On Their Level——————->will look different

One of the things that stood out to me from the Unleash Conference was the emphasis that Newspring puts on teaching kids about Jesus “on their level”.  They have obviously worked very hard to show these kids that Jesus is relevant in their world.

I thought about this principle the other night at my 6 yr old’s soccer game.  The league he is playing in does things very different from a “normal” (adult) soccer game.  Upon first seeing these differences, I was kinda bummed…thinking it wouldn’t work.  After all, it didn’t “look” right.  The goalie does not touch the ball.  The field is 1/4 the size.  There are no goal kicks.  There are no throw-ins…whenever the ball goes out of bounds, one of the coaches simply throws a ball down and says, “play on”.  Instead of 1 hour games it’s always 30 minutes of practice and 30 minutes of a game.

But after a few weeks of being up at the fields, I’m beginning to see the benefits of these actions.  I especially like the no throw in rule.  Having the coaches roll a ball out keeps play continuous.  The action rarely slows down and never stops – therefore keeping the kids engaged and never bored.

Kid’s ministry on a Sunday morning should look different than an adult service.  It should feel different.  Sound different.  And even have different objectives.  We should always resist any temptation to make it look like an adult service.

Yes, they are learning about the same loving God.  Yes, they can worship Him.  Yes, the Bible is still taught.  But it is wise for us to always remember they are on a different playing field.