Have you ever wondered what really happens in the classrooms of
the Children's Ministry? I know that at a lot of churches when you drop your
kids off in their classrooms, there are lots of things
going on. Some kids might be playing video games, others might be playing 4
Square or Air Hockey. Maybe a group of girls are sitting on the couch giggling.
Whatever it is it looks fun and inviting to most kids. And
sometimes when you come back to pick your child up they are doing the same
thing they were doing when you dropped them off - but does that mean that is
all they did?
In my time in Children's ministry here at Seacoast, I
have had parents ask me that question...Is that all they do in the
classroom? Because when I ask my child what they learned they say nothing.
And maybe they didn't learn anything and there are reasons for that -
maybe what they were being taught that day they already knew. How may times
have you sat in BIG church and it was a great reminder, but you already knew
what the pastor was teaching? You
might not be walking it out, but you knew it and what you should be doing.
Same is true with kids. Or maybe they didn't learn anything because
they weren't paying attention, maybe they were distracted by
someone sitting next to them who was talking (or
maybe they were the one doing the talking).
Asking, "What did you learn?" is a great question, but
sometimes you have to dig deeper. Even with my kids when I ask what they
learned in church they usually tell me:
" You know dad, you're the children's pastor." And usually they
are right, I do know, but I want to know they know too.
I can promise you that children at Seacoast church are having
church themselves while you are in the adult worship. It may not look like what
you do, but they are doing the same thing. We have a time of worship in each of
our rooms from 2 year olds up through 5th grade. Sometimes their songs are the same songs you are singing, sometimes they are different, but the
point of the importance of worshiping God is taught. We have lessons that teach
a characteristic of who God is with Biblical backing on what we call our Virtue
of the Month. These teaching come from a group of talented writers and
creators at ReThinnk.
This month our elementary kids are learning about kindness and the
importance of treating others the way they want to be treated. As a parent I
love this, because I can use it throughout the week with my kids when they
aren't being so kind to one another at home. Reinforcing what was taught on the
weekend is always good.
Several years ago Pastor Greg introduced response
time at the end of the message, it is a time in the service after
the message that you can respond to what God is saying to you about what you
just learned. You can take a prayer or struggle to the cross and pin it there,
you can light a candle for a friend or loved one or get prayer from the prayer
team. We have carried this over to our elementary areas as well. (Okay,
maybe not the candles, but we could use the battery operated tea lights). We do
allow kids to go to a cross and put a prayer request on the cross, or ask a
leader for prayer. This is a very powerful time and lots of our kids look
forward to going to the cross.
After the large group time is over we have small group time where
we take and break the lesson down for the kids. What did this story that
happened over 2000 years ago apply to my life as an elementary student? This to
me is one of the most important times in the ministry. Kids want to
connect and know they can trust the person leading them. I am so thankful for
the dedicated Kidscoast Dream Team members who lead small groups every weekend.
(side plug... WE NEED MORE!) In order for this to work
properly we need to make sure we have one leader
for every 8-10 kids but sometimes it is more like one leader
for every 20+ kids - and I know that it is not just our church, other churches
struggle with this as well. If you
are not connected to serving in Kidscoast and have the heart and time for it,
please sign up. These kids need you. Just like adults, kids who don't feel connected won't stay. We want kids connecting with kids their own age as well as leaders they can trust and who care about them. Okay, I’m off
my soapbox...
Bottom line, just because it looks like the
kids are playing when they come in and maybe when you pick them up, they aren't
playing the whole time. Here in Kidscoast we take teaching
kids about who God is and how much He loves them very seriously, we just
believe you can have fun while doing it because God is just that AWESOME! If you have never been to a Children's ministry service at Seacoast or at your home church, talk to your children's pastor, I'm sure they would love to have you sit in and see what they are doing.
Just my thoughts - hope you got something out of it!
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