For Kids Only Quarterly Update


For Kids Only Quarterly Update		Spring 2008

Challenging Preteens

by Gordon and Becki West - Cofounders of KidZ at Heart International

Teach Kids! Magazine January/February 2008

Preteens are at a stage where they may begin tuning out spiritual instruction. Our job as teachers is to challenge these emerging adolescents to keep on learning. In order to do so we must tap into the intrinsic motivators God has put in place.

Keep `Em Guessing

Make your students curious! Don’t tell preteens what’s coming next. Always keep ahead of them. Let them have the joy of being surprised about the next event or activity in your lesson plan.

Have them play “20 Questions” to find out what Bible character you will discuss. Or use a riddle that serves as your “hook.” The answer should have something to do with the big idea of your lesson. For example, if a lesson focuses on God’s design in creation you might begin with “What is the greatest worldwide use of cowhide?” Get preteens’ brains turned on as soon as they walk into your classroom.

Include though-provoking material in each lesson. Bring in news articles that raise a moral or ethical point and allow kids to discuss the issue. Have them search for moral absolutes from Scripture, which they can apply to these situations. Preteens will be motivated to learn when the lesson requires the use of logic and reasoning.

Challenge for Growth

Preteens are rarely captivated by even a great lecture. They need interaction, activities and a mind-stretching atmosphere.

Ask yourself: “Are my students’ brains ‘on’ when I’m teaching? Are they passively, politely listening? “(Or perhaps impolitely not listening!)

Instead of retelling familiar Bible stories give kids opportunities to think:

Have them develop new ways to present the Bible story and do it!
Invite them to prepare discussion or review questions.
Ask them to repeat Scripture verses in their own words.
Have small groups work together to come up with practical applications.

Offer Choices

Because of their God-given drive for independence preteens are more interested in learning when allowed to experience a sense of control over the process. They are capable of choosing to have class inside or out, which topic to study next (provide a list), whether to sit at tables or in a semicircle, whether to learn the memory verse by playing a game or singing a song.

Be Relevant

Unless a preteen sees the relevancy of your lesson to his life, little or no learning will take place. Include applications that will impact your learners. Replace prizes with better topics! Keep these topics in mind as you prepare your teaching hour:

Self image – Am I a geek? Am I a failure? Am I ugly?

Social concerns – Why are there so many homeless people? Will my family ever live on the streets?

Death – What if my parent dies? What if I die?

Peer groups – Am I liked? Will my friend always be my friend?

Violence – Will I get hurt?

Drugs and alcohol – How can I resist these temptations?

Celebrate Success

Tell your students how proud you are of their accomplishments when they participate well, apply the lesson or learn a Scripture verse. Try one or more of the following: Phone the student’s parents and “brag” on him. Allow a student to be an assistant for the day. Choose a student to operate audio-visual equipment. Select a few achievers to be small group leaders.

Use curiosity, stretch their minds, be relevant, give choices and celebrate success to hook your student’ interest for life!

Here Am I

By Tim McCracken

Children’s Ministry Magazine July/August 2007

I found a seat in the back of our church after the service had already begun, the pressing issues in the children’s department at last put to rest. As I settled in, our missions pastor was introducing the people who were going on various short-term mission trips in the coming summer. As he described the sacrifice these people were making to go overseas to minister for a week, I was touched by their desire to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Then a thought struck me” Why don’t we ask people to volunteer for a missions trip to our children’s department?

It made sense from many perspectives: These missionaries wouldn’t need passports, they wouldn’t have to raise financial support, and the only travel required was down the hall to spread the gospel to an entirely different culture.

Children’s ministry, a different culture?

Yes, indeed. A culture, after all, is defined as a group of people sharing a set of attitudes, values, goals, and social norms. And the kids in our ministries fit that description perfectly, In fact, they represent a variety of cultures within the very walls of our Sunday schools. We have cultures where a preschooler’s biggest concern is that someone just stole his toy and now, he’s seeking “frontier” justice. In another culture, a preteen struggles with new feelings she’s having toward boys and doesn’t know if they’re okay. And in yet another culture, elementary kids sift through Harry Potter and SpongeBob SquarePants and wonder where Jesus fits in and whether he’s too different from them.

Talk about crossing cultures and stepping into a mission field! Add the language barrier of understanding a preverbal toddler’s request or trying to communicate with a sixth-grader who speaks fluent “teenese,” and you have a full-blown, cross-cultural experience happening right here, right now. And just like the people overseas, these kids all need Jesus in their culture. Unfortunately, though, Jesus is being crowded out by the world swirling around them. What a mission field!

Children’s culture is vastly different from ours. With kids living in broken homes, media bombarding them with fast-food values, and overcrowded schools that are no longer a safe harbor, they need adventurous adults who are willing to risk loving them. They need people who see the treasure in one tiny soul that far outweighs the most precious gold.

How do we find missionaries willing to venture into the unknown land down our hallways? Just as people hear the call to travel the globe to spread God’s Word, we must help them hear our vision for reaching the mission field right before them. So speak often of your heart for children’s ministry, and cast that vision continually to your pastor, staff, friends and congregation. Challenge others to travel with you to the children’s ministry.

Hold an official send-off for children’s ministry missionaries with hugs and fond farewells. Anticipate what the fruit of their labor will be, and offer support for their bravery and efforts. A grand heroes’ celebration belongs to the wonderful, adventurous missionaries who venture into our children’s ministries, willing to cross into unfamiliar cultures to share Jesus’ love. When God asks, “Who will go to my children?” may many respond, “Here am I! Send me down the hall!”