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MInistry with One Hand Behind Your Back

© Isaac Arten

For the same reason first graders aren't assigned readings from Shakespeare, young children can't be approached in ministry the same way older children or adults can be. For the very young we need a ministry program which relates to them through their most unique possession- their imagination. If you are looking for a ministry program which can catch and keep this important connection to children, you should seriously consider puppets. Puppet ministry is a very effective tool for teaching children about the word of God. The program is not hard to set up, is easy to maintain with the proper people and doesn't require a whole lot of effort.

Anyone can be a puppeteer. It doesn't matter how old or young, tall or short, shy or outgoing you are. If you have a working arm and can talk, you can be a puppeteer. Puppet Ministry has a place for anyone and everyone. Operating puppets are obviously the most visible, and consequently the one which requires the most preparation. But scriptwriters, stage managers, scenery makers, sound and light people, drivers, organizers and publicity people are all important as well. Who are these people and where can you find them? The best puppeteer on Earth is a six-year-old. The child's imagination and capacity for giving life to anything in his environment makes him the ideal candidate for puppeteering. Unfortunately, the normal six-year-old doesn't possess the reading skills or attention span necessary to be a proper puppeteer. But a child just a few years older- say ten or eleven- does, and that age group is where the core of your puppet ministry program can come from.

Why is a program that seems so simple as effective as it has been proven to be? The explanation, cut to the barest bones, is in one word-imagination. Little children are constantly using imagination, to conjure up games or playmates, to turn objects from one thing to another or to create whole worlds to play in. So when puppets create a world of their own and invite the children in to learn, to laugh, to be inspired, the children relate to that. Imagination is the most important factor in why puppet ministry works.

If the paragraphs you've read so far have you inspired to try puppetry, here is some practical advice to make it easy for you to start your program. Puppet groups can start off big or start small and grow from there. The core of a good puppet group should be three or four enthusiastic, responsible people who can be trained to use and care for the puppets and then go on to teach the rest of the group as it grows. And even the newest puppet group should have enough members that the same players don't have to do all the parts all the time, or that scripts with large casts can be accommodated. Not everyone in the puppet group has to be a puppeteer, either. If a member has a phobia about performing, teach him or her to set up props, write scripts, make copies or do any of the little things that have to be done out of sight for a puppet show to work out.

The copyright of the article MInistry with One Hand Behind Your Back in Youth Empowerment is owned by Isaac Arten. Permission to republish MInistry with One Hand Behind Your Back in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.