A lesson in safety from an outing with my kiddos
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Yesterday we trekked to Monkey Joe's, a place o' fun filled with inflatables that bring great joy to my children. The first time we went, I was apprehensive because I know they're little - Robbie is 2 and Jocelyn is 4 - and bigger kids could knock them down. After our first few visits, though, my kids had the confidence to run the place. And I was confident about that too.
Until yesterday.
I knew it would be crowded, given that the forecast called for 101 degrees. Now I grew up in Florida and taught for a few years in south Texas, but even I will admit that 101 is hot. Monkey Joe's is an air-conditioned place where kids can run around. I knew we wouldn't be the only ones to find that appealing on such a hot day.
It was crowded. The crowds in general weren't the problem, though. Two school/camp groups were there. One was a perfect model of a group of kids who had been instructed about how to behave respectfully and who were held accountable to that by their leaders. The other group ... well, they were the opposite.
We had planned to stay for a few hours, but the second group changed our plans. My son, who used to act like he owned the place, asked to be held instead and clung to my neck. My daughter asked me last night, "Mommy, why were those big kids so mean? Do they not know about Jesus? Maybe we should have told them Jesus loves them and died on the cross for their sins."
The leaders of that group all sat at tables, only interacting with the kids if they happened to run past. The kids realized this, so they behaved within sight of their leaders and wrestled with, punched, and shoved each other as soon as they were out of sight. It wasn't pretty.
Those kids never meant harm to my kids, but they weren't paying attention either. My kids were pushed down a couple times, once stuck under a pile-up of big kids for a moment. And my kids sometimes had to wait in longer lines because some of those kids cut in front of them.
And so we left. It was not a safe or enjoyable place anymore.
This is why it's important to have safety measures in place in special needs ministry (and other ministries) at church. If your church is not a safe place, then it's not a place any family can be comfortable bringing their children. If our ministry is unsafe, it's not a place where people can even hear the gospel because they're going to be too focused on safety concerns to pay attention to anything we say about Jesus.
Next week I'll be writing about church policies for special needs ministry. Policies aren't always fun, but they are purposeful. One of those purposes is to ensure that our churches are safe places for people with and without disabilities.
(And, to give credit to the folks at Monkey Joe's, I spoke with the manager who offered us vouchers to visit another time. Next time we'll call ahead to inquire about groups scheduled for that day.)
Until yesterday.
I knew it would be crowded, given that the forecast called for 101 degrees. Now I grew up in Florida and taught for a few years in south Texas, but even I will admit that 101 is hot. Monkey Joe's is an air-conditioned place where kids can run around. I knew we wouldn't be the only ones to find that appealing on such a hot day.
It was crowded. The crowds in general weren't the problem, though. Two school/camp groups were there. One was a perfect model of a group of kids who had been instructed about how to behave respectfully and who were held accountable to that by their leaders. The other group ... well, they were the opposite.
We had planned to stay for a few hours, but the second group changed our plans. My son, who used to act like he owned the place, asked to be held instead and clung to my neck. My daughter asked me last night, "Mommy, why were those big kids so mean? Do they not know about Jesus? Maybe we should have told them Jesus loves them and died on the cross for their sins."
The leaders of that group all sat at tables, only interacting with the kids if they happened to run past. The kids realized this, so they behaved within sight of their leaders and wrestled with, punched, and shoved each other as soon as they were out of sight. It wasn't pretty.
Those kids never meant harm to my kids, but they weren't paying attention either. My kids were pushed down a couple times, once stuck under a pile-up of big kids for a moment. And my kids sometimes had to wait in longer lines because some of those kids cut in front of them.
And so we left. It was not a safe or enjoyable place anymore.
This is why it's important to have safety measures in place in special needs ministry (and other ministries) at church. If your church is not a safe place, then it's not a place any family can be comfortable bringing their children. If our ministry is unsafe, it's not a place where people can even hear the gospel because they're going to be too focused on safety concerns to pay attention to anything we say about Jesus.
Next week I'll be writing about church policies for special needs ministry. Policies aren't always fun, but they are purposeful. One of those purposes is to ensure that our churches are safe places for people with and without disabilities.
(And, to give credit to the folks at Monkey Joe's, I spoke with the manager who offered us vouchers to visit another time. Next time we'll call ahead to inquire about groups scheduled for that day.)