shape now and will be filling up over the next few months.


God Bless You,

Jerry & Candy Moyer
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.myspace.com/jubileegang
www.youtube.com/jubileegang

Teaching children about salvation

Teaching children about salvation
By Jerry Moyer
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com

There is much confusion today about what it means to be a Christian. It is very important that what we teach children about their relationship with God is accurate. When we just teach children that salvation is “being friends with God” or “having Jesus as their best friend” we are not exactly presenting the full scope of what being a Christian really is. I can be friends with you, but it does not change my life for eternity. It does not give me eternal life. Yes, Jesus should be our best friend and we need to develop our relationship with God but that is a byproduct of the change that occurs in our heart when we are born again.

Some misconceptions in our society about being a Christian are that going to church makes one a Christian, praying and reading the bible makes one a Christian, being born in a Christian family or attending a Christian church makes one a Christian. Or even being religious, following a churches statement of faith, rules, or regulations, or just being a good person makes one a Christian. Most of these things are good and help us grow spiritually, but do not make one a Christian.

When a religious leader came to Jesus in John chapter 3 he asked Jesus what I must do to enter your kingdom. Jesus did not say belong to a certain church, obey more rules, or become more religious. He told Nicodemus you must be born again.

Now there has been a lot of confusion about what exactly being born again is. Is it just a decision to follow Christ, or is it a transformation of the heart of a person?

If it is no more than making a decision to follow Christ without a change on the inside being a Christian is no different than being a Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim. It is simply just a religion that we have joined.

What sets Christianity apart from all other religions is the supernatural change that takes place in our spirit man. This is the good news. We do not have to serve God in our own power. He changes us on the inside and gives us his very life and nature so that we can serve him. Its not just rules and regulations he puts the law in our heart when he puts his love in our heart. Rom. 5:5 says that the love of God has been put in our heart by the Holy Spirit. The bible also says that Love is the fulfillment of the law. If we love God and our neighbor we have fulfilled the law.

In Ezek 36:26-28 Ezekiel prophesied “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.“ Here Ezekiel was talking about the change that would take place in the lives of believers after Jesus came and paid the price for our salvation.

I know the term “born again” was over used a few years ago when everyone from presidential candidates to movie stars said they were born again Christians. The term got drug through the mud and no one really knew what it meant, so we quit using it. The world asked what does “Born Again Christian” mean and no one knew, so we came up with terms like having Jesus in our heart and being friends with God.

When Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and disobeyed God something happened to Adam. He died. Not physically because we know from scripture that he lived for many years after the fall. He died spiritually. He was separated from God. When this happened he laid the foundation for all man kind to be born separated from God or dead spiritually.

That’s why the bible calls him the first Adam and calls Jesus the second Adam in 1 Cor. 15:45. In 1 Cor. 15:22 the bible says as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

As in the word of the Christian rapper, Tripp Lee “The bad news we were born in sin, The good news we can be born again.”

In order to be restored to the place where God had created us to be we needed a total transformation of our spirit man or be born again. When we receive Christ we are born into God’s family. We are not just adopted but born into it.

The Bible says in 1 Cor. 1:13 that we were delivered out of the kingdom of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God. Or in other words, we are taken out of the kingdom of darkness and put into the kingdom of God. When I see this word translated I always think of the transporter room in the old Star Trek program. We were taken from one place and put into another into another.

The bible also says in 2 Cor 5:17 that if we are in Christ we are a new creation. Old things have passed away, all things have become new. This does not simply sound like a decision to follow Christ or being friends with God to me. It sounds like a total transformation of the heart.

With out this change in our spirit man we have simply became religious or joined a religion. Without the supernatural element of being born again we have a form of Godliness but deny the power. We have dead religion that we have to strive to be good enough and follow the rules and regulations. When the good news is that Jesus paid the price with his blood on the cross for our salvation, and all we have to do is receive the free gift that God offers us.

