Sheep to Lambs
Jesus invited parents to bring their children to him (Matthew 19:14).
The Chinese government is preventing Christian parents from doing this.
316NOW desires to assist Chinese Christian parents and teachers by providing Scriptural materials in a digital format and in Mandarin. With these materials, Chinese children can be taught the gospel message of God’s love for all people in their own language. We call this program Sheep to Lambs.
Meeting a need
Chinese Christians currently lack gospel-centered materials for parents and teachers and the children they teach. 316NOW intends to develop lessons and resource materials to assist Christian Chinese adults in bringing gospel truths to Chinese children. The program is designed to:
train Chinese Christians teach Scripture truths to elementary-school-aged children
work cooperatively with other orthodox Christian organizations to provide age-appropriate lesson materials for Chinese children.
The need is huge
The gospel-outreach potential of these materials is enormous. China is the most populated nation in the world. Mandarin is the most spoken language not only in China but throughout the world. Mandarin is the first language of over 1,280 million people. Spanish (second most spoken language) is spoken by 437 million people and English (third most spoken language) speakers number 372 million people. The total of Spanish and English speakers is less than half the number of people who speak Mandarin as their first language. In addition to China, Mandarin is spoken all over the world – Asia, North America, Europe, Africa, and South America (source).
What is Sheep to Lambs? A program 316NOW is developing to teach Chinese Christians to teach Bible truths to children. That’s where the name originates: sheep are teaching lambs about the Lamb.
Why is Sheep to Lambs important? China has made it illegal to teach anyone under 18 the truths of the Bible. Normal Sunday schools are shuttered. Christian parents have few resources they can use to instruct their children.
What are the plans for Sheep to Lambs? A team of Confessional Lutheran educators is helping us build these materials from the ground up. At present, we have prepared 60 lessons for middle-grade students. These materials are translated into Mandarin. A second set of lessons for lower-grade students will soon to available. That will be followed by teen-focused materials.