The Reformation… and kids?! As we prepare to celebration Reformation Sunday, may I boldly confess to you all: I struggle to connect kids with Reformation.

Think about the mental gymnastics we are asking little minds to complete in order to understand anything about this Sunday:

• We are celebrating Martin Luther! (Most kids have no idea who that is…)

• He lived in Germany! (Most kids have no idea where that is…)

• He lived a long time ago! (For most kids, summer was “a long time ago”…)

And don’t even get me started on the printing press!

We are asking kids to understand a story that requires a lot of abstract thinking. Even simply speaking: Martin Luther started the Lutheran Church! (But, not, like, our actual church building – he didn’t ever step foot in this church building…)

Unless you have a lot of time, and a group of kids with a genuine interest, and that same group of kids have a pretty generous attention span… it can be tough.

To help, here are some easy things you can try this year:

1. Lean into celebration. Order a cake! Ask the bakery to write “Happy Reformation” on it with big, swirly letters. My own kids perk up every time there’s cake at church. Recently, a couple celebrating their 50^th anniversary shared a cake with the congregation, and kids were all asking “Whose cake is that? What is it for? What is an anniversary?” Kids can learn as they ask questions and get curious about the answers.

2. On a similar note, lean into the color red! Invite kids to decorate a posterboard (you can add a word like “Welcome” or “Celebrate”) but challenge the kids: you can only decorate the poster with red things: red crayons, red paint sticks, red markers, red color pencils. Again, the kids will ask… why the color red? And again: Kids can learn as they ask questions and get curious about the answers. (Where else can you find the color red today?)

3. And finally: lean into good theology over a history lesson. The most important thing is not the printing press, or 95 Theses or even the Small Catechism… the most important thing is grace. God loves you. I would love to have all kids (and teens, and adults…) leave worship having heard and remembered: you are loved. God is with us. Grace and love. This reminder is so much more important than dates and historical information – as interesting as that all may be to some adults. (Does anyone else think that Martin Luther would agree?) If you can only focus on one thing: focus on grace and love.

If nothing else: grab a spray bottle, fill it with water, and playfully splash kids as you remind them “You are loved! You are a child of God!” Happy Reformation!