Without the blood of Jesus being shed we cannot be born again. Today, we live in a bloodless society. We don’t even see our meat being processed any more. We only see the pre packaged meat that we buy in the store. But Christianity is a bloody religion. From the sacrifices of the Old Testament that God commanded to cover the sin of Israel to the Blood of Jesus being shed to take away our sin in the New Testament. The Bible says in Heb. 9:22 without the shedding of blood there is no remission or taking away of sin.

Now, I am not talking about being graphic and gory with children. I would never scare a child for anything. But we cannot leave the blood out of our faith or teaching. It is the very basic element of our faith. That’s why Jesus commanded us to takes the Lord’s Supper or communion was to put us in remembrance of his sacrifice for us.

I am not a huge fan of the term “having Jesus in our heart” either. The Bible says that Jesus is at the right hand of the father making intercession for us in Romans 8:34. I understand what we mean when we say that Jesus is living in our heart but Jesus himself is not living in us. His life and nature is in us. His character is in us. The love of God is in us. The 1 Cor. 13 kind of love is what is in us.

I realize that some of this is quit technical and is not presented on a Child’s level. Instead of talking about our nature being changed from sin to love, I talk about when Adam disobeyed God he received a sinful heart. We all are born with a sinful heart because of Adam’s disobedience. He represented all of us. When we are born again we receive a clean heart. I then explain what this means on a child’s level.

I had heard the terms Jesus died on the cross for our sin, born again, being saved, and all the other Christian terminology that is thrown around lightly my entire life growing up as a pastor’s child. But I did not understand it, until I became an adult and researched it out for my self. Sadly to say that many people grow up in our churches hearing these terms and never fully understand it. Then walk away from the faith because it was not presented in a way that made sense to them when they were older. It was presented like a fairy tale or Santa Claus and when they were old enough to think for their selves, they realize it did not make sense and walked away from the faith.

We as the body of Christ need to get back to teaching what “being born again is” so that the children and teens growing up in our churches understand it. If not when they become adults they will see no difference in Christianity, Buddhism, or Hinduism and will walk away from their faith and the church.

Jerry Moyer
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com


To read more articles by Jerry Moyer and other leading children's ministers check our our media center on the Jubilee Gang web site at the link below...

www.jubileegang.com/mediacenter.html

Why aren't there more children's evangelist

Children's Evangelists: a Dying Breed
By Jerry Moyer

In an age where the role of a children's evangelist has gone from a soul winning, bible teaching, encourager of the body, revivalist of sorts, to more of an entertainer that has a Christian theme. I have been forced to ask myself a few questions about the role of a Children's Evangelist in the post Christian America that we live in.

Let me start off by giving you a little bit of my background, and things I struggle with so you know where I am coming from.

I have been a children's pastor in a few different churches for a total of 8 years, a children's evangelist for 18 years, and have had a few volunteer positions during my over 22 years in ministry to children and youth. I have been blessed to see both sides of the fence which has helped me to be more understanding of the role of a Children's Pastor and local churches when I am ministering on the road. All of the churches I served at as a Children's Pastor, I could never afford to have children's evangelist in. Except for a few of my friends that I was not able to pay what they deserved, and one nationally know evangelist that came on love offering and travel because he was in the area. I always felt bad bringing someone in and not being able to bless them the way they should be.

In my early years as a Children's Evangelist I went through extreme poverty and hardships including getting my phone, electric, other necessities turned off, and my family going without all for the sake of the call.

I eventually had to make the decision, that if I was going to continue doing children's evangelism; I had to run the financial side of the ministry like a business. I was not ever going to put my family through this again.

I really struggle with having to charge churches what I do to have me come and minister. In bible collage we were taught not to charge for ministry, but we should trust God for what we needed to come in during the offering. If I did this I would not be able to survive because churches and pastors really do not have any idea what it takes to run a ministry such as ours. When you take up an offering with children you get nickels and dimes and a few dollar bills. In my early days as a Children's Evangelist we always came on love offering and barley ever broke even on most events. I struggle to keep my prices down, however with all the equipment I tote around I have been forced to charge higher prices than most. When I was a Children's Pastor I could never have afforded to have my ministry come in. So, I understand what a lot of Children's Pastors are going through with low budgets.

