Well-Equipped Volunteer: Train & Grow Your Children's Ministry Volunteers

#4 - Resist the urge to do most of the talking

Application time is when students are encouraged to personally respond to God’s Word. They need to be given time to think carefully about what the Bible says and about how they can apply that truth to their own lives. They need to be guided to Biblical responses. Through good questions, leaders help students apply the truth of God’s Word to their lives.

For this reason, kids should do most of the talking during application time. The role of the application time leader is to get the kids talking.

Temptations Application Leaders Face:

• It can be tempting to re-teach the lesson.
• It can also be tempting to simply tell the kids how the Bible can be applied to their lives that week.
• Sometimes teachers talk too much because they feel the need to fill the silence. If this is a temptation you face, read tip #1 in this series “Be Okay with Silence.”

Leaders need to prepare questions ahead of time that will engage the student’s interest and get them thinking and talking. Then, leaders need to keep the discussion going while allowing the kids to do most of the talking.