Last summer, before... everything changed... Hubby and I were helping teach the middle school/junior high Sunday School class at our church. We hadn't exactly volunteered for this duty, mind you - the children's ministry was short of volunteers already, and they were starting this new class to give those in between kids a place. The ones who were too young for the high school youth group, the cool kids, but felt like the elementary school age curriculum was just too childish. This group needed teachers, and the pastors decided that until more volunteers stepped forward, they would assign couples who were already in leadership or serving in other positions - worship leaders, deacons, ushers, etc. to cover the schedule.
We were somewhat put out that we'd been volunteered, but decided not to kick up a fuss and when we got our first lesson plan, we talked to the group's organizers to see what we were expected to do. They told us to make it fun for the kids, toss out anything from the lesson plan that seemed too "childish", the lesson plan was to be a source of ideas if we didn't have anything else to work with. Hubby and I put our heads together and decided that our niche, and the way we felt most comfortable teaching the kids, was acting. So, we taught them improv comedy, and used improv games to help get the lessons across. We loved it, and the kids loved it.
Fast forward to a month or two after... everything changed... and I was informed that the age group of the class I was still on the schedule for had been altered. My junior high kids had been moved up to the Youth Ministry, and instead I'd be in with 4th, 5th and 6th graders.
I should tell you that I'm not comfortable with most younger kids, especially in groups. I don't have kids of my own, I was the youngest in our family until I was 21, and I'm not trained as a teacher. Until my brother had kids - four of them, mind you - I wasn't ever around them - and even then, I was their aunt and occasional babysitter, I wasn't trying to teach them. I tried to make sure they were fed, didn't kill each other, and went to bed at some point before their parents got home... and even then I was not always successful. For me, attempting to communicate something to anyone under 12 years old, unless they're a very bright kid (like my nephew Noah), I'm pretty much at a loss. My vocabulary isn't geared toward an under-8th-grade reading level. I say things the way I say them, and if someone doesn't understand it the first time, 9 times out of 10 I can't think of another way to say it. I'm just out of my element with elementary school kids. Maintaining control and teaching a group of them is out of the question.
A couple of weeks ago our new youth directors - friends of mine from the worship team, who had just started coming to our church last summer when... everything changed... asked me if I'd be willing to help out with the youth. My fun junior highers, the ones we bonded with, were there, and some of the older kids I'd spent some time with because either they or their parents were on the worship team. I thought about it, and decided it would be good for me to get involved with these kids - to have someone to care about and maybe even mentor. Hearing their heart for the youth of our church stirred up some things in me - it reminded me of what it was like to be their age, growing up in church with a handful of serious kids, but a lot of people who went only because their parents made them. I wanted more than anything to help some of these kids get grounded enough to keep from turning away and leaving the church once they get out of their parents' house.
Also, they'd asked me to consider heading up a drama team for them, and that sounded particularly fun, if a bit bittersweet. Hubby would have loved to be part of this, and it breaks my heart that I'm doing it alone.
That said, last night I joined the group for the youth service and started the process of getting to know the rest of the kids. During praise and worship, I joined in, but also kept my eyes open to see what we were dealing with. Out of 17 kids, ranging in age from 12 to 18, I saw 5 or 6 who really worshipped, and a few more that knew the songs and sang along, but weren't really paying a lot of attention.
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