You know the session I’m talking about. You and your co-leader have only just realised that you’re on the rota on Sunday, and it’s already Saturday evening. You don’t have any time to go to the 24-hour supermarket for any supplies before it shuts at midnight. Then, when you get to church on Sunday morning, you discover your room was being used all week for a training course, and no one has cleared it up. You’re faced with having very little planned and needing to clear away tables, chairs and a jug of rapidly curdling milk.
So what do you do? Well, here are a few thoughts for avoiding an utter shambles…
1 Don’t beat yourself up about it
We all make mistakes. Be forgiving. You’re not the first to forget you’re running a session and you won’t be the last.
2 Don’t get on your high horse with the church caretaker/events team
If you’re being forgiving to yourself, then you should also be forgiving to those who’ve made your life a bit more difficult. We all make mistakes. Have a chat, but just state the facts and don’t get shouty!
3 Consider cancelling the session
After all, if you’re stressed, then the children will pick that up and the session may not go well for anyone. And spending a Sunday in the whole service with parents and carers might actually be beneficial for the children. Also, if the room is in a state, and potentially hazardous for the children, then like Grange Hill in the 1980s, just say no. But don’t make cancelling a habit…
4 Ask someone to help you out
You’re probably part of a team and that’s what your team is for – to support each other. So ask someone in your team to give you hand. If they’re experienced, they might have a stock of ideas ready to go at short notice!
5 Put on a video
But don’t just put on a video. Showing a Bible story DVD or, dare I say it, Veggietales, can save your session, but even if you haven’t prepared anything, you can still help children explore the story more deeply and meet with God. Once you’ve watched the DVD, read the story out from the Bible together. Help children realise that this is a Bible story and where it comes from. Then chat together about what you’ve seen and what you’ve read:
- You might talk about the differences between the DVD and the Bible text. Are there any significant changes? Did they help/hinder understanding?
- Wonder around the story. Think about favourite and important parts of the story.
- Think about what the story tells you about God – do the Bible text and the DVD show the same thing?
- Role play conversations between the characters in the DVD and/or Bible story.
- Play, ‘What happened next?’ Who in the group can guess what comes after this is in the Bible?
6 Play some games
Building community is an important part of children’s work. Simply by playing games, you can give children and leaders the structure within they can begin or deepen relationships. Children and adults can get to know each other better and so facilitate spiritual development further down the line.
7 Grab a special guest
Is there someone in the congregation who it would be interesting for the children to get to know? Grab them and bring them with you to the session. Encourage the children to think about what questions they might ask and interview your guest. If it helps, let the children brainstorm some ideas before they come up with their questions.
These are just a few suggestions, there are lots more. But if it all goes wrong, for whatever reason, don’t panic. Take a deep breath and see what can be done. Maybe you’ve got your own ideas – why not tell us all about them?
Alex Taylor is Children’s Ministry Trainer for the Diocese of London and often has to deal with curdled milk.