Five ways to make a terrible children's ministry lesson

     Children's ministry is something you can find in one form or another in almost every single church. Whether is big time high energy adventures or a simple classroom and some chairs, laying a spiritual foundation for children is something all churches can agree on. Unfortunately when it comes to lesson time, children's ministry is given little importance. The majority of churches have a revolving door of leaders reading from a prepared lesson that they had no hand in making. Just because kids are not able to respond to lessons in the same way as adults doesn't mean they deserve any less time. Everyone has a different approach and has different skills for reaching children but children's lessons usually become either too complicated to understand and or have so little content they are no longer useful. In this two part post, I am going to start out with Five ways to guarantee you have made a terrible lesson. This is a little tongue in cheek so if you don't like sarcasm we probably can't be friends, you probably won't like it.

1. Think like an adult 

               Something I see far too often in Children's curriculum is adult thinking. Leaders will find a subject matter and break it down but they forget to think like a child when they do this. Children need specific and concrete examples. They do not understand convoluted metaphors and analogies. Saying things like "God's love is like a blanket" to a child might sound nice as an adult, but in a child's mind it is essentially gibberish. When creating a lesson for children, you have to understand the limitations they will have in regard to the subject matter. That doesn't mean you should not teach certain things (I did a lesson with k-4th grade on the trinity and it went fine) but you must understand HOW to teach those things. Be as clear as possible, keep your reasoning simple and concrete. Instead of saying "God's love is like a blanket" say something simple like "God will always love you no matter what" or "God is always there for you when you need him"

2. Don't use continuity

     While there are many great curriculums out there for children, one common downfall for many of them is the lack of continuity. You simply cannot expect children to be able to handle large jumps through the Bible and be able to understand the connection. If you have a lesson on Moses one week, next week's lesson shouldn't be about Jesus and the disciples. Children will not be able to understand the different implications of these points in Biblical history. When doing a lesson try to plan out at least six weeks worth of lessons in a similar time frame or background. This amount of time allows for kids to get a complete grasp of what is happening and prepares them to move on to something new.

3. Make sure the children don't get involved 

     Having the children sit quietly and not participate is a great way to ensure that they will learn nothing. The simple act of having some children come up front and get to be a part of the lesson will automatically increase their grasp of the lesson 1000% (margin of error + or - 3%). Children learn when they get involved. Start easy, have them hold a sign or a picture. Think you can't do a Greek/Hebrew word study with children? Think again! Put the word  you want on one side of a big piece of cardboard paper then the Greek word on the other side. Give that paper to one of the kids and have them shout the meaning every time the paper is flipped over. Boom! If you want to be advanced then have the kids represent people in the story. Or do some extra work and give them a Bible verse or story of their own to share. Kids teaching kids, what could be better than that?

4. Don't be relational

     If your goal is to NOT reach kids be sure that what you are teaching them has no impact or relevance in their lives. One of the ways I have found it easier to connect with kids is to talk about yourself as a kid. This lets them know that what you are learning has a point. There is something you can do with the lesson you learned. In one church I was at, we made forgiveness a big theme of ours. We spent a month talking about what forgiveness means and why it is important. We talked about it and had them demonstrate how they say sorry to a sibling. This is something every kid with a sibling has to do (sometimes multiple times a day). When we connect forgiveness is the Bible to forgiveness with their families it clicked. All the kids were able to understand when you say sorry 1. you have to mean it 2. you have to try and not do that thing again.

   
5. Don't have fun

    The last on our list is a gimme. If you want to make sure children stay un-engaged and uninterested then don't have any fun. These are kids we are talking about here, they survive on fun. If your ministry whether in its lesson, rooms, or programs isn't any fun then they are not going to learn. Kids also know when YOU'RE not having fun. If you don't want to be there, it shows. If you are unprepared or uninterested in your lesson, it shows. If for some strange reason being around kids and teaching them Jesus isn't enough to be exciting to you, maybe children's ministry is not for you. Enjoy your time with these kids. Get excited about learning about God. These kids are looking up to you and are watching you to understand what is expected of them. You are not having any fun then are not going to either.  Also, its important to know the difference between fun and entertainment. The main goal should be for children to learn about God and enjoy it. When making sure the kids are not bored for even a second, it is usually the lesson time that suffers.

     This list isn't all inclusive but it does cover issues that can be seen in many ministries. While none of us can be perfect, we need to really understand who we are serving and why. Children's ministry requires a lot of thought and dedication. Until we are ready to become childlike ourselves we will continue to miss the mark when it comes to reaching kids for Christ. It is our dedication and our example of joyful learning that will inspire children to grow in their faith. 

     Check back for the second part of this post which will be "Five ways to make an incredible Children's ministry lesson"