by Danica Chu

Ever since I was in high school, God gave me a heart for kids of all ages. When I first started going to LBC, I wanted to serve in the children’s ministry because I wanted to serve in an area where I could meet families of the church. I prayed and asked God to place me where He saw fit for my life and where I would grow the most. I kept looking out for opportunities to serve, knowing that wherever I am placed, it is where God wanted me to be and that was His plan for my life. When I saw that there were opportunities available in the Sparklers’ ministry, I prayed and asked God if this was where He wanted me to be. After much praying and consideration, I went ahead and filled out the application and sent it in to Mike Hasegawa.

During the application and observation process, I noticed that whoever was in the classroom, they really took time to prepare their lessons and made sure that God’s Word was being preached every week. I noticed how all the teachers were gentle with the kids, caring for them and loving them the way God had loved the staff. One thing that really stood out to me was how the lesson was presented. At the end of each lesson, the conclusion always came back to the Gospel. Even at such a young age, the teachers were trying to instill in each Sparkler what Jesus Christ has done for them on the cross, dying for their sins.

Each lesson taught is divided into three parts: the hook, the actual lesson and the conclusion. The hook is an attention getter for the kids. It usually involves one of the staff or an everyday illustration, something that they can relate to. The actual lesson is the part when the teacher teaches from a passage of Scripture. We (the Sparklers’ staff) know when we are teaching and what passage of Scripture we are teaching from. Therefore, we are able to study and prepare it in advance. This is because we want to make sure that we are handling God’s truth accurately and not adding or removing anything from it. The last part of the lesson is the conclusion. The conclusion is when the teacher tells the Sparklers’ what the main point of the lesson is, how it ties into the hook and the lesson itself and we try to present the Gospel to them as well. Usually, we try to repeat what our main point is throughout the entire lesson. I think preparing and studying for the lesson take the most time because of how much time is being spent on reading the passage, meditating on it and studying it.

Mike always told us that we should give ourselves plenty of time to study, read and meditate on it. It’s something that I have been learning and attempting to do in my own devotionals. Instead of just glancing over the passage and checking the box to show that I did my reading for the day, I learned that I need to slow down and take it all in. Read the passage slowly, make notes, question things that I don’t understand and research it. This is what God has called us to do as believers, to meditate on God’s Word and search for ways to apply it to our daily lives. I started to apply this process to my own quiet times. I’ll admit, I’m not perfect. This isn’t the easiest process for me to do. But I ask God everyday to give me the discipline to sit down and study God’s Word, the way I normally would study God’s Word to teach the lesson. This should be an integral part of our daily routine as believers, to study God’s Word, meditate on it and always refer to it.

Ever since joining Sparklers, I’ve learned a lot from just sitting in and listening to the lessons being taught. I’m always reminded of one of God’s characteristics: His humility that led Him to the cross, His continual faithfulness from the Old Testament to the New Testament and many more of His characteristics. I have learned so much from serving in the Sparklers’ Ministry, for my own spiritual growth, seeing where I fall short in my walk with God. God has been so faithful to the Sparkers’ Ministry in providing faithful men and women who have a willing heart to serve one of the youngest affinity groups at LBC. I’m excited to see where God takes the Sparklers Ministry next!