Council kids SHAKE and SPIN the day away
SHAKE kids get up close and personal with a young alligator at
Gatorland. For many of the children,
getting the opportunity
to pet an alligator was the highlight of their morning excursion.
During afternoon SPIN on Thursday, Girls Ministries leaders taught
girls the choreography to the department's new theme song.
By Kara Chase
What do you get when you combine alligators, entertaining games, interactive lessons and a whole bunch of fun children who love God? Kids Council 2009.
This year, Kids Council consists of morning SHAKE, afternoon SPIN and evening SNAP activity options for children in kindergarten through sixth grade.
SHAKE and SPIN sessions were held Wednesday and Thursday, with the final sessions held today. On each of the previous days, more than 240 children attended the Kids Council morning and afternoon sessions. Kids are divided into groups of 10, based on their school grade.
Kids Council staff members include skilled children’s pastors and leaders from across the country, eager to serve with enthusiasm, patience and a warm smile. As staff members lead kids in the week’s activities, they are creating memories and instilling values that will last a lifetime.
SHAKE
During the morning SHAKE sessions, Kids Council escapes the convention center for short fieldtrips. Multiple shuttle busses transport SHAKE participants to area attractions. Matching T-shirts help staff quickly identify children and keep the group together once they arrive at their destination for the day.
On Thursday morning, the daily adventure took the SHAKE kids to Gatorland theme park and wildlife reserve. While many of the children were visibly tired following the Late Nite Kids Party the previous evening, they were eager to arrive at the Alligator Capitol of the World.
As they walked the grounds of Gatorland, children witnessed a wide variety of wildlife – flamingoes, snakes, cranes, parrots and more. But, of course, the biggest draw were the large reptiles for which the attraction is named.
Massive alligators, peering up from the murky water of Gator Lake, elicited gasps and squeals from the children who looked down on them from a wooden bridge. Several giant white alligators spawned much intrigue among the children.
“It was really weird because he looked sad but he also looked like he was smiling with all of his teeth,” said Abby, a sixth grader, of the largest albino alligator and his droopy-looking eyes.
The trip to Gatorland concluded with a wrestling show, in which a gator wrangler subdued an alligator with his bare hands. The Kids Council crowd sat in wide-eyed amazement as the wrangler then used his chin to hold the enormous reptile’s jaw, filled with razor-sharp teeth, shut.
As the children exited the show, they each had the opportunity to pet a young alligator, held by a Gatorland employee.
SPIN
Afternoon SPIN sessions are held in the Orange County Convention Center from 2 to 4:15 p.m. Remaining in their grade groups, children rotate between various activity rooms, spending 25 minutes in each.
Following Thursday morning’s walk on the wild side, the children who returned for SPIN appeared to have found renewed energy during their break, as many jumped and danced around to music prior to the session’s start.
Among the activities during Thursday’s SPIN were video games, good-natured competitions and breakout rooms for girls and boys, facilitated by national Girls Ministries and Royal Rangers.
In the Girls Ministries room, leaders taught girls choreography to the new ministry theme song, “Honor You.” Each girl had her picture taken and turned into a button for her to keep. After listening to a brief illustration about the importance of growing in their relationship with God, boys in the Royal Rangers’ room threw footballs and Frisbees. They also took turns attempting to kick soccer balls past a goalie.
Although having fun is a top priority in SPIN sessions, leaders are intentional about making it a time to invest in the children’s spiritual lives.
“If you provide kids with an opportunity to worship, they’ll worship,” said Brian Henley, who took time away from his role as a senior pastor in Lansing, Michigan, to serve with Kids Council.
Henley and David Richards, a children’s pastor from Fort Myers, Florida, worked together to teach children about worship during all three SPIN sessions. On Thursday, kids participated in a lively interactive telling of the Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego story.
Children listened attentively as the leaders explained that only God is worthy of worship and how important it is to be like the three young men who refused to put any idols before their God. The brief lesson concluded with worship. With small hands raised, the children sang to the Lord of their love for Him.
Kids Council is just one example of the ways in which the Assemblies of God is strategically investing in the next generation – validating each child’s potential and providing a strong foundation of faith.