Recently, I took two road trips spanning 5 states and traveling a combined 3,000 miles. One trip was over familiar roads, and the other route required smartphone navigation. Both journeys necessitated planning (you can’t take a road trip without snacks) and preparation. I needed to know my departure time and my estimated time of arrival.
I also had a purpose for both trips. One was to visit extended family and the other was to provide transportation for my immediate family. I didn’t wake up one morning and think, “I need to drive over 1,000 miles to another state today,” and then jump in the car and head out.
However, that’s often how we make curriculum decisions. We think, “I need to find something to teach the kids at my church this week.” And we ask ourselves, “I wonder what other kidmin leaders are doing?” But, is that the best route to take?
Here are three reasons why we need to know where we’re going when we teach kids, even in the midst of a global pandemic when churches are not meeting consistently and families are quarantining:
- Kids haven’t stopped learning. A mentor taught me a long time ago that children are always learning. Much of what they learn is up to us. Therefore, we need to keep teaching preschoolers and kids the whole Bible, and part of teaching is knowing the destination and the purpose of the journey.
- Satan hasn’t stopped tempting. The battle is real and sometimes feels as if it is intensifying. Kids need to be equipped for spiritual warfare with solid biblical truth that builds on previous truths they have learned, not with cute churchy sound bites.
- Jesus hasn’t stopped rescuing. This is the hope we must convey to children. They live in a topsy-turvy world. However, we still have a responsibility to introduce preschoolers and kids to the One who saves–Jesus. We can do this by engaging kids with an intentional Bible study plan that points to God’s redemptive work throughout biblical history.
The temptation to forgo following a Bible study plan is especially attractive during a global pandemic. Afterall, we’ve never been down this road before. For that precise reason, preschool and kids ministries need a logical curriculum plan to provide us the necessary navigation.
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Landry Holmes is the Manager of Lifeway Kids Ongoing Bible Studies and Network Partnerships, Nashville, TN, and is a graduate of Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The author of It’s Worth It: Uncovering How One Week Can Transform Your Church and a general editor of the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids, Landry is a church leader, writer, workshop facilitator, and publisher. He teaches kids at his church in Middle Tennessee, where his wife Janetta is the Preschool Minister. They enjoy spending time with their two adult sons and their wives, and spoiling their five grandchildren.
When Plan B Becomes Plan A
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