KidSing turned 23 this year and it occurs to me that we now have a huge 2nd generation constituency coming up in the Sunday night ranks of kids shouting out where events are found in the Bible and answers to important questions like “What is God’s ideal for marriage?” Scores of preachers, themselves, probably have learned what’s in every chapter of Genesis or Acts or First Corinthians. Hundreds of kids have received multiple trophies in their own church families for being able to recite the “Watermelon Card” or the “Sweet Potato Card” and scores are now exemplifying “true success” in their adult lives. Adults find the KidSing Facts come in handy in evangelism when a quick recall of the location of “The Ethiopian Eunuch” or “Lydia and the Jailer” comes in handy.
The youngest kids about which I’ve heard who’ve gotten the trophies by reciting the lists of Bible “where is it?” facts to a local elder are three years old and the oldest “kids” are somewhere in their eighties. It started at the Sixth Avenue church of Christ in Jasper, Alabama in the latter part of 1992 or the early part of 1993. Hannah and Caleb were five and nine, respectively, and there are not too many shades of KidSing cards they’ve not committed to memory. In that first KidSing class was Joey Sparks, Patrick and Grant Wilson, Justin Brasfield, Bailey Brigham Gladden, the Colley kids, Wendi Appling Vick, Cindy Appling Thompson, Timmy Appling, Bridget Evans Swindle, Courtney Evans Barrett, Nolan Williams, Brittany Tubbs Harmon, Bart Myers, Larissa Myers Robinson, Brian Alexander, Jessica Wells Bailey, John Michael Gurganus, Amanda Gurganus, Beth Morris Soechting, Brad Morris, and Mallory Jones Baker. Who else? It was a great crew and I pray that every one of them finds the eternal “trophy” that comes from living the truly successful life.
Last Sunday night, Hannah Colley Giselbach sent me some pictures of my grandson Ezra enjoying his very first Kidsing experience. It brought back Sunday night pre-worship memories from Jasper, from Collierville, Tennessee and from here in Huntsville, Alabama. It made me remember, in that old red auditorium, looking over at Hannah during her very last Kidsing before her high school graduation and watching a tear roll down her cheek as she looked over, caught my eye and mouthed the words “This is my last KidSing.”
Young moms, it will be here before you know it. So be sure she’s learning the cards. Be on track about what “true success” is…and “true failure.” Above all, be sure he knows the Kidsing rule: “Do the right thing!”
If you need info about starting a Kidsing program in your congregation, you can find it here: https://thecolleyhouse.org/sermons/kidsing, or come to the session at this year’s Polishing the Pulpit at 3:30 on Monday, August 24, in Ballroom D (http://polishingthepulpit.com). The program only costs the paper on which you print the cards and a minimal amount for prizes if you choose to have them. But it may be a little part of a saving something that’s worth more than all the money in all the pockets of all the millionaires of all the world!
Here’s Ezra’s first Kidsing!
