(The Road To XXVII, I)
I'm quite torn on assessing the effectiveness of the practice of 'sharing best practices' within and among call centers catering to one common client.
Most of the time this was suggested, the 'best practices' that came into the pool were more like 'practices we were willing to share.'
Though I could just be cynical (and God forgive and correct me if I am), if all I do is talk about it, I'm complaining, and that's a mistake too. So what I have here is an article sharing some practices I have come to learn; not necessarily the absolute best, but definitely not something I'd rather keep to myself.
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God loves all, young and old. We are called to minister to the children and the elderly, because it is His will for them to be saved as well.
And so I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with some children (actually some of them were past being children, but they were all younger than me, that's for sure) just to let them know more about God and Jesus Christ. We meet every Saturday afternoon for an hour at most, and just recently we've agreed to go through the Bible's verses to discuss them.
If you find yourself with the task of ministering to the youth, here are some things I'd like to share - actually, just two things - Do your homework, and keep it short and simple.
It pays to prepare yourself with the message; now I'm calling it a subtle way of 'worshipping in spirit and in truth'.
Actually, now that I mention worship, if you don't worship with the children before you speak to them, at least start off by worshipping the Lord before you even meet them. As we worship we acknowledge that we do not do this on our own wisdom, and we align our will with the Lord's Will, which is for all to be saved. Once we have this in mind we will not pay attention to the deceiving thoughts that keep us preoccupied with unnecessary details instead of zeroing in on the message.
When you speak with them, ensure that your appearance and your behavior are glorifying God as well; you would do well to let God's light shine through you - in other words, your conduct even in unexpected events can easily draw them closer to you, or create this wall that you would need double efforts to jump over.
Kindness is attractive. Let them see this so they would be more receptive to the wisdom the Lord would impart through you.
There's so much for us to learn as Christians, regardless of how old we are. I suggest that during every session you have with them, do not go overboard with your point. As my funny uncle Herbert says, "slow by slow so that you will success."
Keep your point simple but memorable. Stick to your point, unless you are led by the Holy Spirit to obey by intense elaboration. Otherwise, if your point is to communicate honoring your father and mother, stay with that point, and resist the temptation to talk about other deep issues - like how that commandment is the primary one to obey when it comes to the commandments grouped as a guide for how we are to love others as we love ourselves (inhale), or how that commandment blesses us when we obey it and shortens our lives if we disobey, etc.
Keeping your point short gives you more time for open discussion and teachbacks - asking them what they would remember after the meeting, and reinforcing what they say. As our good pastors say in the Good News Community Church, "Let them do the talking too."
Praise God. I sincerely hope this helps you. Thanks for reading this far, and God bless you as you reach more people with the Word.
To God be all the glory.