What? I’m Supposed to do a Large Group Lesson?

What? Director Joe wants ME to do a Large Group Lesson?

 You don’t say it out loud, of course, but you think it.

Just as the leaders’ meeting was coming to a close and you were already reaching for your jacket, Joe made the startling request. “I would like each of you to take a turn teaching the Large Group lesson. You’re all great guys and the boys could learn something from every one of you.”

You haven’t spoken in front of a group since that time in 9th grade when you had to do the disastrous report on amoebas. Why start now?  You figure you’ll catch Joe after the meeting and tell him that public speaking isn’t your thing.

But Joe gets busy talking to a group of Student Leaders and you go home with the request still weighing on your mind.

“I can’t do it, Lord,” you pray. “Why me? Cody can do it. He even gives the announcements on Sunday mornings. Or Keith? He’s been a teacher forever.  But me? I run a machine out at the bottling plant. I go hours without talking to anyone, much less a bunch of anyones.”

Yet you know you have a testimony that would resonate with many of the boys. Your neighbor family took you to church and that’s where you learned about the love and stability of the Heavenly Father while your parents were going through that nasty divorce. If you could only convey to the boys (many of whom you know are hurting with the same kind of hurt you experienced) what the Lord has meant in your own life.

So you start thinking about Large Group lessons you’ve heard that you like.

What did those speakers do to make the lessons interesting and valuable …

1.  They moved the kids so they were facing a blank wall rather than the window that looks out to the parking lot. That did a lot to keep their attention.

2. They had an exciting opening statement that got everyone quiet. (Sometimes that statement was said in a loud voice, but you once heard a speaker start in a whisper and that worked, too. Everyone quieted to hear what was being said.)

4. They opened in prayer, praying for God’s guidance in their teaching … and also in the clubbers’ listening.

5,  They talked conversationally as if they were relating to each clubber on a personal level.

6.  They stuck to the main point. They didn’t jump around, attempting to teach the entire Bible in 15 minutes.

7.  They used age-appropriate language. You’ve heard some speakers use so much “Christianese” or  language way over a kid’s understanding that even you weren’t sure what they were saying.

8.  They kept it simple. When relating an illustration, they told it with clarity and didn’t stumble around as they tried to figure out whether the event happened on Wednesday morning or Thursday morning or at 2:00 or 3:00.

9.  They used expression.  They were excited about the message they were giving the kids and the kids knew it.

10. They emphasized the gospel knowing that there might be a first-time clubber in the audience or one who had been thinking about trusting Christ, but still had some questions.

11. They always had their Bible open in front of them or nearby. Like Cody – even though you know he uses his smart phone to find Scripture at church, he always has his Bible visible when talking to the boys. He wants the boys to know that the Bible is his authority.

12. They didn’t stop umpteen times in the middle of the lesson to tell kids to be quiet. If someone was chatting with his neighbor, the speaker simply walked closer to that boy and made eye contact, but did not pause in his teaching.

13. They showed the clubbers how to apply what was taught to their own lives.

So, you think about it. You pray about it. You could share your testimony. How confused would you get – this is your life. This is the story of how Christ is your Savior, your comfort, your guide and your ever-present strength.

And you know He’ll be with you when you share your testimony with the boys.

You take out your phone to call Joe.