I’m not pretending there’s anything scientific about this or even that these are “results based on a survey.”
These thoughts are based entirely on my own experience teaching hundreds of kids (from preschool through high school) in a multitude of settings. I’ve taught kids in dusty church basements, in beautifully designed children’s ministry facilities, and in a Montana camp chapel with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt filming a movie in the field right outside the door. (Seriously.)
And this is what I’ve learned about kids’ ministry.
- Kids like learning difficult concepts and understanding the meaning of big words. The key is to explain the difficult concepts and define the words in a way they can comprehend.
- Kids like to be treated as real people. They don’t want you to talk down to them or to teach in a “childlike” voice (unless you’re talking to two-year-olds). Sometimes introducing a subject as “this is hard to understand, but you kids are smart and I know it won’t be difficult for YOU” is all it takes to have an attentive class. They appreciate your confidence in them.
- Kids like you to call them by name. They don’t want to be compared to their older brother or sister. Nor do they want to be known as “one of the Johnson kids.” Make an effort to learn their names even if they look exactly like their three brothers.
- Kids like answers to their big questions. Sometimes we spend so much time listing which animals were on Noah’s ark that we forget to answer the real questions the kids have. If you don’t know what their questions are, ask. Then answer.
- Kids like humor and in many situations you can even tease a wiggling kid into behaving.
- Kids can get silly quickly. Yes, kids like humor, but there’s also a time and place to settle them down and bring the focus back to the central thought.
- Kids like to help. One way to encourage children is to give them a job to do. You might be surprised just how well they cooperate. Completing even a small task helps them feel part of the big picture.
- Kids take you literally. I asked a group of kids, “What do we need to do to trust Christ as Savior? Raise your hand.” A boy did raise his hand and gave me the correct response. The next week when I asked the same question, another child answered correctly. But a second girl protested, “That’s not what you said last week. Last week you said to trust Christ we need to raise our hands.”
- Parents like to know what you’re teaching their kids. Facebook, blogs, Twitter are all good ways to communicate.
- Kids react differently. One child will respond to a particular lesson and another child will respond to another lesson.
