Isaiah in a tunnel, originally uploaded by matthewjhale.
Yes. Is it necessary? I don’t know.
I struggle with the whole idea of fun as a stated value in children’s ministry. Should we value fun? Yes. But I’m not so sure that “Fun” should be a core value.
For the sake of full disclosure, one of our rules states, “Expect to learn something and have fun doing it.”
I’m all for teaching things in engaging, memorable and age-appropriate ways. I just wonder what we are teaching children when we list Fun as one of our core values or make “having fun” one of the rules at church.
A little over a year ago, a parent was sharing a conversation she had with her son one Sunday on the way home. He had been “exta active” that morning, which I realted to his mother. When this parent asked her son why he had was being overly active and disruptive, his simple answer was, “But Henry wants us to have fun.” This child wasn’t being a smart alec, he was simply restating the rule I menitioned above.
After hearing this story, I had to give myself one of those “Duh!” slaps on the forehead. Of course this child (as well as most of the other children) would interpret “expect to learn something and have fun doing it” as permission to have fun even if that meant being disruptive while having that fun. Ever since that conversation, I have explained what I mean by “fun.” I mean that we try and teach in fun, enjoyable and memorable ways.
What about you? Do you have “Fun” listed as a core value? Or is “have fun” one of your rules? What do you mean by “fun?” Do the kids (and parents) understand tat is what you mean?
Fun is not one of our core values (ours are: teaching the Bible creatively in a child targeted manner, building relationships, providing family learning tools, and safety) but it is incorporated into our rules, which we took from Love and Logic: Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Be Fun to be Around. It seems like fun should be a natural bi-product of what we do if we're understanding the kids we minister to. Our kids understand that being fun to be around means that you're having a good time, but not at the expense of those around you. We review that a fun person would not be doing things that cause others to get hurt or not be able to have fun themselves.
Posted by Jill Nelson | April 21, 2009, 11:39 pmI'm right there with you. Although the creativity required to grab kids attention is often fun… fun is not the goal. Core values reflect goals.
We even removed "Have Fun" as one of the 5 rules in LifeKIDS.tv
Kids are going to have fun if they choose to engage in what we're doing. The rule "Have Fun" left too much room for interpretation.
Good thoughts.
Posted by jabberfrog | April 22, 2009, 10:47 amYes, the goal is to engage and help kids to learn to love God and love others. We can and hopefully have fun along the way.
Posted by Henry Zonio | April 22, 2009, 12:33 pmPerhaps the fun value for ministry with kids is an attempt to restore the joy and happiness that is ours in Christ. And in a child's life that joy and happiness is expressed more freely and spontaneous than in the adult world.
Fun is one of our values. It's there because we never want to loose sight of the happiness, joy and enjoyment we receive when we experience Christ's love. We raise it up as a value because for many years it was lost on the sober, somber methods of expanding our knowledge of scripture. To know Christ's love fully, enjoy it's freedom and grace brings joy and happiness. That sounds like fun to me.
Posted by Kathy | April 22, 2009, 11:55 amI hear what you are saying about restoring joy, and I agree with that. I think we need to be careful in what we mean by "fun." Also, we need to be careful because not all aspects of following God or worship are "fun."
Posted by Henry Zonio | April 22, 2009, 12:35 pmI think that having fun at church is possible and is okay. And I certainly keep that in mind as I plan for teaching my kindergartners. However, "fun" does not mean "do whatever you think is fun." Fun has boundaries and I, as the adult, maintain those boundaries. (Being disruptive crosses those boundaries and inhibits the learning – so it's stopped.) Fun also has purpose. I don't do anything just because it's fun. I do it because it supports the teaching for that day…and is engaging, hands-on, and appropriate for 5-6 year olds.
Posted by Scott | April 23, 2009, 3:33 pmSounds like you have a balanced approach. Thanks for contributing your thoughts.
Posted by Henry Zonio | April 23, 2009, 3:52 pmI'm a children and youth director and have been the dean of 3rd/4th grade and 5th/6th grade Bible camp for 4 years. For camp we spend hours planning engaging teaching times, energetic music and wildly fun activities. And every year when we get to our final morning watch and we ask, What was your favorite part of camp?" the answer we get the most is "FOOFBOB!" Feet Off Of Floor Back On Bunk. Quiet time. When we ask, "Where did you encounter God this week, where did you sense God's presence?" We get answers like, "There's this hidden place along the trail" or "Through the love of my counselor" or "When I looked up at the stars the night we slept outside" or "During our personal devotions." I haven't had a kid yet that has mentioned experiencing God through our "fun" activities. I plan to keep lots of fun things going on at camp, but also plan to create plenty of open spaces for kids to encounter God.
Sometimes I think in our anxiety to keep kids' attention we don't give God enough credit in God's ability to reach out to kids. No one wants a children's ministry to be boring, but "fun" shouldn't be the ultimate goal.
Posted by Sue Van Stelle | April 23, 2009, 6:47 pmIsn't it cool how kids can respond to God in those moments we least expect. Fun does have it's place and is VERY important but "fun" must be put into context.
Posted by Henry Zonio | April 23, 2009, 6:53 pmSue,
I love your thoughts. Interesting that as parents, the first question parents ask their kids is, "Did you have fun?". The primary argument parents give me when they don't want to send their child to kids church is, "They say they're not having fun."
The entertainment factor is important. It grabs their attention and keeps them engaged.
I appreciate Kathy's thoughts. I wouldn't define my childhood experience in church as fun. And I didn't care to go back. There must be an element that draws kids back and many times that element is fun.
I think the biggest challenge is making sure that Fun as a core value is not left up to interpretation. We work through volunteers. The further a volunteer gets from you, the more diluted the vision will be. Make sure that everyone in your ministry knows how you define it. Then be prepared for the parent that challenges your definition of fun when they (or their child) disagree.
Posted by jabberfrog | April 24, 2009, 7:18 pmGreat thoughts Gina. Yes, we have to make sure that we define what we mean by "fun" and make sure that it is communicated.
Posted by Henry Zonio | April 24, 2009, 7:31 pmThis is a really helpful thread. When kids encounter the gospel, it should lead them to celebrate Jesus… and gettin' your party on is FUN! We have fun in our mission statement, too. But I'm thinking about changing it to something like "leading kids to joyfully celebrate Jesus."
Posted by Jared Kennedy | April 27, 2009, 2:43 amGlad the discussion here has been helpful. Neat to see everyones thoughts and how they intentionally deal with how to define fun in their ministries.
Posted by Henry Zonio | April 27, 2009, 12:38 pm