KidMin Backstage
Kids Ministry.
Take a peek behind the scenes of what it takes to run a kids ministry.
We try to share a little bit of what we've learned that works for us and some of our failures so you can avoid the same mistakes.
This is a backstage pass to see the magic-or disaster-that happens behind the scenes of our kids ministry.
KidMin Backstage
Servant Culture
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Today I'm joined by Auryela and Nicole and we're talking about having a servant culture in kids ministry.
Not everyone becomes a preacher or preaches on the world stage. Not every girl becomes a preacher’s wife or gets to sing at the biggest conferences, but everyone has their place in the kingdom of God.
I think lofty goals and dreams of grandeur are great and I don’t ever want to suppress that.
Hand in hand with that, I believe there are many areas to serve in God’s kingdom. It is our job as Sunday school leaders and teachers to help light the path, to show the way to kids under our guidance on any given Sunday that they too can have a place to serve the kingdom.
Bye.
SPEAKER_02Welcome to another episode, the place where we talk about kids ministry and take a peek behind the scenes. We try to share a little bit of what we've learned that works for us and some of our failures so you can avoid them. We release a new episode every Friday, and this is your backstage pass to see the magic or disaster that happens behind the scenes of our kids ministry. I'm your host, Gabe Baker, and today I am joined by Nicole and Ariella. How are you guys doing? Good. How's it going? Finally got you on here. You know, I have to give you my daughter credit, Anisha, because she suggested this. So I give her credit and you had to blame her. I'm glad you guys are here finally. And I'm glad we'll talk about this in a little bit, but I'm glad we got this done before Arielle took off.
SPEAKER_01So Arielle,
SPEAKER_02what are we talking about today?
SPEAKER_01Today, we're talking about servant culture.
SPEAKER_02Servant culture. So not every Everyone becomes a preacher or gets to preach on the world stage, even if they do become a preacher. And not every girl becomes a preacher's wife or gets to sing at the biggest conferences. But everyone has their place in the kingdom of God. So I think that lofty goals and dreams of grandeur, these are great, and I wouldn't ever want to suppress that. Hand in hand with that, I believe there are many, many areas to serve in the kingdom of God. And so I think that also it's our job as Sunday school leaders and teachers to help light the path, to show the way to kids that are under our guidance, that are, you know, any given Sunday that are in our Sunday schools, in our classrooms, that they too can have a place to serve in the kingdom. So that's kind of today, that's kind of what we want to talk about is just that servant culture or the idea of uh being involved in your church and you know even beyond sunday school yeah
SPEAKER_01yeah for sure i know with um a lot of different things a lot of people want to be a preacher or they want to sing they want to be um the one up there like with everyone looking at them and like when it gets down to it that's really important to have those people but like the thankless jobs are also super important like oh yeah people in sunday school people in nursery the people who clean like a lot of these are thankless jobs and you know we don't give them a lot of credit we're just like oh they're just like doing their thing but like when it gets down to it like the church runs so smoothly because of them and it's just like
SPEAKER_02yeah it's like the uh infrastructure
SPEAKER_01yeah they're like the backbone yeah
SPEAKER_02exactly yeah that's good it's kind of like we joke um any sound people that are listening in would get this but we joke like the sound people don't ever get noticed until something goes wrong.
SPEAKER_01That's true. It is really true, honestly. I've seen that as a musician. If something goes wrong, it's like, hey, I need you. You hear that ringing and you're kind of like, what's going on? And then
SPEAKER_02you have a good service, sound was great, and rarely does anybody say, hey, sound man, good job. It's just like, that's how it was supposed to be. Yeah. So, okay, on my notes, I have just kind of a little bit of an opening. I put the transition, but a little bit about both of you guys, because one thing that's a little unique here, let me back up a little bit. We've mentioned this several times, but Brother Joey Boggs and Brother Brian Critcher are both evangelists, and they both were Sunday School staff. And so we joke that we take credit for them being evangelists. And Brother Brian even kind of admitted as much. on the podcast. So there we go. I
SPEAKER_01can attest to that. It's true. So that's
SPEAKER_02what I wanted to say is Nicole here is Brother Brian Kutcher's sister.
SPEAKER_01I'm his youngest sister. Not youngest, his
SPEAKER_02younger sister. So you guys both, I mean, not way older than you. I mean, I'm not that old, really.
