This Sunday afternoon, if you listen carefully, you may discern a sound floating on the summer breeze.  It’s a collective sigh of relief as Kid’s Ministry leaders and volunteers across the nation fall into lounge chairs and sofas.  Kid’s Church is over for the year.

Here in Australia the last Sunday of the Kid’s Ministry program isn’t some run down, lack lustre, see you later affair.  It’s a full on fun loving celebration of Christmas with all the trimmings.   Carols, the Nativity, Christmas themed games and craft followed by a breakup party.  Some Kid’s Churches also fit in a visit to big Church to put on a small production for the parents and grandparents.

Did I say small?  Weeks of rehearsal.  Costumes to organise.  Social media reminders.  Music for the sound desk people.  And all while children are becoming more and more euphoric because they know school is ending and Christmas is coming!  Asking them to follow directions can be like trying to herd cats.

And we wouldn’t change it for the world.  That last morning is special.  Parents show their appreciation by taking time to thank you personally.  You wave goodbye and pray you have had a positive impact on the children’s lives as you’ve taught them about the Kingdom of God.  You trust they have seen your relationship with Jesus and want the same intimacy for themselves.  You watch your 11 year old’s leave Kid’s Church for the last time because next year they are in high school.  Other children and their families will move away.  Yes, it’s an epic morning.  Everyone deserves a rest.  There’s just one more thing…the Kid’s Church Volunteers Thank You Party.

My husband and I have hosted many of these.  It’s usually a low key, no fuss BBQ paired with Christmas pudding and crackers.  (That sounds odd I know but we’re a Commonwealth country in the Southern Hemisphere!)  The best part of the night is the reminiscing.  We laugh about all the things that didn’t go according to plan which is inevitable when you work with children.  We share ‘war’ stories like veterans and the comradery is just as strong.  We survived another year in Kid’s Ministry.

One Volunteer Thank You Party many years ago I wrote a little ditty to read aloud to everyone.  And although it was applicable to our Kid’s Church volunteers, I think any volunteer serving anywhere will recognise themselves and their Kid’s Church.  It ain’t Wordsworth but it’s funny.

Ode to Promise Kid’s Volunteers

So, here we all are celebrating

A year in Kid’s Ministry

Fifty two weeks of fun filled action

Teaching kids how Jesus wants them to be

We had giants visit

And a shearer too

Colouring sheets and find-a-words…just a few!

Visits from celebrities

Like Clark, Faylene and Jen

We were tired, it’s true, but the next week

We’d do it all again

We had puppet shows don’t you know

And a conference 3 days straight

We’d ask kids to dunk a coin for offering

(Instead of using a plate)

Toilet runs…excuse the pun

A picnic in the park

Kids dressing up at the drop of a hat

To act out Noah’s Ark

People don’t understand us

‘We couldn’t do what you do!’

Some parents sign in and run

Some don’t come back till half past two

How do we explain it?

Our childlike quality?

To see life through a child’s eyes

And still hip hop at age 80!

It’s all about their lives ahead

And what Jesus has in store

And what we can protect them from

To teach God’s Kingdom offers more

And so next year we’ll still play games and be covered all in glue

We’ll tell the kids to be quiet for time one hundred and two

‘Cos it’s a gift God’s given us

We’ve an important part to play

When we dress as a leper or an ancient king,

At Promise Kids – it just another day!

Recognise your Kid’s Church at all?  Feel free to use this poem with applicable changes if you want to share it at your own volunteer’s thank you dinner.  (The reference to the hip hop at 80 was for my Uncle Dave who was still volunteering in Kid’s Church into his 80’s.  He was called ‘the Legend!’)  Rereading the poem takes me back to the love and laughter of that volunteer’s thank you evening and the Kid’s Church where we served together.  Although many years have passed, and all of us are now members of different Churches, we are still in touch.  (Except for my lovely Uncle Dave who has been promoted to Heaven.)  Because working together in Kid’s Ministry forged a bond.  So be encouraged.  My ministry to children is behind the scenes for now but perhaps you are still serving week to week.  Maybe you volunteer in a big Church that doesn’t close over Christmas or the summer holidays.  Appreciate that what you are doing matters!  In years to come I hope you will look back and laugh and be so happy that you served those precious ones that Jesus told us to become like.  Children.

God bless you,

Deb Wassenberg

P.S.  If you’re looking for some ‘wise’ Christmas  stories for your Christmas break up morning, here you go!

By Another Way

The story of the Wise Men.  Henry is acting out.  Even he’s not sure why.  Because Henry is obsessed with planes, his big sister Scarlett tells him about the Holy Spirit, who can act like a control tower issuing instructions to the pilot, in this case Henry.  A pilot needs to listen to the control tower if he wants to avert disaster and land his aircraft safely.  Sitting under the Christmas tree, Scarlett explains how the Wise Men were instructed to go ‘by another way’.  The Holy Spirit can guide us, too.  There’s a Christmas Pass the Parcel to unwrap the Memory Verse and a game of Christmas Balloon Tennis.  Children can make a star ornament to remind them of the story of the Wise Men following the star.

Visit:  https://cooeekidsministry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/By-Another-Way.pdf

The Indescribable Gift

Another story around the Wise Men but this time about the gifts they brought for Jesus.   The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Why those gifts?  What do they represent?  The lesson begins and ends with an easy sketch to be acted out by one of your volunteers.  The Memory Verse is from Romans 6:23 and made up gift cards are used to learn it.  Pass the Gift (aka Pass the Parcel) is used for a game this time.  And children decorate a Christmas gift box as a take home craft.

Visit:  https://cooeekidsministry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Indescribable-Gift.pdf