A Behind the Scenes Look at Children’s Sabbath
By: Sarah Hogue, Director of Children’s Ministry & Member Formation
I could not be prouder of all of the children who were a part of the Children’s Sabbath services this past weekend. From greeters to ushers to speakers to the choir, these children worked together to help our congregation worship in Spirit and in truth.
As you might imagine, the Children’s Sabbath service doesn’t happen without a lot of prayerful preparation. I want to share a behind the scenes look at how the service comes together.
Throughout the year, I listen for God to place a theme or a song on my heart. This past year, it was the song Same God. As soon as I heard it, I knew I wanted to incorporate it into Children’s Sabbath. Then I heard other songs like Firm Foundation and Faithful Now, and slowly the theme of God being faithful through the generations was born.
With this theme in mind, I chose the Bible stories. God led me to each passage in a variety of ways - through messages I heard, memes I saw, and lyrics of the songs. Beginning at the FISH and FISH, Jr. meetings in September, the kids dive into those Bible stories to understand them and how they apply to our theme. Sixth grade students then volunteer to speak and pick their respective topics. We work together to find Scripture lessons that reinforce the theme.
Our three main speakers take all of this and write their own messages based on the Bible passages and themes. I am there to guide them along the way, but it is not often needed. I am always amazed at how these children are able to understand biblical concepts and develop their own messages!
While all of this is happening, the children’s choir is preparing to lead worship with songs that encompass the theme. We also have a fun night of filming when the children get to step inside the Bible stories and learn them on a deeper level - sometimes with a fun twist! The kids each take on character roles in the Bible stories, dress in costumes, and playfully re-enact the Bible stories on camera. Matt Cosgrove then works his magic, turning the raw footage into the mini movies we show throughout the service!
By the time Children’s Sabbath arrives, these children have participated in several months of prayerful preparation in the hopes of helping our congregation connect with God and His truth.
Pastor Tom noted at this year’s service that we should never take for granted the gift of having a group of children willing to share Jesus with our congregation. I couldn’t agree more! Thank you, Dutilh Church, for being a church that welcomes and celebrates these children and all they have to offer. They are the next generation of Kingdom Builders, and I for one, am hopeful about the future because of them. I hope you are, too.