DISCLAIMER: ALL RAMBLINGS ARE MY OWN. THEY IN NO WAY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF ANY CHURCH OR ORGANISATION THAT I HAVE WORKED FOR OR AM CURRENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH...
When you become an adult the way you get involved in church has to change.
You work full time.
You may be married.
You may have kids.
You’ve got financial duties.
You’ve only got limited holidays.
As a young adult, these pressures can be far less.
You can arrive at church by 3pm on a weekday.
You can stay late on a Sunday night.
You can commit to a weekly roster.
You can set aside a week for a mission trip.
Part of the reason that church volunteers, especially within their ministries to children and teens, are primarily young adults and retirees is due to the demands that we place upon our recruits.
These don’t work for many adults.
For, they need to work long into the evening.
They need to be up early on a Monday morning.
They need to juggle family and extended-family responsibilities.
They only have a limited or fixed amount of disposable income or holiday allotment.
In short, life isn’t as flexible.
So, this inhibits what they can be involved in.
Can this be used as a convenient excuse?
Sometimes.
Should it make churches even more appreciative of their adult volunteers?
Absolutely.
Most importantly, it shouldn’t come as a surprise - when they consider the demands or restrictions they place upon those who volunteer - the kind of people who are willing or able to step and and actively help out.
Anyone who has ever been a student will know, as a school semester winds down - especially in the final term - the teaching units usually conclude with a string of videos.
My Ancient China units ends by watching the original Mulan film.
My Water in the World unit concludes by watching Finding Nemo.
But, before we launch into a slew of video lessons to finish the school year, there’s an important task that must be done first.
Busy work.
An important, but non assessable task (since reports are already completed).
A task where the students select from a list of choices and then create something touching on that topic - usually a poster or newspaper.
The reason this task is essential is because it incorporates a vital administrative function.
Every teaching unit has elements which, at minimum, you must touch on.
This final task ensures, through the smorgasbord of choices which you’ll need to describe, that you are honestly able to tick off everything in the unit outline.
For, while everything in a teaching outline is not equal and doesn’t deserve the same amount of focus, an open task at the end of the unit allows you to still include the red-herrings of the teaching units and give the students freedom to pursue the untouched elements if they so desire.