April 2026

Jesus Loves the Little Children

One of the quiet but powerful ways Jesus is building His church at New Hope is through the faithful, steady ministry taking place in our classrooms each Sunday morning. The Lord has provided willing servant leaders for every grade level—men and women who shepherd young lives in the gospel. For the past twelve years, Liz Koenig has served our third graders, helping these children come to know the Lord through His Word.

Liz stepped into this role early in her time at New Hope. What began as shared teaching responsibility soon became a joy she fully embraced. Her heart for the Lord and her love for who she affectionately calls “little people” made the third-grade classroom a natural place for her to be planted. One of the most encouraging things Liz shares with her little people early in the school year is, “Sunday School is not simply a class…it is a Bible study. And this is my FAVORITE Bible study because we get to learn the Names of God!” Their time together is a treasured space where children open the Word of God for themselves and discover who He is. 

Each year, Liz leads her students through the “How Majestic is Your Name” study by Truth 78 curriculum. Liz loves to highlight how, why, and where God has revealed His name so that we might truly know Him. The children learn that Scripture contains hundreds of names and descriptions revealing God’s character - all with the emphasis that the Eternal God (El Olam) names Himself. “Week by week, we learn one Name at a time, many in Hebrew, sometimes lingering on a single Name for nearly a month, because knowing God is not simply information but a relationship to grow in,” says Liz.

In their classroom, third graders learn how to find passages in their own Bibles. They learn the difference between chapter numbers and verse numbers, learning to keep their finger on the text until everyone is ready. These may seem like small things, but they are foundations that will serve them for a lifetime pursuit of truth. More importantly, they are learning that the Bible is not merely a collection of stories; it is God revealing Himself personally to them. One example of this is the class’s memory verse: “The Name of the LORD is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10. Ask any third grader, and they can show you the actions to remember this significant verse,” encourages Liz, “and not only that, but they can tell you LORD is the Hebrew name for YaHWeH, the “fame name” of God which God uses to make Himself known, first to Moses and now to us!” 

According to Liz, one beautiful picture is watching the eager student’s knowledge move from their heads to their hearts. Each week, the children pray using the Names of God they are studying. When a grandmother is sick, they remember that God is Jehovah Shalom: our peace. When they feel afraid, they learn to pray that He is Emmanuel: God with us. When they sin, they learn to turn back to Jehovah Rophe, the God who Heals. They are not simply memorizing names but also learning to trust the Name above all names.

It is a privilege to have a front-row seat to Jesus forming faith in young hearts. He teaches children that they are not alone. He gives them courage to pray aloud. He provides language to understand life itself. And He does this through the faithful obedience of Sunday school teachers who simply serve out of love for Jesus and love for His Word.

New Hope Church, this is how the body builds itself up in love. God’s Word is preached in the sanctuary and seeds are also planted in Sunday school rooms where little ones learn that God has revealed Himself because He desires to be known by them.

Take a walk by the children’s wing and peek into any classroom and you might see something deeper: Christ working through steady faithfulness. Twelve years of dumping out plastic balls to illustrate the vastness of God’s names. Twelve years of opening Bibles together. Twelve years of making resurrection rolls on Palm Sunday.  Twelve years of “field trips” to deliver letters in church mailboxes to the sick.  Twelve years of listening to prayer requests. Twelve years of reminding children that the God who reveals His Name also draws near to each of them.

Our prayer is that Jesus continues to move mightily in ordinary rooms, some (like the third grade room) filled with beanbag chairs and open Bibles, and because of these quiet, faithful classrooms and our teachers, generations will grow up knowing Jesus!

Some serve in year one, others find themselves serving in year fifty. The invitation is the same: How might the Lord be calling you to serve Him now? What could your next step of faithfulness look like whether it is year one, year fifty, or year twelve?