For the umpteenth time I gently chided the young boys to be quiet and listen as my co-teacher, Phil, gave a Bible lesson on the ten lepers. Are they getting anything out of this? I had already split up two of them by sitting between them, but that trick only works once. As the sound of young running feet grew closer I had the hunch that this class was only going to get more exciting. Two more young men came skipping into the classroom chattering pleasantries, oblivious to the fact that they had robbed my poor co-teacher of any remaining attention that he still had from the class.
The two newcomers clattered into their seats, one on either side of me, as I once again tried the only trick I had left in my hat. For a split second I smelled chicken. Then the commotion at the far end of my bench consumed my full attention as I tried to put out yet another fire.
“Where were the other nine?” asked Phil.
There it was. Josuan, one of the latecomers, held a fried drumstick with two bites of chicken still on it. So that was where the smell of chicken was coming from! Josuan ate one bite while the boy next to him snagged the last bite for himself.
“Where were the other nine?” Phil repeated.
“Jason, Jason,” an urgent voice called in an attempted whisper, “can I put this in the trash can?” Josuan, chewing the last bite chicken, had no need for the bone.
“Put it in the trash”, I instructed, slightly amused but also a bit exasperated.
I think that someone eventually answered Phil’s question but I am sure that Josuan, myself and a good number of others never got the full story that night. Probably most of the kids didn’t even remember the story by the time they left for home. Is it worth it? Are we actually doing any good? Does anything even stick? And even if it sticks will it ever produce fruit in their lives? I’m sure others have asked these questions too.
That night at kids club there were two other young men. They were about ten years older than the two latecomers and neither of them brought a drumstick with them to class. They are both young followers of Christ. Both have attended kids clubs for at least four years. I would venture to say that the biggest influence that they got from kids clubs was not all the Bible stories and songs that they learned, although that was helpful too. The biggest influence was the good friends and examples they found there that ultimately led them to Christ.
The moral of the story is this: don’t give up on children's ministries. Out of ten children that come, you may never see a change in nine of them. But when one comes back to thank you, transformed, it makes it all worthwhile.