SPEAKER_00But both of
SPEAKER_02you guys were in Sunday School as attendees you guys were both kids and uh and i remember you being in sunday school and then now of course you guys are staff and like a major part
SPEAKER_01yeah it's i was thinking about it earlier today um i remember the very first one we did like this when so when i was four is when my family moved over here and it was sunday school was in you know separated in the oh wow the smaller building
SPEAKER_02yeah
SPEAKER_01and we did like the crafts and you know the traditional Sunday school and then I don't know how old I was but I was at least the youngest four maybe five when it transitioned and I remember walking into the hot air balloon and it's just it's crazy and like us kids running to see who can get to the front of the tape line that you guys had made so that was like and we couldn't pass that line and so sometimes my knees got that carpet around burn on it I remember like so many times my knees just like had carpet burn from Sunday school I also remember the hot air balloon and I just remember my mom like making that and like oh yes your mom did yeah and all the things that like went into Sunday school like just looking back like all the different things that like so much time like and as a kid you don't think of that you're just like Sunday school and you like look back and you're like oh my goodness people made all that stuff like
SPEAKER_02there was a lot of
SPEAKER_01effort there was so much effort hours of
SPEAKER_02work well Well, and now being on the flip side of it, you guys, you know, like now we're building sets and you guys come up and paint or, or help or whatever. And so now you guys
SPEAKER_01are a part of that. We're not having to set up every Saturday night or Sunday morning. Like you guys used to them.
SPEAKER_02And most of our listeners, that's the position they're in
SPEAKER_01is
SPEAKER_02it's, and we've been there. We have been there. Now, thankfully we, we have a shared space, but we're able to keep it most of the way set up now for, those that see on the video behind the girls here that scene setter has to come down in a week because of school oh yeah so school will be using this space and so we are thinking of I talked to Clancy and we are thinking of trying to do something where we can like put it up every like just on a Sunday morning or Saturday night where it's quick and easy to put up and it still look nice and tight and everything but yeah we haven't figured that out quite yet but we probably will just because It looks cool. And then we could roll the ping pong tables and foosball tables back
SPEAKER_01behind there. I forget they do that up here now. Yeah. So
SPEAKER_02school gets, it gets a lot of use from school damage and stuff
SPEAKER_01like that. Yeah. Kids are rough. They are.
SPEAKER_02But I was going to say, you reminded me about the tape line and the carpet. So we didn't have benches way back then. We sat
SPEAKER_01on the floor. Oh my goodness. Yeah. I remember that too. I saw a video that jesse had posted on like a photo stream of sunday school oh
SPEAKER_02from back
SPEAKER_01in the day man i was probably like six
SPEAKER_02oh wow
SPEAKER_01so like 16 years ago oh my goodness and it was just so crazy like i remember oh wow that's cool you can see us running in and like sliding on our knees it's so funny because you can see me move multiple times they get closer like i'd be behind someone and then i moved to the side of them because i was just like that is hilarious you know
SPEAKER_02so now you guys know like when the kids are coming up you're like no hey johnny stay
SPEAKER_01right there i totally understand i've been there i'm like let's just find seats like hey let's just sit in the back but then you know being on the other side i hated sitting in the back so it's it's funny i can't see and then be like can i sit on my knees and they're like, no, you need to sit so everyone else can see. And you're just like, so just like, really? I don't care about them. I want
SPEAKER_02to see. So the other thing is the tape line. You guys know where that came from?
SPEAKER_01No, I just remember there being that black
SPEAKER_02tape. What happened is we were, you know, we had seating on the floor and we would do Sunday school and everybody, like you said, everybody wants to be on the front. Well, pretty soon we wouldn't have no stage room because we didn't actually have a stage it was just all flat one level so we didn't have any stage room so like they're right up against the keyboard or whatever
SPEAKER_00you know and
SPEAKER_02so we're like okay you guys got to scoot back scoot back well then they the front row can't scoot back because everybody else is tight against them so it's like dominoes
SPEAKER_01I feel like I remember being right next to instruments like in Sunday school like who cares it's a guitar like I'm
SPEAKER_02watching so we finally I think I I read it somewhere or something and it's like oh put a border Yeah. And then, you know, they cannot go past that, you know? And so we would, and kids would obviously, but we would be like, nope, you got to go back. You
SPEAKER_01got to get back. I remember getting my knees exactly to that line. You get like on it and like, see if a staff member would be like, you need to back up. Don't
SPEAKER_02touch the tape.
