Caring for and cultivating Christlike character in children—especially those at risk.

Presenting Christ Through Character

When our teams teach character seminars we evaluate which of two CSI presentations to use. One is designed for “pre-Christians” and the other is for followers of Jesus Christ.

The pre-Christian seminar presents ten character qualities that children need to cultivate as respectful and responsible members of their family, school, and community. Teams share the Gospel after the seminar if granted permission from the host. When we present that portion we connect it to the character quality of wisdom, explaining that (a) true wisdom begins with knowledge and reverential fear of God (Proverbs 9:10) and (b) the path to God the Father is only through God the Son (John 14:6).

In situations where our host advises it is premature to proclaim the Gospel verbally, we rest in the reality that our actions always speak louder than our words. “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (I John 3:18). The seminar alone opens doors to future opportunities. Comments from attendees often reveal that God is using the subject of character to open their eyes to spiritual issues. After one of our seminars a teacher declared, “God sent you to show us the light.” And the Gospel had not even been shared yet!

Last fall we trained teachers at a state-run school for handicapped orphans and abandoned children. The headmaster permitted our Gospel presentation. After the seminar a young woman came up to us with tears in her eyes. She said that her husband was a local pastor for seven years but could not share the Gospel beyond the walls of his church. She was amazed that God opened the door for us to present the Gospel to these educators—which also provided an opportunity for her and her husband to follow up.

The second seminar we present includes our Bible Teacher’s Guide, called “Christlikeness.” This is designed for Christian parents and teachers. We used this last April for training the staff of an MTC-supported children’s home in India. Three months later we received this report from our Indian colleague:

I just returned from Beulah Home; had a great time listening to our older children. Most of them have memorized the Character Solutions Bible study.  They can remember most of it and have definitely [memorized] five to six chapters by heart! I couldn’t control my tears of joy, to witness the powerful witness of our children, not only within the home, and also in the community. Now we see the ripple effect of CSI from Beulah Home! Praise the Lord for this rich blessing of Character Solution’s ministry.

The Bible Teacher’s Guide includes a Bible story for each of the ten character qualities, a memory verse, words from Jesus about the character quality, and related scripture references. The ten character qualities are: Integrity, Conviction, Self-Disciple, Diligence, Wisdom, Loyalty, Courage, Humility, Kindness, and Thankfulness.

We will use both presentations during our training of 1,250 “master trainers” in India during August and September. We welcome your prayers as we teach in six major Indian cities. Your gifts of any amount will help this impact upon more than a million Indians. May God richly bless each gift and prayer that is offered in His name.