When Kids Preach Back Series: Freedom Over Control

I serve as the head of the crafts team in Kid’s Church. It was the first Sunday service after our Vacation Bible Camp (VBC) 2025, and we were about to launch a 7-part lesson series called Steward. I drafted the design like this:

On the Saturday before the series began, our creatives team gathered to set up the decorations for Kid’s Church. By the end of the day, everything was in place—except for the big letters spelling STEWARD.

As a visual learner, I knew those letters mattered. They tied the design together. So, I decided I’d work on them the following weekend.

The next Sunday, I sat through the 10:30 a.m. Kid's Church service while cutting letters from cardboard and continued after lunch. Someone (not from the creatives team) approached me and asked if I needed help. I did, actually—I had a small group to attend later and couldn’t finish the last letter on time. I asked her to cut, place, and arrange the letters on stage.

Now, in my original design, the letters were supposed to be 3D. But she suggested laying them flat against the wall and floor instead. To my surprise, it worked! No extra effort required, and the letters looked clean and clear.

Lesson 1: Overbearing control blinds us to simpler solutions. 

I had a clear picture in my mind: 3D letters, upright, exactly as I designed. But when someone suggested laying them flat against the wall, it turned out lighter, simpler, and just as effective. If I had been rigid with my design, I would’ve missed seeing how God could use another person’s idea to accomplish the same goal with less effort and strain. That moment reminded me that leadership isn’t about controlling every detail, it’s about making space for others to contribute.

That same truth carried into what happened later with the kids.

Later that same day at 3 p.m., I served again—this time as assistant teacher for crafts and tech. During craft time, I gave the kids their instructions and went to start coloring the letters. Against the grey stage wall, the plain brown cardboard lacked contrast. So, I started outlining each letter with a one-inch colored border using a marker.

When the kids finished their crafts, a few of them came over to the stage and asked if they could help. I handed them a bucket of crayons and a few markers, told them to pick any letter they liked, and color the edges. I kept using my marker while they worked. Soon, they were sharing letters. Three kids worked on the last letter “D,” filling it with three different colors.

Lesson 2: Overbearing control stifles community. 

During craft time, when I let the children help me outline the letters, something beautiful unfolded. They weren’t just finishing my work, they were creating together. Three kids shared the last letter “D,” each adding a different color. By my standards, it wasn’t uniform. But in God’s eyes, I think it was better — because it was alive with laughter, teamwork, and joy.

At that moment, it reminded me of the Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three distinct Persons, each working in different ways, yet always united in one purpose. Just like those kids with their crayons, the beauty wasn’t in uniformity but in harmony. Those three colors blending on one letter gave me a simple picture of that divine mystery: different, but not divided; varied, but working as one.

A few days later, during our KC Core Team VBC after-huddle, I was journaling the events when another memory surfaced. I had spoken up about needing extra hands for craft prep and stage design. And then it hit me: God had already answered that prayer. He had sent the help. Tiny hands, yes, but eager and willing ones.

Lesson 3: Overbearing control ignores God’s provision.

Paul’s words came alive: “We are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9). By releasing control, I realized the kids weren’t “just helping.” They were co-laborers in God’s kingdom, taking ownership with the joy only kids can bring. Control blinds us to God’s provision, but surrender lets us see His answers more clearly.

Looking back, I saw the pattern: control had nearly blinded me to simpler solutions (Lesson 1), silenced the joy of community (Lesson 2), and hidden God’s provision (Lesson 3). And here’s the deeper reflection that ties it all together: overbearing control doesn’t just stifle creativity—it can also grow into codependency. If everything must pass through me, others will stop thinking, stop trying, and eventually stop owning their part. In ministry, in family, even in friendships, control can become a subtle trap that binds instead of frees.

But Scripture reminds us: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17). True freedom isn’t about doing whatever we want. It’s the Spirit’s kind of freedom—the kind that makes room for different gifts, different roles, but one purpose in Jesus. When I stop gripping too tightly, I give space for that kind of freedom to actually grow in community.

That Sunday, through cardboard letters and buckets of crayons, the kids preached back to me: freedom, not control, is where God does His best work.

✨ Challenge for Reflection: Where are you clinging so tightly to control that you may be choking out the Spirit’s freedom — the kind that allows others to grow, to serve, and to bring their God-given colors into the bigger picture?