I have struggled with the fact that I must offer a program that is a few steps above what most churches can offer their children. One time I had a church on the west coast call and want me to come to their church to minister. This was one of my first contacts from the west coast quite a few years ago. I asked if they could fly me out there. In the back of my head I was wondering if my transportation at the time would make the trip. Their response was that if I did not bring my equipment they did not want me. One of the secrets to my success is that I have been able to invest in awesome equipment that makes our program more spectacular. At the same time I wonder why we as the body cannot just see the call on a persons life instead of forcing a person to have a bigger than life persona with a rock star performance and all the bells and whistles. Don't get me wrong, I love all the stuff but it's truly all about the ministry for me. Reaching the lost and touching lives is what it is all about.

On the flip side when I was Children's Pastor the few times I had bigger name evangelist in, my workers came to me afterword and thought what we did in children's church was better than the program the nationally known speaker presented. After a while I did not have speakers come in that could not out top what we did, or offer something that I could not do myself, however I could not afford the speakers that was bigger and better.

I struggle with the promotional end of the ministry also, having to sale yourself to get a meeting, having to look bigger and better than the rest, and not looking too much like another ministry because they feel your trying to steel their corner of the market. God has given me a gift for promotion, and I have always been successful in promoting whatever I have been involved in whether it was business or ministry. I do not like the idea of being in competition with other Children's Evangelist.

Hopefully, we are all in this for the same reason, winning souls and encouraging believers. There are too many children that are not born again and not enough people reaching them to be in any kind of competition. We try our best to reach out to other Children's Evangelist and be a blessing to them as much as possible no matter what church affiliation they are. Some we have been able to establish relationships with and others have not responded for various reasons.

Saying all this I have asked myself and a few others the following questions.

1. Why isn't there more Children's Evangelist? A lot of times we hear from churches we minister in that it is hard to find good quality Children's Evangelist.
2. Why doesn't more Children's Evangelist stay on the road very long? I have seen a lot of very talented, gifted, and anointed children's ministers try to break into traveling and do not last but a few years. Or they are on and off the road every few years.
3. Why do churches need Children's Evangelist?
4. Where is the role of a Children's Evangelist going in the next 10 years?
5. Is the concept of a kid's crusade becoming a thing of the past?
6. What is the most effective way to reach un reached children with the message of the gospel?

To answer the first and second questions it mostly comes to finances. I asked a few of my Children's Evangelist friends and Children's Ministry leaders that use to travel and on the top of everyone's list was lack of finances. As I said above when I first started out I went through extreme poverty and lack that I would not wish on my worst enemy. One time I had a pastor where I was ministering feel so sorry for me because of the cloths I was wearing that he went to his closet and brought me 2 shirts for me to wear. In the early days we looked like the rag muffin team that traveled in a hooptie van you would see down by the river with gypsies living in it.
We sat in the front of the van and put all of our equipment in the back. Praise God we have come a long way! I thank God every time I get into my suburban and load my equipment into my trailer.

I see a lot of my Children's Evangelist friends going through extreme poverty now. Some of them are pioneers of what I am doing. They have given their entire lives to reaching children and now that they are older they have nothing, no insurance, no retirement, no home, nor finances. Some have sold their houses and traveled in motor homes that finally gave out because of all the miles they have put on them.

Now they are forgotten about by the church world and cannot seem to get enough meetings to live off of. Yet, they still have a heart for reaching children. No church will hire them despite of their years of experience because they are older now and churches want younger people for Children's Pastors.

I ask myself, how long I can keep my schedule full. How long can I keep this pace up? Will I end up like a lot of my predecessors, older, outdated, and forgotten about with no insurance or retirement?

Even though we charge what I am sure seems like a lot to a smaller and medium size churches we still struggle to make it sometimes. We get a few meetings a month from February through May, and then we do back to back meetings from June through September or October, and then come home and have to be so tight financially that we cannot afford do anything except work and get ready for the next years tour. Our fuel cost alone in 2007 was over $12,000, plus all the other cost in what we do. We have very few monthly supporters. Less than 5 people give $25.00 per month to our ministry. Occasionally, we receive a larger one time gift from people. We try our best to work with churches to come on an amount they can afford if they cannot afford our suggested price, however with each year more and more churches ask for a discount which makes me wonder how tight it will be next winter.

