As we walked into the assembly of over 300 children and I saw the staff dressed up as characters for Book Day, I knew it was the perfect setup for our skit: “Postman Joe,” frantic to deliver his package to Miss Ginger, wouldn’t leave until she opened it, and inside was a special book.
As she opened the book, a Bible, it glowed from within and projected rays of light. The grade school children of Birmingham, England, gasped in surprise. Every eye was fastened on Ginger as she spoke of the love of God and demonstrated that love with a red heart as the object lesson. Another Charis team member followed Ginger’s teaching with an invitation for the kids to accept Christ. Although they prayed silently, we could see the majority of kids mouthing the words after her as she prayed. It was a glorious moment as God’s love was cast like a net over the entire room.
I first met Ginger and her husband, Joe, during our preparation for the England missions trip. Like so many of us who come to Charis Bible College Colorado, Joe and Ginger Pillitteri had moved from another state—in their case, Florida. Joe was a pharmaceutical representative, and Ginger was a teacher for autistic children. Based on her experience with kids, Ginger was asked to lead the children’s ministry for our team in England.
This same couple was then asked to lead the weeklong children’s program at the 2016 Summer Family Bible Conference held in Woodland Park, Colorado. Because their teaching reflects the grace taught by Andrew and other Charis instructors, Ginger and Joe’s results with the kids were phenomenal. Children were healed, saved, and filled with the Holy Ghost as they learned about their identity in Christ.
“Essentially [Ginger taught] all those things that we had to relearn when we first came [to Charis]. Most people come here with religious baggage that weighs them down,” Joe explained.
“I think you reach kids just like you reach adults, by starting with God’s love and the nature of God,” Ginger said. “Who is He? How does He see me? Why does He love me? And what does that look like?”
As she was planning for the event, Ginger said, “God told me to teach on the identity of Christ. What does God see when He sees you? He sees Jesus—God sees perfection on the inside of you.”
Ginger described one boy who hung his head and said, “I’m not righteous.” She explained, “[The kids] don’t think they are righteous; they don’t think they are worth anything. They have condemnation at such a young age.”
For the 2017 Andrew Wommack Ministries Summer Family Bible Conference, Joe and Ginger want parents to know that they aren’t just dropping off their kids for childcare. “The Holy Spirit is naturally supernatural,” Joe said. “We want kids to realize that they have [already] heard Him many times; they just didn’t know it.
“Consider this,” Joe continued, “children always responded to Jesus.” Speaking of the time that John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb at Mary’s greeting (Luke 1:41-43), Joe explained, “An unborn baby was the first to recognize Him [Jesus] as another unborn baby.”
Joe wants to stress to parents, “Don’t limit your kids by believing that they are not here to have an encounter with Jesus on their level. If the Holy Spirit can talk with shepherds or wise men, He can speak to children—just as He does [with] adults.”
It is exciting to realize that families coming to the 2017 Summer Family Bible Conference can expect their children to have an encounter with God that will draw them into either a first-time relationship or a deeper one with Him. Make your plans early to come to Woodland Park, Colorado, on July 3-7, 2017. You won’t want to miss God’s perfect setup for you and your whole family!
