As I step into the Loft, the place where our HeartKidz services will soon begin, I am just so amazed. It is a Saturday afternoon, and everywhere in that big room, people clad in bright neon green T-shirts prepare for the day’s events. These are our HeartKidz Teachers.
All of them are volunteers. In fact, some are even working adults, who, after a long week at the office, are still excited to make a difference in the children’s lives. As I tag along with the teachers for a day to experience a HeartKidz service firsthand, it strikes me that they could have spent the weekend having fun or resting. But they choose to be here because they really love the children.
At the entrance, I spot a friend of mine setting up the RFID system. I approach him to find out more and am blown away by how they use the technology.
As soon as they arrive, every kid gets a personalised RFID tag so that they can tap in and out of the premise. The tags tell the teachers everything from the kids’ food allergies to whether or not their parents will pick them up after the service.
As the kids enter through the RFID gates, their parents receive a notification via SMS that their children have reached the Loft. (This also happens once the kids tap out!) What’s more, when parents come to pick up their kids, they need to present their ICs to identify themselves because their IC numbers have already been pre-matched with their kids’ tags.
Some teachers also fetch the younger kids if their parents are unable to send them to church. They make sure that the kids arrive at the premise and return home safely every weekend!
At around 3:30 pm, an hour before service, kids begin streaming into the Loft. The teachers race their fingers across the keyboard to assign tags while the kids who had arrived early happily distribute them to the other children. Truly, in Heart of God Church, we do not just say that youths are the leaders of today; we really believe in it. Instead of babysitting the children, our teachers give them opportunities to volunteer and train them to be leaders from a young age!
Soon, the Loft is filled with energetic and enthusiastic children. After spending half an hour playing games, they cheer with excitement as a teacher jumps onstage to kick off the service. The worship team comes up afterwards and almost immediately, the children jump, clap, and lift their hands, filling the room with an irresistible joy.
Once praise and worship ends, the teachers launch into “Write with Flair!”, a 15 to 20 minute lesson about writing in English. Today, they’re covering “varied sentence structures” — which, wow, I hadn’t even known about when I was a kid! As the kids fill out some simple worksheets, the teachers split them into teams. Then they begin asking the class questions. Whenever someone volunteers an answer, his or her team receives points for being bold enough to speak up.
Next up: the sermon! Every weekend, the kids receive character-building lessons to help them develop good values, like unselfishness and perseverance. To make these lessons interesting, the teachers use props or creative sermon illustrations
One such illustration teaches the children about love. A teacher pretends to be in love with someone by gushing about her long, silky hair. But one day, the girl he loves shaves her head. Uh-oh! Once the children stop giggling, the teachers share that true love is unconditional. The kids instantly nod their heads and take down notes!
Before I know it, the clock strikes 6:30. As service ends, the teachers give out prizes to reward the kids for their great behavior. Some children leave with their parents, while others stay back to eat dinner with their friends and teachers.
As I sit down and thought about what I’d seen, heard and experienced over the entire day, I can’t help but smile. The kids not only learn life skills like writing and communication, but they are also inspired to do well in school, develop good character, have faith, and dream big.
It is in this place that their lives will be built on a great foundation, where they will grow up to be even greater men and women. And all this is possible because of our hardworking HeartKidz Teachers, whose passion, energy and excitement can only be outdone by the kids themselves!
They really give their best in everything that they do for the children and as I bid everyone goodbye, I leave with a newfound desire to love and to believe in the next generation.
Did you know that the HeartKidz teachers plan the services weeks, even months ahead of time? Read more about what they do in A Day in the Life of a HeartKidz Teacher: Part One