Then, the issue comes up that what I am offering has to be worth what I am charging, so we have to continue to get bigger and better which drives up the price more. I am not trying to cry a sob story by telling this information, just letting you know why more people do not do this.

The simple fact is that most churches do not have budgets for ministries such as ours, and if we scale down to where we can travel in a mini van no one will want us because we cannot do something that the local church cannot do themselves. I do not want to become an exclusive mega church ministry. We have and will continue to minister in mega churches, however the smaller churches are what really need our ministry the most.

The second reason there are not more Children's Evangelist or the reason they do not stay on the road very long is the toll on the family. It's a hard life that not many can handle. Having to live out of hotel rooms or motor homes, is more than most people can handle. Most people want more out of life which is understandable.

To answer the third question about why do churches need Children's Evangelist is a simple yet complex answer according to what church background you come from. To answer this question I will ask another question. Why do churches need adult evangelist? Like I said before according to your church affiliation the answer may very.

I once asked a pastor where I was on staff if we could have more of a budget to have in a Children's Evangelist. His answer was, "Why do we need a Children's Evangelist when we have one of the best on staff as a Children's Pastor." My answer to his question was "Why do we need to have Adult Evangelist when we have one of the best ministers in the world as Pastor here?" To which he had no answer. There will always be events where we will need special speakers for children the same as there will always be events for adults where we will need a special speaker. Some of these events include outreaches into the community, kid's camps, and meetings where children can receive a fresh fire from God.

My goal as a Children's Evangelist is to…

1. See as many people (men, woman, boys, girls and teens) as possible make a legitimate decision to follow Jesus and be born again.

2. Stir up believers to be all they can be for God and to reach out to the world around them with the love of Jesus, not only through preaching the word, but through developing the character of Christ in their lives.

3. Encourage churches and leaders to take their Children's Ministry to the next level by showing them what can be done through technology and new methods.

To answer the 4th and 5th questions about where do I see the role of the Children's Evangelist going in the next 10 years? And is the concept of kid's crusades becoming a thing of the past? I am not sure where it is going right now. It has seemed to be heading toward a more entertainment based concert type events with very little or no ministry that attract new families in to have a good time and hope they come back to visit the church for a regular service. However, I have been getting more and more calls lately from churches that have been trying this approach for a few years now and want something with more substance. I am happy that the tides are finally turning back to a more ministry based outreach. There is some truth in the "become all things to all men and show people that church is a fun place for families approach" and not a place where they will get bible thumped or dragged through the pit of hell to try and get them to convert to Christianity. It is true that it is the goodness of God that brings man to repentance. We must make church a fun place, keep up do date on culture and the changing world, and how to reach them. However, if we water down the message so that it is not offensive we will produce a generation a fluffy Christians with no spiritual back bone. Certain things about the Gospel are offensive to the American culture, for example, the blood of Jesus and the story of the Cross. But without this we cannot even be born again. I am not saying that we scare kids with bloody details; however we cannot get away from the truth of what we are about.

I personally believe we can be entertaining yet not water down the message or anointing. I have had churches ask me how God shows up at our events without praise and worship. Believe me if any of us could sing even halfway, I would have praise and worship during our events. My answer to this is every thing we do uplifts the name of Jesus and magnifies his word. How could he not show up? Plus, I thought The Holy Spirit was already here, or does he only hang out when we sing a song?

A Children's Evangelist must offer programs that are relative to the culture they are ministering to and a message that is not the same programs that every other Children's Evangelist has been preaching for years. When I develop a new program it usually comes from time spent with God and a topic that has been stirring in my heart for quit some time that I feel is something God wants to emphasize in the body as a whole. The theme and message always come first them we develop everything else around that central theme to reinforce the bible message.

