Issue 11 Preaching and PrayerBlog | Preaching to children
Preaching to children
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 23.09.17
In a former life, I spent five years as a school chaplain, which involved preaching to children aged four to 11 once per week and children aged 11 to 18 twice per week. It was incredibly challenging and an immense privilege. It was also gloriously fun… eventually.
I remember the little boy who when asked what he would give up for Lent replied, very solemnly, ‘Vegetables’. There was the happy memory of a team of children climbing over an obstacle course in the aisle of the chapel to the backing track of Mission Impossible as they re-enacted what it might have been like carrying a paralytic up to a roof and then digging through it. Mostly, I remember open hearts and minds, enthusiastic singing from those up to about age 12, and deeply insightful questions and observations.
Preaching to children is not a problem to overcome but a privilege to cherish, because children offer insight into God’s kingdom. It is not insignificant that Jesus in teaching his disciples declared: ‘whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it’ (Mark 10:14 ESV).