SPEAKER_01You can't touch the tape. Right there on the
SPEAKER_02edge.
SPEAKER_01It's just, it's crazy to think that it's been so many years. Like I'm, I don't know what year we started this, but it's, It's close to 20 at least.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah. It's, um, I think so. I think about 20 years ago, this, this style. Yeah. Wow.
SPEAKER_01It's crazy. So now you guys
SPEAKER_02on the other side of it, now you guys are in Sunday school. Um, and you guys play everything from, or do everything from, uh, facilitators, which is our like, um, crowd control, managing kids, taking kids to the restroom, that kind of thing. Yeah. doing our entrance and exits. And then you guys are our main characters a lot. You were our main character just recently. You were one of the, oh, in Solomon, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, today, actually. Well, you were
SPEAKER_02given away when we're recording
SPEAKER_01this. Sorry. In the most recent Sunday School. Yeah, and then I'll go back and I'll change back into my facilitator clothes and I'll come out and the kids are like, they almost took your baby. And I'm like, what are you talking about? You're trying
SPEAKER_02to be not the character
SPEAKER_01anymore. I'm just Sister Ariella. A few weeks ago when we had our conference, I was Potiphar's wife. And I promise you for the next two days, the rest of the conference, I had little kids from other churches say, I can't believe you lied. You're a liar. You got Joseph put in prison. I'm like, What? What are you talking about? I thought, it was you. You are a bad person. I'm sorry. It's so hilarious. It's so funny.
SPEAKER_02It's funny how it sticks with the kids too, right? They're invested. I
SPEAKER_01remember, I can't even remember a specific instance right now, but I remember seeing the actors and being like, oh yeah, that's Shamra with a beard on. That's not another, that's Shamra.
UNKNOWNYou know?
SPEAKER_01Just like different... Staff members that are like, they have kids that are in Sunday school now. Which is crazy. That we're facilitating or we're being staffed for. And it's just so crazy. Like, oh my word. Like, this is coming full circle. So now we're that age watching their kids. And then when they're our age, they're going to be watching our kids, you know? Wow.
SPEAKER_02Yeah,
SPEAKER_01speaking of your kids.
SPEAKER_02So both of you, this was alluded to in the beginning about, glad we got Ariella here before she took off. you guys are both about to get married and you're on to another stage in life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we got engaged within the same week. Was it really? Yeah, I think we were like two days apart. Mine was on a Tuesday. Mine was on that Saturday. So it wasn't two days, but yeah, it was like super close to each other.
SPEAKER_02That's crazy. And then you're getting married within like, what, three months or something of each other? I
SPEAKER_01think it's like four months. Yeah, mine's in December and yours is in March.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. Wow.
SPEAKER_01And we're both in each other's, well, I'm obviously in my wedding yeah yeah it's it's really weird to think about like i've had people ask oh when are you guys having kids and i'm like man i don't even feel like i'm at that point it's just it's really crazy to think that we're heading to a completely different state of life now yeah yeah i feel like i'm still super like i'm not old i'm 22 but i still feel like i'm old
SPEAKER_02maid i
SPEAKER_01know I still feel like I'm so young and not not at that point of like getting married but
SPEAKER_02yeah me too it's just
SPEAKER_01like my mom was 23 when she got married which I'll be 23 right after I get married so
SPEAKER_02it's wow it's just
SPEAKER_01weird to think about
SPEAKER_02that's crazy
SPEAKER_01yeah
SPEAKER_02and so luckily you're staying
SPEAKER_01here which is we're bringing him all the way
SPEAKER_02here
SPEAKER_01sorry everyone in North Carolina he's coming here and
SPEAKER_02then Arielle is moving off to California
SPEAKER_01sadly yeah we're probably One day, Lord.
