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Children’s Ministry
First Steps for Kids

Wow! I “survived” the first lesson. I was excited when the class filled to its capacity of ten so quickly. But, I hadn’t anticipated the kids coming with such varied experiences. (Parent’s spiritual journeys are different so of course the lessons they teach their kids are all different.) My past experience working with children has helped me in preparing and teaching my lessons. It seems the Teacher’s Guide assumes a teacher will have some training.

The plan of salvation came alive when we used the jelly beans and the rock. The kids sure like the jelly beans (although it sure was a tough job to keep them from eating them!). It made my lesson come to life when they asked me what to do with the rock... we decided to throw them away as Jesus does, when we give our sins to Him. We celebrated as we threw them away.

The symbolism was somewhat lost with the children as to what each jelly bean meant. It seems that seven and eight year olds are a bit young. The cognitive development doesn’t seem to be there.

Well on to Lesson Two... who knows what it will hold!

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Written by Darlaine Janzen, a CE worker with children at Saanich Community Church in Victoria.
Last modified October 31, 2000.

Ideabank is a quarterly newsletter published by the Board of Christian Education Ministries, a board of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.

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