I do believe the concept of traditional kids' crusades is slowly becoming a thing of the past. I do think it is a better option than VBS if you are trying to reach the community? It is hard to compete with sports and other community activities in some communities. I have had churches have us in to minister and spend a lot of money on the event and have only a handful of children at the event because of sports or something else going on in their community. It might come down to lack of good planning, advertising, or organization, however I remember a day when if you had a really cool event at a church you could pack it out with kids and families. I encourage churches to get away from the term "kids Crusade" in their advertisement of our events. The un churched world today just do not understand what a kids crusade is. It sounds too much like the crusades of the dark ages for most un churched people today. I encourage them to use terms like; Kids Blast, Back to School Blitz, Summer Slam, Winter Jam, and family or kids explosion. I encourage them to be creative and think out of the box. It's hard enough to get adults out to a week long revival or camp meeting these days much less have them drop off their kids and come back to pick them up for a children's event. It has to be sold to them as something they do not want to miss. Something that will not only be an awesome time but something that will change their lives. The days of doing a cute puppet skit and a few cool songs and object lessons are over. In order to get kids and families out for events it has to be something bigger and better. I am sad to say it, but most people will no show up out of hunger for more of God or his word any more.

I have often pondered the thought of doing large children's ministry events like "Acquire the Fire" on a children's ministry level where you have a central location where Children's Pastors and families bring their kids to a large event, however I am not sure it is possible without the proper adult supervision. I have done many large events with several thousand in attendance at churches with a lot of adult supervision that have almost been chaos. However, I have done other large meetings with several thousand in attendance in a church setting with the entire family sitting together where it went well. Another factor of crowd control was the amount of churched and un churched children in attendance. The more un churched children there are in a large event the louder it will be and the more movement around the auditorium. The more churched parents are in attendance with their children the less noise and movement. Saying this we do not want to exclude un churched children and families just because they do not know how to act in a service. They are the ones that need it the most.

A lot of my fellow Children's Evangelist and Children's Ministry friends suggested that we are moving more toward family events where the entire family is ministered to at the same time. I have wanted to break into this type of meeting for years; however getting most senior pastors to buy into the idea has been quit a challenge. Most senior pastors are reluctant to turn their pulpit over to a Children's Evangelist. Some times for good reason because some Children's Evangelist are so childish in their approach that many adults in attendance feel spoken down to or out of place.

And the last question, about how to most effectively reach un churched children with the message of the gospel. I personally believe the most effective way to reach the lost is to go where they are. Get involved in their lives and let them know you care. Then when the door is open share Jesus with them. Go into their communities and have services. Do not expect them to come to the church building. Most people that are not Christians will never come to church. Most un churched children in America have never been to church and if they have, they thought it was dead religion and did not want anything to do with it.

When we go to their communities and show them we truly love them enough to get outside of our comfort zone of the church building, then we will reap the harvest that is ripe. Crops do not come to the barn by themselves. The farmer has to go out to the fields and harvest the crops. Fish do not jump out of the lake and come running for the kitchen. You have to go catch them. The masses of people in this world that are not Christians will not come to church to receive Jesus. We must go where they are. Truly love on them and show them that we care. Then they might want what we have.

One person suggested that we train children to evangelize their peers. This is what they are doing at their church and it has been very successful. One young lady from her church saw several thousand of her peers born again before graduating high school.

We must also disciple these children and families that are born again during these outside the church outreach programs. Some of the ones that are reached will come to our church afterwards, however the most effective way to disciple them is by have a weekly meeting on their turf. Close to where they live. I know this concept is not much for church growth but we must be kingdom minded instead of church minded.

Some times I ask God why I couldn't have been an adult evangelist and fly in on an airplane with my bible and preach instead of driving over 40,000 miles a year and having to set up my equipment every three days. One time when I was complaining to the Lord I heard him say in my heart, "What you are doing is precious to me." I broke down in tears when I heard this. Children's ministry is precious to the Lord.

Seeing children born again and seeing them grow up spiritually until they look like Christ is precious to Him! Everything we go through, all the hardships, all the ups and downs is worth it when we hear the father say that what we are doing is precious to him.

I pray that God rises up a new generation of Children's Evangelist to take our place some day. Young men and women that not only know how to wow a crowd with all the latest and greatest methods, but take a no compromise approach to ministry and go in the power of the Holy Spirit and the word of God. I pray for a new generation of men and women that their only goal is wining souls at any cost.

