Playing Their Way into the Kingdom

In my university-level child development class, I start every semester the same way. I read the first few verses of Matthew 18. In this passage, Christ tells His disciples that they must become like children to enter His Kingdom. Then I pose the following questions: What is it about children that gives them such easy access to God’s Kingdom? What can we learn from children about salvation? The answers often focus on children’s innocence or their unquestioning obedience to parents and teachers. (Then I think, “Goodness, these college students haven’t spent much time with children, have they?”). Rarely do my students mention how a child’s capacity to get caught up in the here and now, to not worry about the past or future, to enjoy a process and refrain from judgment, and to not be bound by “one right answer” might play a role in inheriting eternal life. And yet these characteristics demonstrate intimacy with God: living in His eternal now, not passing judgment, and setting aside our expectations and being open to the surprising ways He may work in our lives.The above qualities can represent a trusting relationship with God, but they are also descriptors of how we behave when we are playing. According to psychologists, focusing on the process (rather than outcome) of an activity and enjoying what is happening at the moment characterize play. In addition, play is voluntary, just like our relationship with God. Clearly, there are similarities between enjoyable “worldly” activity and our spiritual lives. And yet although there may be pleasurable moments in the typical Sunday school classroom or mid-week children’s group, let’s face it: we don’t think of children’s ministries as being about play. Ultimately (or so we think), our task is absolutely serious, and in part that’s because we see it as having qualities opposite of play. It’s future (not present) oriented, because we want to make sure these kids eventually get to heaven. It’s outcome (not process) oriented, because we want to be sure the kids know their Bible verses and behave according to certain standards. It’s not about creativity, because we think there is one right (or at least best) way to understand God. And if we’re honest, children’s participation in these activities often is not voluntary. They’re there because mom and dad want them to be. So is a discussion of play even relevant in a forum dedicated to children’s ministry? I think the answer is a resounding “yes!

In addition to the similarities between play and spirituality listed above, there are many reasons for my optimism. First of all, we have evidence that play is related to positive development. Researchers have demonstrated links between play and children’s intellectual and social maturity. For example, Marjorie Taylor of the University of Oregon has shown a positive link between fantasy play in childhood and how well children understand the emotions of others.1 Ageliki Nicolopoulou of Lehigh University has found evidence that allowing children to develop stories and act them out contributes to their development in the area of written language.2 Recent research on play therapy with children demonstrate that play can be very useful in helping children overcome emotional and behavioral problems.3 If we are concerned about the whole child, then using play in children’s ministries is crucial.

Another reason for the importance of play concerns recent cultural trends. Several well-known scholars, most notably David Elkind 4, have lamented in recent books how busy children’s lives have become in the last couple of decades. Participation in activities such as sports, the arts, scouting, and – yes – church often means that schedules are filled with structured, adult-led programs that in many ways function more like work than play. Children are not provided choices. The focus tends to be on the outcome of the activity, such as whether Marcus’ team won or Cassie completed an art project as the teacher directed. Additionally, such programs take away from free play time during a period of life when we are most drawn to play and gain much from it. The recent disappearance of recess from the school day makes this “play deficit” all the more severe. If churches can incorporate some form of free play into their children’s programs, they can make such programs more enjoyable and appropriate for children’s level of development.

Allowing free play also gives children the chance to practice the principles we try to teach in our ministry programs. One Sunday school teacher I know has even set up a “Christian home” in the corner of her classroom. This area includes a play kitchen, a baby doll in a nursery, and a prayer corner. During free play time, children can practice the lessons they are learning in that most important of life contexts: the family. Of course, sometimes “practicing” such principles actually involves violating them, such as saying an unkind word to a playmate. Yet such an unfortunate event often teaches children about the consequences of being unkind, even if the teacher herself is not involved in the situation.

Finally, watching children involved in free play can give adults involved in children’s ministry great insight into a child’s life and how she understands the world and God. What can you learn about a child’s view of the family from the pictures she is drawing of her family vacation during free play time? What kind of images of God do children spontaneously produce as they dress up and recreate the story of Noah and the Ark? In a formal lesson, children probably give answers they think the teacher wants. The spontaneity of play lends itself to children expressing their deep-seated (and maybe not even conscious) understanding of the world and God.

