Inspired by James Ballantyne’s list of 35 Things Every Youth Worker Has Done, I’ve come up with a version for those of us who have the delight of working with the under-11s and their adults. Add your own in the comments!

1. Walked down the street to the school/village hall with some random assortment of items in your arms, like a paper dove on a stick, a box full of bubble wrap, three bags of Haribo, and 200 light-up Baby Jesus dolls.
2. Been vomited on, caught in a poo-explosion, or peed on, by a baby or toddler, while you were in church clothes.
3. Got really really carried away in the art supply store.
4. Totally improvised a Junior Church/club/whatever session on the spot, because the group of kids who showed up were completely different from the ones you’d planned for.
5. Had to find a way to diplomatically explain to the vicar that their 45-minute lecture on 18th-century church history might not have been what the school children were hoping for from their visit.
6. Planned an All-Age Service that was a total disaster.
7. Had brilliant parents, but also panicking parents, parents who try to feed their kid the “right answer,” parents who run away from church the second their child makes a peep, parents who play on their phones while their kid has a tantrum, and parents who think their kids’ whole spiritual formation is your job and not theirs.
8. Tried to explain what you do to people at a party and been met with a sea of blank faces.
9. Explained to your friends for the thousandth time why Saturday nights aren’t normal weekend nights for you and why you can’t be in the pub at 4 pm on Christmas Eve.
10. Had to explain that this isn’t just “trying out whether I should get ordained,” but a valid ministry in its own right.
11. Wondered if you should get ordained.
12. Cleaned up a room that was an explosion of flour, water, juice, sequins, bits of fabric, glue everywhere, storytelling materials, and six lost jackets, in less than 10 minutes.
13. Memorised the soundtrack to Frozen, without ever having actually seen it, and/or become an expert in Minecraft strategies without ever having played it.
14. Had to neatly sidestep the “what does ‘virgin’ mean?” questions at Christmas.
15. Had your whole view of the world, and God, changed and expanded by something a kid says or does.
16. Cried because you love your job, and cried because you hate your job, on the same day.
17. Had to justify to the PCC why there should be a budget for children’s ministry in the first place because no, “bring some crayons from home” isn’t good enough.
18. Smiled through your rage when a parishioner compliments you on your ministry because you “keep the children quiet.”
19. Wondered if the disciples spent this much time stacking chairs and setting up tables.
20. Attended a funeral for a kid’s parent or sibling and raged at the universe.
21. Had to lead a session, or a service, while your own relationship with God was messy and painful, and you weren’t sure how much of that to include or how.
22. Realised you’d gone most of a year without actually being present in worship just as a worshipper, and maybe that’s why you’re burned out and angry all the time.
23. Loaded the kids up with sugar, handed them back to their parents, and felt no remorse.
24. Felt completely out of your depth.
25. Felt like there’s nowhere else you want to be.