Starting and finishing in a child's world

When I was 10 my grandparents took me and my sisters on a holiday. They picked us up from our house, and over the next 4 weeks we travelled from Sydney to Cairns and back in their camper van. We saw new things, we met new people and we were introduced to a new world – a world called Queensland! I can’t remember who made these for us, but we each had a little folder with maps, itineraries, and pages for us to write about what we did each day on holidays. This was our way of bringing our holiday home with us. We didn’t just travel to Queensland, we brought a little bit of Queensland back to Sydney.

 When it comes to teaching children the Bible, it can help to think of it like a holiday. There are two worlds involved. Not Sydney and Queensland, but the world of the child and the world of the Bible. Our teaching time with children needs to start in their world. Then we take them on a trip into the world of the Bible. And then we bring them back, bringing parts of the Bible world back with them.

 Starting in their world

I recently taught a kids’ church lesson on the book of Esther. The big idea for the lesson was that like Esther we can trust God to keep his promise, even when we don’t understand what he is doing. I could have started my lesson by going straight into the story of Esther. It’s a great story! It’s compelling and interesting, and the kids were less familiar with it than other parts of the Bible so I knew they would be engaged. But if I want the big idea to have an impact in the lives of these children, I must start in their world. Before we go to the strange world of the Bible, I need to take the time to tap into their life. So, I started my lesson by asking this question

“When is it hard to trust that God is good and is doing good things in the world?”

I was pretty stunned at the answers to be honest. They were profound and honest, and gave me a good insight into how this group of children were feeling about the state of the world around them. Their answers included everything from dealing with family relationships, to unanswered prayers, to sadness over unbelieving family and friends.

Starting with experiences that children understand and relate to is what will help you to land a Bible lesson back in their world. This is what we call application and it’s the goal of our lessons. And it starts at the very beginning.

 Ending in their world

Starting a lesson in the children’s world is the easy part. Ending in their world is when it gets hard. When I went on my holiday to Queensland I didn’t just go and see and then come home. I brought bits of the holiday back with me. Through souvenirs, written stories, memories and photos, that holiday impacted me long after I was home. This is what we want the Bible to do for the children in our ministries too. I don’t want to merely teach the incredible story of Esther. Rather I want that story to impact the children long after kids’ church is over. I do that by ending my lesson back in their world.

Ending my lesson on Esther back in the children’s world means bringing together my big idea (we can trust God to keep his promise, even when we don’t understand what he is doing) and my opening question (When is it hard to trust that God is good and is doing good things in the world?). The application of my lesson is not only that we can trust God, but also what does trusting God look like. When the children are finding it hard to trust God, what do I what them to think, feel and do different because of their time in the world of Esther?  

 One of the children in my group was struck by the fact that Esther told Mordecai to have all the Jews fast and pray for her. He talked about how good it is to have Christians around you who can pray for you when you are finding it hard to trust God and how he can do that more often. He took this little piece of Esther’s world and brought it back to his world.

 As you sit and prepare your next children’s ministry teaching time think about the journey you’re taking the children on. What can you do to start and end in their world?