I was reading a book called Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery this week. In a nutshell, the book’s about a girl named Jane, who feels timid and out of place timid in her home and family. Then, she spends a couple of summers with the father she never knew, and through the process and adventure of learning to fix up an old house and cook, making new friends, and getting to know her dad, she gains confidence and a sense of belonging.
One theme that stood out from the book was that when kids have responsibilities, they grow and flourish. It stood out because I picked up something similar from the Toronto Children’s Ministry Conference in November, when one of the workshop presentors said that “Giving kids appropriate responsibility shows that we trust them, gives them a sense of ownership, and can turn a normal church experience into something meaningful.”
This can sound like a lot, but in reality, it’s not complicated to do. Recently, Auntie Karyne led Rapha, our oldest class at Kingdom Kids (roughly grades 4-6), to prepare and serve refreshments alongside her LifeGroup for two Sundays in December. I got to join Rapha on one of those Sundays, and though it was slightly chaotic, the kids did a great job working together and making some pretty good refreshments.
It was amazing to have the kids serve and be more involved in the church family, and I even saw some of the kids serve on their own afterwards. Last Sunday, I saw Lucas learning to make coffee for the refreshments before service with my dad instead of playing his usual games in the gym before service.
I don’t know if someone told Lucas to help my dad, but I like to think that maybe, through being given responsibility to serve and seeing what he’s capable of doing, Lucas was empowered to serve in another way. Something as simple as making sandwiches and fruit kebobs for the church family can go a long way in helping our kids grow and mature.