Kids’ Club Chaos

Jessie and Emily sat at Emily’s kitchen table munching on a snack. They could hear yells and whoops from the backyard where their friend Justin and Emily’s brother, Jeremy, were playing with two boys from their soccer team.

“I don’t like Robbie and Doug. Do you?” asked Jessie, taking another animal cracker from the box.

Emily took a sip of milk then shook her head and frowned. “No. They’re too loud and goofy.”

“I wish Justin and Jeremy weren’t friends with them,” Jessie complained.

Suddenly, the four boys burst through the back door, completely ignoring the girls.

“Let’s get some water,” said Jeremy.

“Hey, you guys ever play basketball?” Robbie asked as Jeremy sloshed water into some cups.

“Sure,” said Justin. “We have a gym at our church. We get to play every week after Kids’ Club.”

“Cool,” said Doug. “What’s Kids’ Club?”

Jessie and Emily looked at each other, wide-eyed, as Jeremy and Justin began telling their friends about all the fun they had at church. Before they knew it, Justin and Jeremy had invited Robbie and Doug to Kids’ Club.

Leaving their snacks unfinished, the girls went outside. “This is terrible,” said Emily.

“I know,” said Jessie. “Why did they have to invite them?” She took her cousin’s hand. “Come on, Emily. Let’s go to my house where it’s quiet.”

When they got back to Jessie’s house, they met Jessie’s mom carrying a load of laundry. “Why so glum, girls?” she asked as she set the basket down.

Jessie hesitated. “Justin and Jeremy invited their soccer buddies to Kids’ Club. And . . . well . . . we don’t like them.”

Mom crossed her arms. “Jes-sie! Is that the right attitude?”

“But, Mom, they don’t know how to act at church. They’ll ruin everything.”

“Well, maybe you’re right. But, don’t you think God loves them as much as he loves us?”

Jessie and Emily nodded.

“And how will they know that unless somebody tells them?” Mom asked. “I think it’s great Justin and Jeremy invited their friends.” She smiled and picked up her laundry basket. “I know you don’t want the class to be ruined, but those boys need to learn about God, too,” she said as she headed to the laundry room.

The next night, Kids’ Club started with one of Jessie’s favorite games, a version of “hot potato.” All the kids sat in a circle.

Their teacher, Mrs. Jacobs, turned on the music, and the kids began to pass the ball around the circle. Just as Jessie was thinking that Robbie and Doug might not be so bad, the ball was passed to Robbie. He made a show of tossing the ball into the air and catching it before passing it to Doug, who threw it across the circle, hitting Emily in the head—bonk! Then Doug lost his balance and fell over, laughing as Robbie poked him in the ribs.

Mrs. Jacobs stopped the game to check on Emily, who frowned furiously at Doug but wasn’t really hurt. Then the teacher motioned the boys to the back of the room where she talked to them in a low voice.

When they came back, there wasn’t enough time to finish the game. “I knew it,” Jessie whispered to Emily. “They ruined the whole game!” She glared at Justin and Jeremy. But they weren’t paying attention to her. They were showing Robbie and Doug where to sit, just like nothing had happened!

During the lesson, Mrs. Jacobs had to remind Robbie and Doug twice to stop talking. Soon it was time to play a “bingo” review game. Everyone moved over to sit at the tables while Mrs. Jacobs passed out the bingo cards and colored candies for markers. When she began asking questions, the kids listened carefully, placing the candy markers on their cards. Jessie glanced across the table to see Robbie and Doug secretly popping candies into their mouths. She poked Emily and rolled her eyes at the boys.

Suddenly, someone called out, “Bingo!”

Jessie sighed with disappointment. She was so close to winning!

Her disappointment turned to surprise when she saw it was Doug who got the bingo. “Good job, Doug,” said Mrs. Jacobs. “Looks like you learned a lot today.”

Jessie remembered what her mom had said about the boys needing to learn about God, too. Maybe it was a good thing that Doug had won.

At the end of class, Mrs. Jacobs asked if anyone wanted to pray. Jessie was about to volunteer when she saw that Jeremy had already raised his hand. “Dear God,” he prayed, “thank you for Kids’ Club and that Robbie and Doug could come tonight. Amen.”

As everyone stood to leave, Jessie heard Doug say to Jeremy, “I’ve never been prayed about before. That was cool!”

“Yeah, the kids here are nice. Thanks for inviting us, guys!” Robbie added as the boys followed Justin and Jeremy out the door.

“Let’s go play some basketball now,” said Jeremy as they all walked toward the gym.

Emily looked at Jessie. “I—I guess it’s good Robbie and Doug came.”

“Yeah,” said Jessie. “Maybe we should bring some friends next time, too.”

“That’s just what I was thinking!” said Emily.

“Hey! Let’s go watch the guys play basketball,” said Jessie, and the two girls headed to the gym to watch the game.

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