RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

"But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."  
2 Corinthians 11:3

Complexity is the enemy of simplicity.  And the natural slide is toward complexity.  It takes intentionality to keep simplicity at the forefront.

Kill the complexity of your calendar. 
Be very strategic about what you put on your Children's Ministry calendar.  Make your goal an effective calendar instead of a full calendar.  Measure outcome, not activity.

Kill the complexity of your communication.
When kids and parents are given too many messages, they receive no messages.  Fewer words are more potent.

Kill the complexity of your curriculum.
Narrow your teaching down to the essentials for kids.  They can learn about the beasts of Revelation later in life.  Right now they need to be taught the simple, foundational truths.  You've only got so many weekends with them.  Make them count.   

Kill the complexity of your challenges.
When you challenge kids and families to grow in their faith, provide them with simple, easy-to-take steps.  The steps should be simple to communicate and easy for people to participate in.

Our lessons should be easy for kids to remember and hard for them to forget.  This means moving our teaching from their short term memory into their long term memory.  Here are some keys...

Repetition.  You remember what you repeat.  Instead of teaching one truth a week, teach one truth a month and have the kids repeat it over and over and over throughout the month.  Studies show that we forget the majority of what we hear if it is not repeated.  When it is repeated 6 times the retention rate goes up 90%. 

Simplicity.  Great teachers have the ability to take complex truths and explain them in simple, easy-to-understand terms.  Teach kids the truths of the Bible in short, easy-to-repeat phrases.  An example would be "The Bible is God's Word and I can trust it completely."  

Evoke Emotion.  Emotion is very closely tied to long term memory.  People remember what they feel.  Use activities and experiences that evoke emotion.  One of the greatest examples I have seen of this was actually in an adult service.  The Pastor gave everyone a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie on the way into the service.  He had them hold it the entire service while he taught on resisting temptation. Needless to say, a lot of emotion was felt that day as the room was filled with the aroma of freshly baked cookies.  The people who attended that day will never forget it.  

Link the truth to an everyday object.  Link the truth you are teaching to objects that kids come in contact with on a regular basis.  This will remind them of the truth each time they see the object.  An example would be using a skateboard to illustrate what it means to repent.  Repentance is like doing a 180 on a skateboard.  Each time the child rides a skateboard after that, he will be reminded of what repentance means.  Jesus did this often when He taught.  He used birds, fish, coins, sheep, gates. etc.

Participatory.  When kids get involved in the lesson, they remember the lesson.  Kids are growing up in a world that is quickly moving away from lecture style learning.  In a recent article in The Edge, Don Tapscott wrote, “I argued that is a widening gap between the model of learning offered by many big universities and the natural way that young people who have grown up digital best learn.  The old-style lecture, with the professor standing at the podium in front of a large group of students, is still common. It’s part of a model that is teacher-focused, one-way, one-size-fits-all and the student is isolated in the learning process.  Yet the students, who have grown up in an interactive digital world, learn differently. Schooled on Google and Wikipedia, they want to inquire, not rely on the professor for a detailed road map.  They want an animated conversation, not a lecture.  They want an interactive education. Students are making new demands of universities, and if the universities are to remain relevant, they will have to change.  Professors will have to abandon the traditional lecture, and start listening and conversing with the students — shifting from a broadcast style and adopting an interactive one."

Applicable.  It's hard to forget something you are living out during the week.  Spend as much time teaching application as you do information.  Give children specific ways they can live out what you have taught them.  Then check back the next week to see how they did.  When kids become "doers" of the Word and not just "hearers" of the Word, you will see life change. 

Use a story to illustrate truth.  People remember stories.  Illustrate what you are teaching with stories.  Jesus did this with parables.  The prodigal son is a great example.  It reminds us of the Father's love and forgiveness for those who have gone astray.

What other tips do you have for making lessons easy to remember and hard to forget?  Would enjoy seeing your thoughts in the comment section below.

Posted by Dale Hudson