How can we use play in our efforts to minister to young people? Here are a few ideas:
•    Familiarize yourself with play-based children’s ministry models that already exist. Perhaps the most well-known one is Godly Play, a model that actually has some research to support its use.5 Information about this program can be found at www.godlyplay.org.
•    Make free play time a priority in designing children’s programs. Of course, there are other tasks that need to be accomplished, such as delivering a short lesson. Dedicate as much of the children’s program to free play as is possible and reasonable.
•    Furnish the Sunday school or children’s program room with relevant action figures, dress up materials, and art supplies. During free play, let children choose their activity.
•    Monitor children’s free play, keeping the following in mind:

o    If possible, allow for free play before the lesson begins. Watch for themes that arise in play at this time. This information may give you an idea of how to connect the content of the lesson to children’s personal worlds and/or (mis)understandings about God.
o    If children are repeating material from a previous lesson, ask questions to flesh out their understanding of the story (“I see Jonah being swallowed by that big fish. What is Jonah thinking and feeling as that fish gobbles him up?”). This may provide material for discussion then or later about more general Christian themes, such as the trouble we create for ourselves in disobeying God.
o    If you wish to bring up insights gained from a child’s individual play later with a group, consider protecting the anonymity of that child. Let’s say that while talking with Kevin, who was acting out Jonah and the great fish, you learned that Kevin thought Jonah would feel scared about being swallowed up. Later in a group discussion of the story, you might only mention that “somebody thought Jonah would feel scared” or simply “Jonah might feel scared.” This way, a child is not embarrassed in front of their peers and has control over whether his identity is revealed or not.
o    In free play, a child’s repetition of the material may differ from the actual lesson. For example, Kevin may use action figures to represent Jonah killing the fish or escaping from it on water skis. In such a case, consider that it may not be best to correct a child’s play for the following reasons:

    The child may be projecting personal experience into the story. What does the child’s play possibly tell you about her life? About how she might be connecting the lesson to her own experiences? Unless you know the child very well, your answers to these questions are only guesses. However, they may provide important “hypotheses” to test with further observation of the child.
    A child’s re-playing of material that strays from the original lesson may actually serve other purposes down the road. As Diane Hymans writes, “…trying out the wrong version of the story may help children eventually understand the ‘right’ meaning at a different level” (p. 377). 6

We are right to take the spiritual formation of children seriously. In fact, reading further in the passage from Matthew 18, we learn that if we tempt these children into sin, the consequences for us are dire. Developing meaningful children’s ministries, however, does not nullify the importance of free play. If we are concerned about the development of the whole child and his freely-chosen devotion to the Body, including play in our curricula may be one of the most serious steps we can take.


Bibliography

1.    Marjorie Taylor, Stephanie M. Carlson, Bayta L. Maring, Lynn Gerow, and Carolyn M. Charley, “The Characteristics and Correlates of Fantasy in School-Aged Children: Imaginary Companions, Impersonation, and Social Understanding,” Developmental Psychology 40(6), (2004): 1173-1187.
2.    Ageliki Nicolopoulou, Judith McDowell, and Carolyn Brockmeyer, “Narrative Play and Emergent Literacy: Storytelling and Story-Acting Meet Journal Writing,” in Play = Learning: How Play Motivates and Enhances Children’s Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth (edited by Dorothy G. Singer, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek; New York, NY: Oxford University Press): 124-144.
3.    Sue C. Bratton, Dee Ray, Tammy Rhine, and Leslie Jones, “The Efficacy of Play Therapy with Children: A Meta-Analytic Review of Treatment Outcomes,” Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 36 (2005): 376-390.
4.    David Elkind, The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children (Cambridge, MA: De Capo Books, 2007).
5.    Catherine Stonehouse, “Knowing God in Childhood: A Study of Godly Play and the Spirituality of Children,” Christian Education Journal 5 (Fall 2001): 27-45.
6.    Diane J. Hymans, “Let’s Play: The Contribution of the Pretend Play of Children to Religious Education in a Pluralistic Context,” Religious Education 91 (1996): 368-381.