Showing posts with label teaching kids effectively. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching kids effectively. Show all posts

What Children's Ministry Needs to Learn from Muslims

9:08 AM  Dale Hudson  

Recently, I met an amazing children's ministry leader who has an incredible testimony.  She was raised as a devoted Muslim.  As an adult, through a series of events, she came to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

Her family turned their back on her, but she remained true to her faith in Jesus.  She got involved in children's ministry in her local church and now leads the ministry.  Her passion and commitment to reaching the next generation for Christ inspired me.

One thing she shared with me is how much Christians could learn from Muslims about passing on our faith to the next generation.  In contrast, she shared how she got frustrated at times when she saw Christian parents and churches that were lackadaisical about reaching and teaching the next generation.

You see, from an early age, Muslim children are taught to "follow Allah." And there is much we can learn from their commitment to passing on their faith to the next generation.
 
Muslim leaders know that parents leverage enormous leverage in what they teach their children.  They hold parents responsible for steering their children's upbringing according to the guidelines of the Quran.  Muslim parents must take an active role in guiding their children on the "path of truth."  They base this on the Quran passage that says "A man is like a shepherd of his own family, and he is responsible for them.”

It's time for children's ministries to focus more on equipping and challenging parents to influence their children spiritually.  We must shift much of our time and attention to influencing the primary influencers of spiritual formation...parents.  Parents are the biggest factor in seeing kids stick with their faith into adulthood.  We must help parents see this and pour into them so they can pour into their children.

Muslim leaders provide in-depth teaching and training for Muslim children.  Children are taught that Allah is the one true Lord of the universe and should have complete control over their lives.  Children must understand the concepts and teachings of the Quran.  They are taught how to defend their faith.  As part of their training, they are also taught all the rituals of worship which includes the five times of prayer each day, fasting, charity, memorizing the Quran, etc.

We've all read the stats and reports of children who have walked away from the church and even their faith in many cases.  The number one reason children are walking away is because we've done a poor job of teaching them solid Bible doctrine and helped them see why we believe what we believe.  It's time the church starts taking kids deeper into God's Word and helping them understand why we believe what we believe.  We must prepare kids to defend their faith.  

I am not saying we shouldn't make learning a fun experience for kids at church.  How we teach is not the issue.  We should continue using games, activities, crafts and other effective methods to teach.  The issue is what we are teaching.

Fluff has to be replaced with solid faith-building lessons that move beyond what has been coined as "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism."   This consists of beliefs like "the central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about oneself."  While we've been teaching kids that it's all about them, Muslims have been teaching their children that their purpose in life is to serve Allah.  Even if it means forfeiting their lives for the cause of Islam.  And then we wonder why our kids are walking away from their faith while Muslim children are willing to die for theirs.

Muslim children are prepared to think critically and navigate through other belief systems.  Their goal is to see their children develop elevated thinking that can enable them to "ponder critical issues that can help them reconcile the many confusing ideologies that the world will throw at them as they grow up."

As I referenced earlier, as Christians, it is critical that we teach our children what we believe and empower them to be able to defend their faith.

Muslims are committed to passing on their faith to the next generation.  They put forth their best efforts to ensure that their children become true inheritors of Islam and keep it alive.  The sad part is, it is a false belief system that teaches a works salvation and denies Jesus as the way, truth and life.   

It's time that we, as Christ-followers, become passionately committed to passing on the truth of God's Word to the next generation.  It's time we start preparing them and showing them how to live lives that are sold out to the cause of Christ.

Then and only then, will we begin to see kids walking strong in the faith rather than walking away from it.
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Why You Should Use Games and Puzzles in Your Children's Ministry

8:33 AM  Dale Hudson  

Do you use games and puzzles in your children's ministry?  If not, you should consider it.  Recent research shows that games and puzzles is the fastest growing toy category.  Last year, the games and puzzles category recorded its highest global growth - up 8% to $9.5 billion dollars.  Specifically in the United States, the category grew 18%.  This is being fueled by every type of game and puzzle, including family strategy and board games to preschool games.

This affirms again that kids love games and puzzles.  Perhaps we would see kids better remember what we are trying to teach them if we did less lecturing and provided more ways for kids to learn through games and puzzles.  Games and puzzles are great ways for kids to memorize scripture, explore Biblical truth and review the key points of the lesson.  Bottom line - kids love to play - it's their natural bent.  Instead of forcing them to "sit still and be quiet" why not unleash the power of play to help them learn God's Word?

Here's another interesting note.  Research shows that the rise in the popularity of games and puzzles is also being fueled by parents.  Parents love to play games and puzzles with their kids.  This is why family board games are so popular.  As we look for ways to engage parents in discipling their kids at home during the week, we should consider puzzles and games.  What if, this week instead of handing the parents in your ministry a take home paper with 3 questions to ask their child, instead you handed them a puzzle or simple board game they could play with their child that was a tool to review what was taught?  If we did this, I believe we would see parents actually using what we send home with them.

Most of us have fond memories of the time we spent growing up playing games like Monopoly, Trouble, Clue, Pictionary and Scrabble with our parents.  We also remember working with our parents to put together a puzzle spread out on a table.  What if the kids in our ministries grew up playing games and puzzles with their parents that re-emphasized what they had learned at church?  The impact could be phenomenal.

Another option if you don't have the time or resources to create puzzles or board games, is to incorporate the lesson into some of the popular family board games mentioned above.  Some examples would be giving parents some key words or phrases or parts of the lesson to use while playing Pictionary with their kids.  Or perhaps you get to go 3 extra spaces in Trouble when answering a discussion question from the weekend lesson.  The possibilities are endless.

Your turn.  The floor is yours.  How do you use games and puzzles in your children's ministry to engage kids with God's Word?  What ideas do you have for using games and puzzles to encourage parents to talk about the lesson at home during the week?  Share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section below. 
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