From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
Isaiah 64:4
Each Sunday, over 120 children in the ever-growing Children’s Ministry at Aldersgate Methodist Church gather for a time of worship. The combination of dance actions, sign language and music engages the senses of the children and their teachers and leads them to worship God. I see a boy invent his own worship dance moves, a girl close her eyes while lifting up her voice in song and siblings hold one another to provide comfort and assurance. In these heartfelt moments, I sense joy in these children around me.
We move to the classrooms and the children retrieve their Bibles and stationery, ready for a time of prayer before the lesson begins. The teachers plan activities that enhance the lessons—illustrating the motivations and dispositions of each character in the Bible story and how they responded to God. Games, manipulatives like playdough and movements allow them to simulate the Bible story. I enjoy seeking responses from the children and allowing them to figure out the biblical truths with their peers.
One of my favourite days in the season of Kingdomtide is the annual Children’s Day celebrations in October, where the children are encouraged to invite their friends and classmates. We see huge turnouts of over 400 children annually and it is an opportunity for outreach and evangelism. One of the children asks for additional copies of the invitation so that he can invite his whole class of forty. It is indeed inspiring to see children put God first in school and use their influence to draw others to God.
Encountering God
As a young child, I wondered what it would be like to encounter God. I had thought that good works would prompt God to reveal himself to us. I assumed that our individual identities were wholly self-made and self-directed. As a 14-year-old, this led me to focus on academic excellence alone. I imagined that I could establish myself by my academic prowess and it would lead to success in every endeavour in the future.
My conviction to teach in Sunday school, and thereafter to embark on a teaching career, did not come with compulsion. Rather, it was a gentle prompting during a routine bus ride that God revealed himself to me as the God of infinite knowledge. I was doing nothing, pondering nothing, looking forward to nothing. In that moment I was filled with an abundance and fullness that was not of my own and felt God calling me to commit myself to become a teacher. God set eternity in my heart, and it was surprising, delightful and overwhelming; I was filled with conviction.
I have served in the Children’s Ministry for more than a decade. In every moment I am blessed with the full measure of God’s joy and delight, through every encounter with his children. What has kept me labouring in this harvest field is the knowledge that I remain in God’s perfect plan, covered by his grace and mercy.
Classroom challenges
Sometimes it is challenging to bring across the abstract visions and imagery in the Bible to a young audience. In such situations, I remember God helps us to understand the Word by his Holy Spirit. Once, I was teaching a lesson on Isaiah 6, and the description of heavenly beings provoked a chorus of private conversations on how these heavenly beings looked like, threatening to derail the entire lesson. This behaviour occurs frequently in the classroom and it is tempting to call out this behaviour as disruptive. However, in the Bible account, Isaiah presented a willingness to heed God’s call, and I drew their attention to this point to redirect their conversations back to the main objective of the lesson.
Giving children the time and space to understand that it is important to listen and obey the Scriptures requires patience. As a teacher, I want to seize these teachable moments and allow them to come to their own understanding of the truth. I hope this is how they will begin to be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
A great responsibility
To accept the call to teach is to accept a call of great responsibility. As stewards of God’s children, we have a duty to keep them accountable to the truth and build up their faith.
But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”
Luke 18:16
If we go before our God Almighty with full sincerity and humility, he withholds nothing and reveals himself to us. This is the truth I wish to convey to the children.