This past weekend, I was serving as a volunteer in the children's ministry of my home church.
Before the children's service starts, we have about 20 minutes of free time to connect with the kids.
I noticed a new little boy that came into the room. You could tell he was nervous. He didn't know any of the other kids.
As I walked up to greet him, he looked at me and said, "Can someone play with me?" I responded by saying "Yes...I would be glad to play with you. What do you want to play? Puzzles? Lite Brite? Connect4? Crafts? Corn Hole? Hula Hoops?"
He looked at me and said, "Can we play that?" It was a Jenga game. I said, yes...let's play. So I got down on the ground and we stacked the Jenga blocks way up high.
While we were stacking the blocks, I was able to talk with him and find out more about his life, family, school, hobbies, etc. It was one of the most important things I did yesterday as a volunteer.
When he asked "Can someone play with me?" he was asking for someone to be his friend.
He was asking if anyone would care about him?
He was asking this to see if he was going to "fit in?"
He was asking to see if this was a place where he would feel love and accepted?
He was asking if someone would let him in rather than pushing him out?
Thankfully, I was able to help him get acclimated and plugged in.
This weekend, a new boy or girl, will walk into your children's ministry for the very first time.
Make sure there is someone there to play with them.
