2 Cents

One of the best ways to improve your communication skills is to teach children and/or teenagers.

This past weekend I had a great opportunity to teach the 7th-12th grade class at the church I grew up in. Typically I'm teaching college students so it wasn't easy trying to communicate clearly to young men and women that were almost half the age of some college students. I had to drastically re-think my approach.

One of the ways doing this helps your communication to adults and others is it forces you to become more concise and more clear. If you're not clear and concise to a group of teens you will likely sound like the teacher from Charlie Brown to them. Don't dumb it down... just make sure it's very clear and not muddled with too much elaboration or theological language. If you can explain something clearly to children you can explain it to an adult.

Second, it gives you great practice at trying to put yourself in the shoes of your audience. The closer your audience is in age to YOU the less you think about how they are receiving your message. But this isn't necessarily a good thing. In fact it can be detrimental to your effectiveness as a communicator. When you speak to teens or children the age gap forces you to critique your own message and to put yourself in their shoes. As Christians we should constantly be aware of this. How does the non-Christian view our approach to them in sharing the gospel? How does communicating with a post-modern audience effect the desires you appeal to? How do you become all things to all men so that you might save some? (1 Cor. 9:22)

Finally, it reminds us that despite all our interests in the deep, theological debates typically seen in seminary circles and on college campuses, the essential truths of God and the gospel will always be simple enough for a child to understand. Let us never lose sight of this. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Luke 18:16)

Take some time today and try to remember where you were and how old you were when you first heard John 3:16. Remember (before you had heard it a million times) how that verse touched your heart and blew your mind? Do you remember the first time you read Luke 9:23-24? Or how about Acts 2:37-41?

I challenge each of you... if you are a Christian... man, woman, minster, teacher, lay-leader, mother, father...

Take every opportunity you get to teach young children or teens. Don't tell yourself you are somehow above that ministry. Don't be tempted to believe that teaching children is less important than teaching adults. If adult ministry is where your heart lies, teaching children and/or teens will help you to grow.