When I was a child my parents would take me up the coast for holidays. Every year there would be these little markets; actually they started out as two shops side by side and then the owners punched a hole between them to make one big one. These markets were a highlight of the annual trip as we would use our pocket money to buy little trinkets, like cap guns. These miniature guns with their tiny red ammunition caps would last no more than one season before they bent, or the spring broke meaning you couldn’t fire them anymore. But I still look back fondly at them and the pleasure that they gave.

These days I take my own kids to the same place and the market is a much bigger. But you can still buy lots of trinkets, jewelry and toys. I’m amazed at how patient my wife is taking out an hour or so to chaperone the kids around to all the little stalls as they weigh up what they are going to spend their pocket money on. Me? I’m bored and slightly irritated that my kids will waste their money on such rubbish.  Can you believe this?!! It pains me to even admit it.

I’ve forgotten what it is to be a kid.

Often as we seek to teach and lead children in Christian ministry or even secular teaching roles, we lose touch with ‘getting kids’.  Each week we wade through a stodgy program, that may have ‘solid content’ from the Bible or other curriculum, but which fails to capture the imagination of children. Oh, we accessorize and make it look like we know kids, but hey, we’ve got a job to do so why be wasting our time on frivolous things that we’ll just be throwing away at the end of the lesson anyway?

Sound familiar? We’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a child.

We’ve forgotten that most of their days are actually about very transient things. Kids don’t have a good concept of time. They really can only live moment to moment, at best a couple of weeks in advance is all the forward planning they can do. They don’t have the money or capacity to buy things that last. They are constantly changing and because of that change there is really no point buying expensive things that do last as their interest will be gone within a few months.

How to get kids

So what’s this mean for teaching children? It means that too really ‘get them’ we have to come back to their level, be prepared to spend our money and time on frivolous and ‘short-term’ assets. We need to see investing in the moment as valuable in serving them.

Don’t settle for a stodgy program and a few colourful accessories. Accessories don’t wash as kids see through it unless that ‘fun and frivolous element’ works its way through the whole dough.

So how do you get back to getting kids?

You need to channel that inner child. You need to put aside the adult world and go back to your own childhood and find the things that brought you pleasure, pain, growth and adoration. This is what I have to do with each of my live shows, Anton’s Antics.  The character of Anton is key. I never begin writing a show by writing his part. I might jot down ideas as I go but mostly I need his antics to be true to the content.  For the show to engage and capture the attention of children however, his antics must ‘get kids’. If they don’t, we’ve got a failed show and they might miss the message.

 

I’m Stephen Shearsby, Christian writer and performer

Let’s do ministry together!

I present two unique gospel shows:

Anton’s Antics www.antonsantics.com

Barista Banter www.baristabanter.com.au