I walked into the classroom. He was sitting in the back of the room...away from the other kids.
One of the volunteers told me he was having a rough day. He wouldn't sing with the other kids during worship time. He was talking out and causing a scene. He was bothering other kids. They finally asked him to go to the back of the room and sit by himself.
I walked back and sat down beside him. Let me see if I can get this kid to respond. You could tell he was not a happy camper.
I asked him several questions about how his day was going. Was there something that was bothering him? Did someone upset him? Why didn't he want to participate?
Nothing. He turned his head away from me. No response.
I thought to myself, "How can I get through to this kid? How can I get his attention?
It dawned on me how I might be able to get him to talk with me. The answer was one simple question. Here is what I asked him...
What kind of video game system do you have? A Playstation? A Nintendo Switch? An Xbox?
When I asked that one question, he immediately turned to me and answered me. It worked. I had gotten him to interact with me.
For the next 5 minutes, we talked about his video game system and what his favorite games were. His mood got better.
The kids up front were engaging in a worship song. I told him I was going to go back up front and worship with them. I told him he could stay in the back or he can join me up front. His choice.
I left him and walked back up front. In a few minutes, I felt a tug on my shirt. It was him. He smiled and joined me in worship. He was engaged and smiling for the rest of the service.
Why? Because I talked with him about something he loved...video games. I entered his world. I showed that I cared enough to know what he liked and was knowledgeable about it.
Remember...kids lives are changed through relationships. Starting with a relationship with Jesus and then a relationship with a caring leader.
It starts by finding a common subject you can talk about.
For boys, video games are very important. 99% of the time a boy will engage with you when you bring up video games.
For girls, it might be a YouTube star or a brand of shoes or the songs of a singer.
Be intentional to talk about things kids like. Do this consistently and show them you really do care about them.
Your turn. What do you talk with kids about? How do you get kids to engage with you? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.