SPEAKER_02In Jesus name. No, I'm happy for both of you guys. It's really cool. That's awesome. And it doesn't mean the end of your Sunday school careers. I know where you're going, Ariella. They have a great Sunday school
SPEAKER_01there too. I've seen a lot of different things and a lot of things. I'm like, oh my goodness, we just did that a couple months ago. They're doing a pirate ship right now and we just did that. And I was like telling my fiance say I was like wow that's like so crazy like we just did that and now you guys are doing it I'm not saying like they're like copying or anything which is like what we do you know we get inspiration from other people I was just like that's so ironic like yeah I'm like that's just so crazy
SPEAKER_02that's
SPEAKER_01cool yeah exciting time all
SPEAKER_02right well so another another point I have on here is that our Sunday school is more than a thing you attend
SPEAKER_01yeah
SPEAKER_02and so we try to make sure that our sure that our Sunday school is so enrapturing that the kids, they're like, they remember it, they're involved. Like you just were saying, like you were a liar, you know. They remember it, they're involved. So I'll give you an example. Today, my son, so my wife allowed my son to have a bunch of friends over. It was like a daycare at our house. And so my younger son, he's seven. And so he had, let's see, one, to... three, four friends over. So, five boys.
SPEAKER_01Oh, my goodness. All
SPEAKER_02in that age range. That's crazy.
SPEAKER_01You know,
SPEAKER_02six probably to eight or something or nine. Well, they were playing Sunday school.
SPEAKER_01Oh, my goodness. They were totally playing Sunday school. I mean, so my
SPEAKER_02son has a bunch of costumes. He's got a bunch of like SWAT and police and stuff. So, they were all like dressed up. Yep. And then they're putting on a show, they call it. But it was so funny because I told Brother Arthur this- tonight. It was so funny because one of the boys was, they were going to do Good Samaritan. And so we have, we just talked about this on a podcast recently, but we often, when we do Good Samaritan story, we'll start with the bandits.
SPEAKER_01The bandits are
SPEAKER_02planning their attack, right? And so they got the bandits all ready. One of them wants to be the Samaritan. And he's like, Ashton, I need a robe. I need a robe because he wanted to be the Samaritan. He's like, I want to helps people i need a robe he's like because brother arthur had a robe
SPEAKER_01it's so funny it's funny that you you said that story because i remember when we would go over to your house for dinner me my brothers and all of us would get into the costumes and do the exact same thing and we'd perform in front of you guys and my parents and just oh that's funny i remember that like put the wigs on and do sunday school just like that
SPEAKER_02yeah i think i have pictures oh that's so cool i i I had to look those up.
SPEAKER_01It's funny to think about that. I remember one time, like in particular, we ended up getting, I think we got you guys to wear wigs and we were like, Oh my goodness. Like we thought it was the coolest thing outside of Sunday school. Oh,
SPEAKER_02that's cool. Yeah. I think, yeah, I'll have to try to find those. Maybe I can post them on the video. Oh man. Now you're regretting bringing it up.
SPEAKER_01Nevermind. Forget I said anything.
SPEAKER_02Oh, that's yeah. But so the thing is, is that's where we talk about so much you know we do really big sets here and so we have like right here behind me is a couple slides and we have a maze up on the second deck and you know so we do these big big huge sets and scenes and everything and it's a lot of work it's money time effort goes into it but the kids remember it yeah and they remember I mean we're evidenced by you guys right
SPEAKER_01now
SPEAKER_02they remember for years yeah and it makes an impact
SPEAKER_01it really does and so yeah we want
SPEAKER_02that's what we want is we want these kids to be so involved and so enraptured by Sunday school it's not just like oh that's a thing that I go to on Sunday it's not just part of your routine I mean we want it to be part of their routine also but it's like this is a major thing yep there was a family that was coming and I remember their kids got into Sunday school and stuff and they were planning a campfire camping trip on the weekend and they were going to miss Sunday. They didn't cancel their trip, but they cut their trip short because their kids complained so much about missing Sunday
SPEAKER_01school. That's awesome. Yeah. So they were like, we don't want to
SPEAKER_02miss Sunday school. Yeah. And that's another thing like we do continuous storylines because they want to
SPEAKER_01know what's going to happen. Yeah, if you miss one part, then you're like a whole week behind. What
SPEAKER_02happened? Yeah. You got to catch up. Yeah. Yeah. So we want kids to be a part. So, okay. Moving on is with the getting experiences like no Nowhere else. So in our Sunday school, kids get the opportunity to be involved. They get to be a part. And so like one example, and I don't want to overuse it, but it is my son, so I can brag on him. But Adrian, now he plays, well, he plays a lot of stuff, but he's kind of the main piano player now, but he also plays drums in church.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But he learned, and what's crazy is we're in the spy theme right now. He started playing in Sunday school in the spy theme
SPEAKER_01in 2016. Oh, that is so funny. Oh, wow. So six years ago. I
SPEAKER_02think I think he was seven years old and he started playing drums
SPEAKER_01yeah I remember all that like electric drum set yeah I remember that that's funny
SPEAKER_02so I remember when brother Kyle first I think it was when he first started helping I think it was when he first started helping in Sunday school and Adrian had been playing a little bit and he came up and we were in practice and on Sunday morning and Adrian plays the song we went through the song and he was just like shocked he's like oh my goodness he plays the But, you know, and so now we didn't always have this, but we, we've always had singing and stuff like that and always had interactive parts in Sunday school. But now we have like a quote singing group.
