By Chelsea Barnwell
I have conducted 100 or more volunteer interviews each year for the past three years. I have begun to notice patterns in responses. Many volunteers will say they prefer to work with older children/youth. If I ask why, I get similar answers. Many people will say, “They understand more”, “I want to be able to have more spiritual conversations with them”, or “I think older elementary kids/teens are at an age when you can make an important impact!” These are good reasons! I remember thinking this way at one point. The desire to work with a certain age group of kids might be God given. Even people who are “good with kids” generally have an age range with whom they connect best.
However, these reasons for wanting to work with older kids/teens could also reveal some misunderstandings (as in my own case). Perhaps the volunteer thinks serving younger elementary or preschool kids means they will have less of an impact. Or they think that these younger children are not capable of understanding important spiritual truths. Perhaps they crave the fruit that only comes after years of patient ministry, even if their natural or spiritual gifts lie in working with younger kids or preparing the soil.
In the last couple of months in Kids Ministry, we’ve had a 3rd grader ask questions about the Trinity, wanting to understand it better. We’ve also had a 3-year-old ask the teacher why Jesus died for our sins. Gospel conversations are happening at all age levels and children are capable of much more spiritual understanding than many adults give them credit for!
Of course, there are different stages of development which change how we can relate spiritual truths to children. Abstract thinking really begins to develop at ages 11-12. This is probably why so many people find it rewarding to work with this age group. But it’s good news that the good news is not purely abstract! There is much about our faith that is tangible and does not require abstract thinking at its simplest. Jesus came down in the flesh and saved us through the death and resurrection of his physical body! Though abstract thinking comes later, symbolic thinking (a foundation to abstract thinking) is developing in children ages 2-7! Children of this age can hear and understand a simple story and can know that a picture or story told to them about a person can represent a real person in the world.
For a 5th grade small group leader to have an effective conversation with a child, the best case scenario is that when the child was 3, they had a teacher gently correct their behavior and sing gospel songs with them. When they were 5, they had a Kindergarten teacher tell them Bible stories accurately. When they were 8, they had a 2nd grade teacher help them memorize Scripture and retell the same Bible stories they’d heard many times before with greater clarity.
It reminds me of the passage in 1 Corinthians 3 when Paul addresses the division between believers about which teacher they follow. In verses 5-7, Paul says, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
The believers referred to were likely adults when the seed was planted. However, in our church, we can rejoice that the seed is being planted in children as young as 2 or 3 years old! Teachers and helpers are watering the seed through preschool and elementary school. We are prayerful that God will bring the growth and in God’s timing (who knows at what age?) the seed will bear fruit of faith and then good works.
It can sometimes be hard for those working with the youngest children to not grow weary of the work when they may not see much fruit. However, in verses 8-9, Paul goes on to say, “Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s coworkers.” Those who serve with the 2-year-old and the 7-year-old and the 17-year-old are one! They are working toward the same end with faith that God will bring the growth.
Those who work in areas where they regularly see fruit, should not take pride in their own ability to produce results. They should credit the growth to God. They should also share the joy with the people doing the hard work of tilling the soil and sowing the seed! Those who sow and water should not look with jealousy on the one harvesting the fruit, but rejoice with them and trust that their role is important in the process. If we remember that we are one body, coworkers with one another, and even with God himself, we will find joy and purpose in the work of discipleship with all ages.