I pray this does not come across as Jerry's soap box. I just want to answer a few questions I hear often and have asked myself and to be a voice for all those that have given themselves for children's evangelism.

Jerry Moyer
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.kidscrusades.com

JG Update for 1st Presbyterian Church in Ocala, FL

Dear friends and partners:

We had an awesome 3 day event at the First Presbyterian Church in Ocala, FL. This was the first event of this kind the church had ever had. Children and parents had an awesome time learning bible truths.

The Children's Director and her 7 1/2 year old daughter came to our event in Orlando last Feb. and her daughter received Jesus and was born again. As soon as we got to the church in Ocala her daughter came up and said " I am so happy because The Jubilee Gang is at MY CHURCH!" She preceded to tell me the power verse that she had learned 7 months earlier at our event in Orlando perfectly put to the beat that we had taught it.

We saw around 35 people born again during this 3 day event in Ocala including several adults. We get to go home for a week before our event at More Life Church in Newark, OH on Oct.
5-8

Our schedule for the rest of the year is below...

Oct.
5-8 More Life Church: Newark, OH
Oct. 19-21 Bethel Tabernacle Church of God: Frankford, DE
Oct 24-26 Abounding Grace Church: Schenectady, NY
Oct. 27 Core Church of Troy: Troy, NY Inner City Outreach
Oct. 31 Word of Faith: Jackson, MS
Nov. 8 Upper Valley Community Church Kids Matter Conference: Piqua, OH
Dec. 13 Faith Fellowship Ministries: Sayreville, NJ

Pictures from our event in Ocala FL

 Breakfast food flip Game

Jerry and a young lady playing the match it Game
 


Pizza Flop Game
 
 

God Bless You

Jerry
The Jubilee Gang
www. jubileegang. com
www. myspace. com/jubileegang
www. youtube. com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang Update for Sept. 14-21

Dear Friends and Partners:

We had an awesome week ministering in 3 churches in 3 states.

On Sept. 14 - 16 we ministered in Greenville, SC at the 1st Assembly of God and saw 14 children born again during this 3 day event.

On Sept 17-19 we ministered in Moultrie, GA at Lakeside Assembly and saw 79 children come forward to be born again.

Then, on Sept 21 we ministered at Winners Church in West Palm Beach, FL and saw around 62 people come forward to be born again.

Between all 3 churches we saw 155 children and teens born again.

Next week we will be ministering in Ocala, FL at The First Presbyterian Church.

Marcus Abernethy from Kids Dominion Live www.kidzdominion.com has been traveling with us during these events because Candy will be flying out to WA state on Tuesday Sept. 23 to visit her Mother. She has recently been diagnosed with an acute liver cancer and is not expected to live more than 3 to 4 weeks. Marcus will be finishing out Sept. with me while Candy visits her family in WA. Please keep Candy and her family in your prayers.

Below are some pictures from this weeks events.


Pizza Flop Game in West Palm Beach, FL


Markus Abernethy talking to Wild Thing in
Moultrie, GA


Jerry and Markus doing the Chicken skit in
West Palm Beach, FL


Jerry praying with children and teens in
Moultrie, GA where 79 people were born again.


Jerry praying with children and teens in
West Palm Beach, FL to be born again.
62 people came forward to receive Christ.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel Americas highways ministering to children and their families.

God Bless You,
Jerry & Candy Moyer
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.myspace.com/jubileegang
www.youtube.com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang Update for Sept. 6-12

Dear Friends and Partners:

We had awesome week ministering at 2 churches.

On Sept. 6-7 we ministered in North Street, MI at Hillside Wesleyan Church and saw 10 children born again.

One Sept. 10-12 we ministered in Collierville, TN at The First Assembly of God and saw 62 children born again.

Next week we will be ministering in Greenville, SC, Moultrie, GA, and West Palm Beach, FL

Below are a few Pictures from this weeks events.