SPEAKER_01I think it's so cool. I wish like we would have had
SPEAKER_02these kids get to get up on stage.
SPEAKER_01I feel like it's so beneficial, especially like we're both singers. Nicole's a musician. And like building the confidence, even like, yeah, to be able to get into the position where when you're old enough to join choir, you don't feel just like all like, oh my goodness, I'm on a stage. Like this is scary because you've been able to do it in Sunday school, you know, and you get to do it in front of, you know, 50, 60, 70 kids. And it's not so weird, you know? And two, like, I feel like it kind of prepares them to be lively, you know, because here we're very, we do the actions and we make them jump and, you know, we make them get involved in Sunday school and And so when they get into the sanctuary or, you know, get on the platform, they've done that for who knows how long, you know, they've been doing this. They've, they've had to sing lively. And so it's, it's really translates over into worship, you know? Well, and
SPEAKER_02especially like if we, I tell them, Anisha works with them, but I'm usually up here cleaning or whatever when they're practicing after Sunday school. And I tell them the singing group, I'm like, Hey, you guys got to, the most lively ones because if you're going to be on stage you better be more lively than the crowd because you're leading
SPEAKER_01yeah exactly
SPEAKER_02i'm like if i said i'm i've told him before i'm gonna fire you if you don't if you can't do the stuff you don't belong in this group you know and so it gives them but yeah it gives them that experience um and and what you said like it's familiar it's like they they come up to choir and they're like i've been here before i've Mm-hmm. if we didn't have Sunday school, okay, if we didn't have Sunday school, for one, they would never get any kind of opportunities like that. Yeah. And it would just be like the first time they ever were in front of people who might be a youth or something like that. And then if we didn't have Sunday school like we do, it might be that way too. And so now I, you know, there's all kinds of different types of Sunday schools and ours is probably the more rare. Yeah. The one room we do ages five through 11 Sunday school And then we have a couple other smaller classes, but the way that we do it with all the interactivity and, you know, high energy and everything and the involvement, like, I mean, the involvement is one of our rules. Rule three is get involved. And so when we, when we force that, like, we don't let kids just sit
SPEAKER_01down.
SPEAKER_02When we force that, it creates that culture of, you have to be active. You have to do stuff, you know?
SPEAKER_01I feel like... it's funny. I feel like I have to be the bad, the bad, uh, facilitator. Sometimes I'm like, Hey, you, you know how we do it here. Like, come on, get involved. I know sometimes I'll be like, okay, like, let's just go up front. Like, and they're like, I don't want to dance. And I'm like, well, just get up front, like be, go be a part. Like there'll be like sitting on the back. And I'm like, we all go up front. Like, you know, and like also during prayer, I'll have some like kids sit down. I'm like, okay, like we stand up for prayer, you know, this. And they're like, oh, And I'm like, I know, I know there's seeds being planted. I have faith. I have so much faith in this. They're getting planted, even if I can't see them right
SPEAKER_02now. No, and that's true. I think it is. I think that because if we didn't enforce some of those things and every Sunday school is different, but if we didn't enforce some of those things, I mean, pretty soon we'd have half the kids sitting
SPEAKER_01back.
