Reflections from Katie Nettles…
What are the various ways you’ve been able to serve with Exodus Kids?
I enjoy helping Heather Phillips solve problems and enhance all that we do for the kids at the church. I have substituted in all of the classes except infants. I taught K-2 last year. I have helped write and edit some curriculum, including Exodus Kids Extreme, and I am working on a team to analyze options for Sunday morning curricula. I find Bible memory verses that correspond with our curriculum and that are in song form as well as create the Family Pages each month in order to help our Sunday morning efforts have a farther reaching effect on our students and their families. I also organize the biblical videos and activities for childcare during Leadership Summits.
Why do you enjoy working with Exodus Kids?
Teaching the kids directly fulfills the Great Commission and is one of the only ways in the church that I can literally speak the Gospel weekly to those still learning what it means to be a Christ follower. I love being able to share my love of Jesus in such an obvious way.
I also love that the kids are like sponges; they soak up all the effort I am willing to put in, all the knowledge I am willing to share, all the love I have to give, and all the prayers I am willing to offer. I rarely feel my efforts are in vain.
What the kids learn when they are young will either support their understanding of God throughout their life or undermine it. I want the kids to have a great foundation of truths and perspective so that having a Gospel view of God and themselves is only natural and easy to build on as new experiences and understandings are gained.
How have you seen God at work?
I have seen God at work in my own life. I taught through a portion of the Old Testament that I rarely investigate during my own devotionals and it was a blessing to me. Serving is hard work and sometimes you do need a break, but the more I serve in the children’s area, the more I want to serve. I see the children’s value from God’s perspective a little more each time. A childlike faith is so much easier to understand and aspire to when you see children leading the way.
It is always a delight to see kids really understand the biblical concepts and stories for the first time. I have so enjoyed listening to kids quote scores of verses to me. God has shown Himself faithful in the kids’ lives as they come to trust in Jesus and get baptized, bring friends to Exodus Kids Extreme, and realize that they do not have to pretend to be perfect because Jesus is. When kids understand that adults are saying they need Jesus, it is okay for them to admit they need Jesus too. This fresh blooming of the Gospel in a child’s heart and mind is powerful to watch.
Last year at Exodus Kids Extreme, I was explaining that since we understand what Jesus has done for us, we can happily share it with our friends. I saw the excitement about Jesus build in one five-year-old girl until she suddenly burst out, “I am going to yell this at my neighbors across the street!” God is at work in the children of our church and I hope so many people will join Him there. It will be a blessing.
You, too, can get in on the blessing of serving with Exodus Kids; workers are needed now for the rotation starting in March. If you can help, contact Exodus Kids Coordinator, Heather Phillips.
