Church staff and volunteers see their local churches in a particular light. You see the wicks that struggle to be added to the candle lighters. You might be the one emptying the dehumidifiers to keep the organ working. You have most likely seen the pastors in their t-shirts before service debating the cost of new mulch for the front flower beds.

From a child’s perspective, especially for our infrequent attendees, these things all just . . . happen. Suddenly on a Sunday morning, they might arrive at a place with transcendent music and bright windows overlooking freshly mulched flower beds, and they witness some mysterious adult in a long robe speaking into a microphone and leading the worship service. It makes perfect sense that even the most extroverted child would be hesitant to suddenly have deep conversations about their inner life with this stranger in a strange place.

Are Clergy Just for Grown-ups?

I was struck by this realization one semester when my church had more kids than ever during our Wednesday afterschool programming. Our group of children had multiplied, and the only solution was to combine all of the kids in grades 2–5—more than two dozen children of varying academic levels, attention spans, and familiarity with scripture—into one class for their Bible lesson. They didn’t all know each other, either. Some attended different services among our church’s three separate worship opportunities on Sundays, and some didn’t attend church on weekends.

As I talked with the kids, a common theme ran through all of our conversations: The kids loved being in the children’s department hallway, but beyond that, the church was “grown-up space.” The sanctuary? For the grown-ups. The kitchens? For the grown-ups. And, worst of all, the pastors in their long black robes? For the grown-ups.

Building Relationships between Children and Clergy

What started as a quick filler after a chaotic lesson one day became a crucial component of our children’s ministry. I bought each child a 50-cent composition notebook and grabbed a bag of colorful pens, sharpened pencils, and some paperclips. At the end of every class, we took approximately 5–10 minutes to journal about whatever the kids wanted to write. What made this activity different is what they did after their time of journaling.

The kids would write about their lesson, ask a question, tell a story, or draw a picture. They could choose to write for themselves alone and put their notebook in the “classroom only” pile, or they could choose to share what they wrote with a pastor in the church. Those who wanted a pastor to read and respond to their writing or drawing would put a paperclip on the page they wanted to share and stick their notebook in one of the piles for the pastors in our church. The pastors would then have a week to respond.

We put the following safeguards in place (actually created by the kids themselves):

1. Parents were always welcome to read their child’s journal
2. If anyone disclosed potential harm to self or others, we would have a meeting with the family

The Impact

Beautiful connections were formed between the children and clergy. The stacks going to the pastors grew each week, and the conversations continued. Our shy kids were sharing their hopes and dreams as well as their BIG questions about God. Our extroverts were sharing where they struggled. Our littles were sharing pictures and so much more. Our kids grew in confidence in approaching pastors outside of children’s sermons, and our pastors had an immediate point of connection with kids in the hallways and pews. The clergy even started signing up for VBS before being asked! An investment of 50 cents and 10 minutes in our kids made a remarkable difference in the culture and conversations of our church.

More Ways to Use Journals

While we used these journals during a weekday formation program, they could also be kept in the sanctuary for children to use during worship. You could utilize them in a day school on your campus, special events, and more! If your congregation is more transient and/or tech-savvy, you could set up an email account or dropbox on your church website for children and youth to communicate with clergy (always get parent and caregiver permissions, of course!).

May this idea spark creativity within your congregation to connect your students in a new and fresh way!

Featured image is by Jessica Lewis on Unsplash