Chicken in the basket Game
 

Pizza Flop Game
 
 
Candy & Wild Thing
 
 
Jerry Praying with children in Collierville, TN
 

God Bless You

Jerry

The Jubilee Gang

www.jubileegang.com

www.myspace.com/jubileegang

www.youtube.com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang Update for Humble, TX

Dear friends and partners:

We had a great 3 day event in Humble, TX.

We saw around 20 children come forward to be born again during the Sunday AM service.

Our event in Tyler, TX had to be canceled because of Hurricane Gustav.

We left TX at 8:00 PM on Sunday evening and got home around 8:00 PM Monday. We out ran the Hurricane and made it home safely.

We leave for North Street, MI on Friday where we will be ministering at Hillside Wesleyan Church Sat. & Sunday.

Next week we will be ministering at Collierville, TN on Sept. 10-12

Below are a few pics from our event in Humble, TX

Breakfast food flip game
 
 
Candy praying with Wild Thing
 

Jerry praying with children in Humble, TX
 
 

God Bless You

Jerry & Candy

The Jubilee Gang

www.jubileegang.com

www.myspace.com/jubileegang

www.youtube.com/jubileegang

 

Jubilee Gang Update for week of Aug 17 - 24

Dear Friends and Partners,
We had a great week ministering in 2 churches in South Dakota.

On August 17 - 20 we ministered In Rapid City, SD at First Assembly of God.

Then on August 22-24 we ministered in Yankton, SD at first assembly of God.

During our 4 day event in Rapid City, SD we saw around 35 children come forward to be born again.

Breakfast food flip game in Rapid City, SD

Jerry praying with children in Rapid City, SD

During our 3 day event in Yankton, SD we prayed with 46 children to be born again.

One young man that came forward was from the country of Iraq. His family moved here 8 months ago after being rescued by American military. Insurgents had invaded their home because the mother was an interpreter for the military and the insurgents felt like she was a trader to the country. A son was killed in front of the mother while several children were hiding and were not killed. She was left as dead and they took his father and the family to this date do not know if he is alive or dead. The mother survived the shot gun wounds. Their house was burned to the ground and they had to fee the country.

Below is a picture of the young man praying to receive Christ. You can see the intensity on his face. Please pray that the mother follows his step to follow Christ and convert from Islam.

Young man from Iraq praying to be born again during our event in Yankton, SD

Jerry Praying with children to be born againin Yankton, SD

Jerry and the young man from Iraq playing the match it Game.

Next week we will be ministering in Humble, TX on Aug. 29 - 31 and Tyler, TX on Sept. 1-3.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel America's highways ministering to children and families.

God Bless You

Jerry

The Jubilee Gang

www.jubileegang.com

www.myspace.com/jubileegang

www.youtube.com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang Update for Aug. 4 - 13

Dear friends and partners.

We have had an awesome but tiring last 10 days ministering in 3 different churches in 3 different States .

On Aug 4-6 we ministered in Fairmont, WV at Calvary Temple and saw 31 children come forward to be born again.

On Aug. 7-9 we ministered in Silver Spring, MD and saw 29 children born again.

Then on Aug. 10-13 we ministered in Temple, PA at Spring Valley Church of God where children were bussed in from different under privileged communities each day for an awesome outreach event into the Redding, PA area. During this 4 day event we saw 134 children come forward to be born again. It was awesome to partner with this awesome church to reach out to their community.

We get 3 days off to get to Rapid City, SD where we will be ministering on Aug. 17-20 then we minister in Yankton, SD on Aug 22 -24th. From there we get 3 days off to get to Humble, TX for a 3 day event on Aug. 29-31. Then we minister in Tyler, TX on Sept 1-3 before driving to North street, MI where we start on Sept. 6th

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel America's highways ministering to children and families. Also, pray that many people will be born again and that believers will be stirred up to reach others and be all they can be for God.

So far this year we have seen 1159 people born again during our events.

Below are a few pictures from our events this last week.


