When Your Kids Don't Know


"We don't know!"


That's what a Rainbow exclaimed Wednesday night during the Mpact Award Ceremony when asked what their club colors are.


It provided a great laugh and little bit of embarrassment for the parent and his teacher. It reminds me of a truth about working with kids that you know if you've been working with them for longer than 6 months.


They'll say just about anything and tell you they remember nothing. It's a problem for teachers all around that brings frustration and sometimes laughter, but that doesn't mean we should just give up. On the contrary we should keep working because the message does get through...eventually.


The truth is, as we all found out shortly after the Rainbow's proclamation, is that the kids did know their colors and what they mean.


If you're working in children's ministry, you're training kids to have a life-long faith. Sometimes we think it's going to be this big meaningful thing we've planned that's going to make the biggest impact, which it can. Most of the time it's the little things we say and do that make the lessons stick forever and you don't even know it.
That's ok.


That's why we do this every week. You never know when you're going to make a difference in a kid's life, but you are as long as you show up and show a kid God's love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Volunteer Statements for Your Ministry

Image
Photo by jules a. on Unsplash I worked at Sam’s Club for a year and half while I was at my first church. Now when I go into any Sam’s and I need help, I can start dropping some jargon like it’s "in steel," or "it’s in that mixed pallet," or "it’s on the end cap or pod." Usually when I use their insider language, their eyes light up, and they're far more motivated to help me because we have something in common. No matter what job you do there are certain phrases and words that are specific to your culture. Most of these words and phrases develop naturally over time as a result of events, ministries, or your denomination. For example, I’m in the Assemblies of God. Here are just a few of the acronyms that any minister in the AG (see what I did there) will know. BGMC STL LFTL ACMR GC JBQ AGWM If you’re not in the AG, I’m sure you can come up with your own list of acronyms that mean something to you, but outsiders will have a no clue. But that’s just
Read more

When You Feel Like It's Time to Go and What to Do About It

Image
Photo by Jan Tinneberg on Unsplash I’ve served at 4 different churches and deciding when it’s time to go is never an easy decision. Serving in ministry, we feel called to the city, the church, the people, and now that time may be coming to an end. For some, it’s like being hit by a Mack truck, others it’s a slow burn or something in between. Whatever it is, for better or worse, there will come a time for you to say goodbye. We are all itinerant ministers. There was probably someone before you, and there will most likely be someone after you. Even if you serve for 50 years in the same place, time and people move on. But how do you know when it’s time to move on? How do you know it’s a prompting from God and not your emotions getting the better of you? There are no simple solutions, and every situation is different. I know because the reason I’ve moved from each church has been for vastly different reasons. The list I’m giving isn’t exhaustive, but rather created from personal
Read more

5 Things I Learned Switching from Group VBS to Orange VBS

Image
This summer I decided to make the switch from Group VBS to Orange VBS. I knew this was going to be a big change for everyone. I've done Group for almost 20 years. It's the only VBS I knew and the only one I've led. I even got to be a part of a focus group for Group a few years ago. A few years ago, I transitioned my children's ministry to the Orange curriculum. I loved the strategy, my small group leaders loved the simplicity of following the curriculum, and my kids loved all the fun they were having. When I started at my church almost 6 years ago, they held several VBS programs in the past but they were hit and miss over the past 10 years, so I had a clean slate and did what I knew by bringing Group VBS to them. Group helped us grow from a VBS of 100 kids to over 300. They were great to us. However, I wanted to be more strategic and I loved the fact that the Orange VBS theme lined up with the summer series. So, I casted vision, laid the groundwork,
Read more