SPEAKER_02So one of the things maybe to help somebody, and again, this is just, this is how we do it. It's, Not necessarily how somebody else has to do it. In fact, our good friend, Brother Booker, I don't think that they do this. But we have kind of a mandatory 100% participation when we do altar call.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_02I mean, sometimes we change it up. But for the most part, most of the time, it's 100%. You have to come up front. Nobody sits back on a bench. You have to come up front. Now, you don't have to. You might not pray real hard or anything. But you have to come up praying. So what happens when we do that is a lot of these kids that wouldn't pray, they end up praying or getting with somebody else and praying with somebody or praying for somebody else, you know, laying hands on them or whatever. So. So it makes them be a part or
SPEAKER_01whatever. It's super important. I remember on the other side of it, there was sometimes I didn't really want to participate and Shamra would come up and be like, get up there right now. And I was like, oh, whatever. But there was sometimes like an altar call. I'm pretty sure Brian, and he may have said this when he was on here. I'm pretty sure he got the Holy Ghost in Sunday school. It wasn't here, but it was before we moved over here. I
SPEAKER_02think so.
SPEAKER_01And there was a few times in altar call in Sunday school that I like had tears going down my face and, um, I, I didn't get the Holy ghost in Sunday school, but I was very close to it. Right. And, um,
SPEAKER_02like, like Ariel said, we're planting the seed.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exactly. And so that be, even though I was like, I don't want to go up front or whatever, being enforced to go up front, it did help like
SPEAKER_00me
SPEAKER_01develop a closer relationship with God at that
SPEAKER_02age even
SPEAKER_01without thinking about it you know I was kind of forced to pray but that also helped me develop my own
SPEAKER_02yeah yeah you got that practice
SPEAKER_01yeah so to speak yeah yeah
SPEAKER_02yeah I think I said this before we it's been a few months ago but we had like we had a bunch of kids get the Holy Ghost and we had I think we had one or two in Sunday school but then we had a bunch of get the Holy Ghost in like Sunday night service or whatever and I feel like I was talking to a brother about this I feel like that was a direct result of Sunday school they didn't get it necessarily in the Sunday school event itself but that night or even if it's the next week or whatever because we're planting those seeds I like how you said that we're planting the seeds and so they they're they're more involved in the service yeah you know in big church we call it they're in big church and they're And some of these things that we said, like now, instead of it, just like, this is big church, let it wash over them. They're like, okay, this is my time to get involved in my time to worship, you know?
SPEAKER_01And I feel like kind of breaking down the amount of adults too, like in, in big church, you know, there's so many adults and the kids sometimes just feel like, oh, well that's, you know, that's brother. So, and so that's sister. So on that, you know, they're just over there praying, but like in children's church or in Sunday school, there's only a couple adults it's mostly kids and we're praying with them we're getting them like comfortable with praying you know right and they're like oh i'm praying and then you know sister nicole comes and prays with me and like it's not so intimidating yeah i feel like like they're it's like all my friends are here all my friends are here they learn to pray with their friends too because i know growing up in sunday school that was another big thing i grew up praying with my friends like yeah in altar call we'd all like link up and we'd be praying together so when we moved into big church like we still do that yeah like we'll bind together yeah you know that's good and pray and it's just like i feel like that's another really like positive thing moving from sunday school into big church um you get way more comfortable seeing watching adults pray and it's not just like i feel like so overwhelming like oh there's 150 adults and they're all crying yeah for sure yeah it's not as embarrassing quote unquote to like, you know, pray loudly when you are used to doing it here in Sunday school. And then when you go in the big church, it's something you've been doing. And so it's like, you're used to it. One thing I love that brother Arter says is, you know, the fervent prayers, you know, and he'll be like, can anyone pray like an apostolic in here? And you'll hear like these 10, 11 year olds. And they're just like, yeah, they're crying out to God. And it's just like, oh my goodness, this is amazing. And then you see them in service and like, I'll be up there seeing it. I'll like look down and I'll be like, oh my goodness. Like, that's incredible.
