Children are born with two fundamental, internal drives. They have a craving to
do something and a fear of missing something. Interaction fulfills the first one and quick
drama capitalizes on the second.
Anyone with kids (I have four girls!) constantly has the experience of
seeing your child exhausted an hour after bedtime and fighting to stay awake
so as not to have to go to bed. On the verge of total collapse after a fast-paced
day, children seldom ever stand up in the middle of the living room and announce,
"You know, I’ve had a busy day. I think I’ll turn in if that’s okay
with you, folks." Why? Why do children fight to stay up even after they’re worn out
from the day’s activity? There is only one reason: they are afraid they will miss
something! They think that if they go to bed at 8:30 Michael Jordan might drop by at 8:35
and they’ll miss the whole thing. Kids are new to life and they are programmed to
want to take it all in.
You can use this to enhance your effectiveness as a children’s educator. If you
want to add a little pizzazz to your children’s ministry while communicating your
lesson with greater impact you should consider using quick drama. Here’s how it works
and it’s easier than you might think.
At the designated time-without warning-your character(s) barge through the door interrupting your children’s church. Of
course, they're not really interrupting, you
knew they were coming all along. But to the kids it seems unplanned and eventful. The characters
look a bit odd, they are loud and overbearing and they seem oblivious to
the fact that you are trying to conduct children’s ministry. Within two minutes they are
gone, leaving most of your kids looking somewhat bewildered, but in that flurry of activity
they managed to reinforce the point you are trying to communicate with the children.
Chances are your kids will remember what happened.
Here are some simple principles that make quick drama effective.
1. Use unfamiliar people to play the parts. They don’t have to have the acting
ability of Tom Cruise, they just can’t look like Miss Betty in a wig.
2. Never introduce the characters. They should peek in to make sure you’re not in
prayer and then barge in fast and loud.
3. Don't rehearse the lines. They will sound contrived. Just go over the two or three
main points and then go for it. The kids won’t know if you leave something out.
4. Allow the actors to grow into their parts. As they continue to make appearances in
the coming weeks they will get better and better.
5. Do not let an actor/actress to play more than one role.
6. Give them a costume that fits the part. If a custodian barges in he/she should have
coveralls, painting hat, boots, etc.
7. If possible, give the character an object to hold that fits the part. A farmer
should have a rake. A mailman should have a mailbag. A policeman should have a stick. A
maintenance man should have a toolbox.
8. Use adults. Adults, rather than teenagers, seem to more effectively command the
kids’ attention. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to recruit adults to do
this as long as they can re-enter the adult service after they play their part.
9. Make it quick. The character should leave before the kids are ready to stop
listening. Leave them wanting more.
10. Vary the frequency if you use several different characters. One character may come
in every week. Another might come in two or three times per month. Another may only come
in once every four or five weeks.
11. Do not barge into the room using quick drama with preschoolers. They will not
appreciate your creativity. They like things warm and predictable. Quick drama is
neither.
12. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. Some skits will flop. Some will REALLY
flop. The successes, though, will outnumber the failures.
Adventure Bay uses Shriver the Diver to introduce object lessons and Percy the Pirate
to illustrate what happens when you don’t live by God’s word. Barnacle Bill is
the hard-of-hearing maintenance man being developed for year two. Whether you use ours or
make up your own you’ll have a lot of fun and will see the kids retaining
more of the lesson material. And by the way, don’t be surprised if some of those
adults you recruit to play a character ask how they can become regular children’s
workers.
For
information about children's ministry curriculum written by Roger Fields |