Flying Chicken Game in Fairmont, WV


Jerry teaching the power verse put to a beat
in Fairmont, WV


Jerry and a young lady playing the Match it Game
in Temple, PA


Jerry praying with Children in
Silver Spring, MD


Jerry praying with children to be born again
in Temple, PA


Jerry praying with children to be born again

in Temple, PA

God Bless You
Jerry & Candy
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.myspace.com/jubileegang
www.youtube.com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang Update for July 27 - Aug 2

Dear Friends and Partners:

We had a great time ministering this week in two different churches.

On July 27-30 we ministered at Riverside church in Norman, OK and saw 25 people born again. On the last night we had 4 teenage young men come forward during the invitation to receive Christ.


Jerry praying with 4 teenagers to be
born again in Norman, OK

On Aug 1-2 we ministered at Living Faith Church in Fayetteville, AR and saw 43 children come forward to be born again. Below are some pictures from this event.


Pizza Flop Game


Jerry praying with 25 children in Fayetteville, AR.


Next week we will be ministering in Fairmont, WV & Silver spring, MD. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel Americas highways ministering to children and families.



God Bless You
Jerry
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.myspace.com/jubileegang
www.youtube.com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang featured as cover story in 31Ten Magazine

Dear friends and partners:

We were blessed to be featured in 31 ten Magazine this month as their cover story. Below is the link to the online magazine where you can check out the article. I thought it was a very good write up.

Click below to see the cover

www.31tenMagazine.com


Click below to view the article on page 7
http://www.31tenmagazine.com/page7.aspx


God Bless You
Jerry & Candy
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.myspace.com/jubileegang
www.youtube.com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang Update for Columbus, GA

Dear Friends and Partners:

We had a spectacular week in Columbus, GA at Evangel Temple Assembly of God. During this 5 day event we saw 112 children come forward to be born again.

Since January of this year we have seen around 886 people born again during our events.

Next week we will be ministering in Norman, OK and Fayetteville, AR. Keep us in your prayers as we travel America's Highways ministering to children and families.

Below are a few pictures from this weeks event.

Breakfast food flip game


Breakfast food flip game


Candy talking to Wild Thing


Jerry teaching the power verse put to a beat


Jerry praying with 75 children to be born again the
first night of the event.



Jerry praying with children to be born again.

God Bless You
Jerry & Candy
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.myspace.com/jubileegang
www.youtube.com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang Update for Church on the Rock in St. Peters, MO

Dear friends and partners:

We had an awesome week ministering at Church on the Rock in St. Peters, MO.

During this 4 day program we saw over 220 children respond to the invitation to be born again. There was around 400 people each evening in attendance.

Next week we will be ministering in Columbus, GA at Evangel Temple Assembly of God for 5 days then we will be driving to Norman, OK and Fayetteville, AR for the following week.

Below are some pictures from our event this week.




Jerry putting teaching the power verse to a beat.


Jerry & a young man demonstrating
the fruit of the Spirit.


Jerry and a young lady playing
the match it game.


Jerry praying with 125 children the first night
to be born again.


Jerry praying with children to be
born again the second night.




Please keep us in your prayers as we travel the country ministering to children and families.

God Bless You
Jerry & Candy
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.myspace.com/jubileegang
www.youtube.com/jubileegang

Jubilee Gang Update for week of July 7-13

Dear Friends and Partners:

We had an awesome week ministering in IN and MI. On July 7-10 we ministered at the IN district camp for the Assemblies of God and saw over 100 children born again and the altars were packed each night with children seeking a deeper relationship with God.

On Friday July 11- Sunday July 13th we ministered in Three Rivers, MI and saw 18 children born again.

This week we will be ministering at Church on the Rock in St. Peters, MO. on Tues July 15th - Friday July 18th then we will be traveling to Columbus GA on Saturday to minister 5 days there.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and during our events that many people will be born again and lives touched.

Below are some pictures from our events this week.


Chicken in the basket Game


Pizza Flop Game


Jerry ministering to over 370 children at
kids camp in IN


Altar Time at Kids Camp in IN


Jerry praying over children seeking a deeper
relationship with God at kids Camp in IN.


God Bless You
Jerry & Candy
The Jubilee Gang
www.jubileegang.com
www.myspace.com/jubileegang
www.youtube.com/jubileegang