SPEAKER_00Like
SPEAKER_01they're just pouring their heart out to God. I'm like, that's, that's wonderful. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And that's what it's all
SPEAKER_01about. You know, I remember, um, brother Booker, he came in, spoke to all of us and something he said, like, has like forever been embedded into my mind. And he's like, he was talking about different roles in church. You know, you have your preaching, which is super important. But he believed or said something along the lines of one of the greatest ministries is children's church because you're planting those seeds at the beginning and they're going to become our next, you know, the next generation.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01Our, our, everything we do now depends on, you know, will be passed on depending on them. Right. So we teach them as a, as you know, young kids that'll come with them to when they're our age or like when brother Arter is no longer, you know, big part of Sunday school. there's going to be younger people taking that place because they had that seed planted all those years ago
SPEAKER_02well and that's why we have brother Critcher and brother Joey Boggs out evangelizing
SPEAKER_01yeah there's one girl and I remember when she was four I facilitated I was a staff member when she started coming she was four and now she's like 12 or 13 she comes to youth night she's too big for Sunday school she's in choir now she's the only one in her family that comes to church, but I, you know, we have faith that her family is going to start coming. And I believe that like, that's the direct result from Sunday school. That's awesome. There's, there's another girl too. And it's a very, they're like best friends. It's a similar situation. And she, she started coming when she was pretty young too. And now she's a Bible quizzer. She's on her third. Man, it's already been three years. She's, she was one of my first quizzers. Yeah. And she's already won a couple championships. trophies and Bible quizzing.
SPEAKER_02That's
SPEAKER_01awesome. And it's really crazy to think if she hadn't come to Sunday school and been impacted in Sunday school, none of this would have
SPEAKER_02happened.
SPEAKER_01And now she's memorizing the word of God and she's using that in quizzing and she's up on the platform singing in choir. And yeah, it's just incredible. That's so cool. Another thing with that same girl is her brother's in church now. Her two younger siblings are starting to come to church and her parents have like started a little bit to come more and so like we're kind of seeing that that drawing and that stirring oh man that's so good yeah all right well
SPEAKER_02we're running out of time so let's do a little recap um Basically, this has been awesome. We've got to do it again.
SPEAKER_01Part two. Yeah, part two. Before she leaves.
SPEAKER_02Basically, that transition we kind of opened with, but just you guys are the living proof or living evidence that going from being kids in Sunday school to now being staff, teaching kids in Sunday school, which is just super cool. I mean, you guys aren't the only ones, but it's just awesome. And then Sunday school... it should be I think in every Sunday school should be this way but for sure ours is it's more than just a thing that you attend this is like this is like yeah big deal you know and it's really cool because I get to see my son like yeah you know last night I was telling him something about we have Sunday school tomorrow he's like oh what are we gonna do or whatever I was like well it's secret you know and I was like but we are going on a mission he's like oh what is it and you know trying to get me to talk just trying to get some little yeah Um, and I've been making, uh, so we had that, we had a video that was like, uh, when the bad guy came in, it's all static and stuff like that on the screen. So I was making it and he could hear it and he come running over. I was like, Nope, Nope. You
SPEAKER_01can't see it. That was the hardest thing growing up is not being able to find out. I had to always wait till Sunday. And yeah, some things I just found out today who ruthless is like, I always went back and forth between two different staff members and I'm like is it her is it her and today I finally was like oh my goodness it was a long kept secret I knew
SPEAKER_02it that's crazy and then getting to experience this like you don't get to get anywhere else is you know and getting them early on so that you know how to pray you know how to sing you know how to be on stage in front of people all these things you learn in Sunday school
SPEAKER_01it's life changing
SPEAKER_02And then our culture of involvement. And that's our church. We didn't really go into this in depth, but we're out of time. But our church is, and I know that we're not the only one, but our church is heavily involved. I mean, we have a lot of involvement, a lot of activity. There's When I drive by the church and don't see somebody in the parking lot, I'm surprised.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, me too. There's always someone
SPEAKER_02here. There's nobody at the church. And so, I mean, there's almost always somebody at the church. And so we just, and we want to build that culture from the Sunday school. And that's kind of, our Sunday school is kind of part of
SPEAKER_01that culture. It makes them even more excited to be involved. You know, what can I do? How can I help? How can I help grow the kingdom? You know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's awesome.
SPEAKER_02All right. Well, thank you guys. so
SPEAKER_01much for coming on. This was awesome.
SPEAKER_02All right. Well, that's a wrap.