by Grace Lee
Teaching on any subject is eye-opening and educational in the preparation and presentation, but when it happens to be the Word of God to a group that includes your own children, a huge measure of humility and conviction is definitely part of the process.
When Jin and I prayerfully joined the Sparklers’ staff last year, we didn’t realize the extent of how challenged and blessed we’d be through our involvement. We had always appreciated the staff – all of children’s staff for that matter – but our admiration and appreciation grew in such a deeper level as we ourselves had to prepare lessons (currently through the Old Testament) and get a whole behind-the-scenes look of what happens each Sunday to have God’s Word taught to these impressionable children.
We were asked as staff to listen and respond to two sermons on teaching Sunday school preschoolers from Children Desiring God at the end of last year: Preschool Teaching by Connie Oman and Preschool Lesson Preparation & Training by Connie Oman and Holly Urbanski. Two things struck my heart from listening to these sermons:
- The hearts of preschoolers are fertile, and the window of opportunity for a child’s salvation gets smaller as they get older, so the best teachers should be teaching preschool. –Gulp- This added such weight to the responsibility and significance of communicating God’s Word to the Sparklers.
- Connie Oman’s own teaching was dotted throughout with tears as she spoke of the gospel. Her love for Christ was so evident, and this really challenged me – my prayer became that I wouldn’t be just relaying Bible stories or truths to give information to the kids, but that I’d be speaking from the heart of the great and loving God whom I know and serve.
Anyone who works with preschoolers can tell you that they are impressionable, energetic, curious, and just downright adorable (most of the time). It’s been such a privilege to serve in Sparklers and see the children as they engage with biblical truths and interact with one another. It’s impossible to walk out of that room without having cracked a smile or laughed.