As I tried to maintain control over the group of 50+ children who were milling around during our Bible club, I realized that part of the problem was Tyson (name changed), a 13-year-old who we had asked to come “help out” at Bible club. Tyson was too old to be officially part of our Bible club, but we wanted him to be able to keep hearing the Gospel. But as happy as we were to allow Tyson to “help out” so he could hear the Gospel, he was distracting the other children, jumping up and down and defying the teachers. “I won’t put away my bouncy ball,” he blurted out once. “And if you take it away from me, I’ll just get out another one and play with that.” Tyson loved coming to Bible club, but clearly, something needed to change.
“Tyson, come here,” one of my co-teachers said one day when we were at the end of our rope. “I want to talk to you about Jesus.” She laid out the Gospel to Tyson yet again, and this time, he seemed to listen.
“Something about talking to Tyson one-on-one really helped,” she told me later. “He seemed to get it for the first time. He’s been hearing this message for years, but it just didn’t click. And suddenly, he got it!”
Tyson prayed that day to tell Jesus he believed in him to take away his sins. During the following weeks, the difference in Tyson’s life was amazing. He did what he was told. He began to try- ing to help the other children pay better attention. (Unfortunately, he did this by yelling, “Be quiet!” louder than anyone else in the room, including the teachers who were trying to teach! However, he was trying to help.) Tyson’s entire attitude had changed.
