Sing, Sing, Sing
It's been a busy summer for me. I've led my Razzamatazz Holiday Club theme four times and had
the privilege of reaching many children with the gospel!
I've also been delighted to received emails from many
people who have used Junior Heroes, Starship
Discovery, and others of my holiday club themes in their churches.
Many say that one highlight was seeing and hearing the
children learning and singing the Bible verse songs so enthusiastically! When I
lead a holiday club, I include asking each team to sing a Bible verse song as
part of the quiz, and it's wonderful to see even four- and five-year-olds
singing them so well.
Once, as I cycled home after one holiday club session,
I heard children singing the Bible verse songs at the top of their voices in
their garden! And I've had parents saying that they have learnt the songs too through
the children singing them at home.
Children adore music so why not use something they love in order to communicate the gospel? These songs will stay with them right through their lives, therefore pick your songs carefully! Better to learn a few off by heart than sing hundreds not really learning any of them.
When you are choosing songs to use with your group or for those services
when children are present for the worship, use the following notes to guide you
in the choices you make.
First,
some important background.
The power of music
Songs
that we learn before the age of five stay with us right through our lives. Can
you still sing 'Twinkle, twinkle little star', 'Hickory, Dickory Dock', 'Baa
baa black sheep' or 'Mary, Mary quite Contrary'? I could go on all day. For me,
when I see a magpie, it triggers off a memory of a TV programme I used to watch as a
child: '1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 3 for a girl and 4 for a boy,...'. Children's
songs, pop songs, songs from TV and hymns, all get stored in our
memories.
God uses music
The Bible is full of
songs of celebration and praise, such as:
the
song of Moses (Exodus 15), the song of Miriam (Exodus 15), the Psalms of David,
the song of Mary (Luke 1).
In the
temple, when the teachers of the law asked Jesus, 'Don't you hear what those
children are saying?' Jesus replied, 'Don't you know what the Scriptures say, "Children
and infants will sing my praise"?' (Matthew 21:16 CEV; see also Psalm 8:2).
It's nothing new!
In seventh-century
England, God gave a special gift to a herdsman, Caedmon. It was the gift of
putting Bible stories into songs. People learned these songs and sang them
wherever they went. For the first time the ordinary people of England heard the
Bible stories. The Word of God was being spread through music!
Using well-known tunes
In 18th-century
England, John Wesley preached throughout the country to ordinary people.
How did he teach biblical truths to people who couldn't read or write? The
answer is 'through music'. John, but especially his brother Charles, took
popular tunes of the day and put words to the music - words that would teach
different aspects of the gospel. Just imagine a miner walking back from the
chapel singing 'And can it be'!
Laying
a foundation
Christian
songwriters today need to take the challenge seriously to write not only
worship songs but also songs that teach biblical truths, laying a foundation on
which the Holy Spirit can work.
Choosing
songs
Look
for songs that:
-
have a good simple tune,
-
have words that are within the vocabulary of the children. Remember,
children are only beginning to learn to read, so if the song has too many
verses, with long and difficult words, they will soon be put off singing. Jesus
said, 'Let the children come to me, and don't try to stop them! People who are like
these children belong to God's kingdom' Matthew 19:14.
-
have a definite Christian moral message.
-
are fun to sing!
Types
of songs
Songs of celebration and
worship
While
the children are in church, try to choose songs that both the adults and
children can sing, so they can worship God together. Here are a few examples:
'We
want to see Jesus lifted high', 'We are marching in the light of God', 'Blessed
be the name of the Lord', 'Come on, let's celebrate', 'Declare It', 'Father God',
'For God so loved the world', 'Speak, Lord'.
Bible verses put to
music
Why
not take a verse from the day's Bible reading and put it to music or find a
verse with a similar theme, which has already been put to music? It is
important for all ages to learn key Bible verses! Here are a few examples:
'Trust
in the Lord', 'Everyone who calls', 'For God so loved the world', 'Keep
yourself in training for a godly life', 'How broad, how long'.
Songs with actions
and with a message
Unfortunately,
adults sometimes struggle with these songs, often because the song may have
plenty of 'bounce' but little message. Try to choose action songs with a
definite message. Remember, children love these songs, so please include some!
Here are a few examples:
'If I
Were A Butterfly', 'God's People', 'Nobody's a nobody', 'Reach up high', 'Jesus
never turned anyone away', 'Oi, oi, we are gonna praise the Lord', 'A band of
angels', 'Anytime, anywhere', 'Don't know much about the ozone layer'.
Finally: Please remember when using children's
songs at a midweek club, holiday club or in Sunday school to include them on
the CCLI (Christian
Copyright Licensing International) list.
This year I have produced two publications, which
both include a DVD and CD and have proved to be most popular with
churches and children alike - Bible
Bop Workshop and Razzamatazz Robots.
Bible Bop is a real mixture of enthusiastic people enjoying
jumping around and learning energetic action moves while burning calories in
the process. And we do all this to cool Bible verses songs! So it really is also a fun way of learning Bible
verses.
It is ideal for Even the young people love it. Why
not form a 'fit-crew' so they can lead the church in a Bible bopping time? Razzmatazz Robots CD and
DVD is not only an
easy to run package for churches but also a fun memento for the children to
take away so they can carry on singing the songs, listen to the Bible stories
and watch Watt Family over and over again! It has proved to be hugely popular
with the children. Maybe you have just run a Holiday Bible Club and are
thinking ahead to next year or maybe this has given you some food for thought
about starting one. Many of John's Holiday Bible Club resources, including the
book Razzamatazz Robots are published by Barnabas
and are available from www.brfonline.org.uk. More information about John and his resources can be found at John Hardwick's website, the Bible Bob workshop website and the Razzamatazz Robots website. John has been part of the Barnabas freelance team
helping with our Barnabas RE Days for
the past eight years. He uses songs, circus skills and much more as part of his
work with children. To book a Barnabas
RE Day for your local Primary School, contact Lynda Ward.
