• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Illustrated Ministry Logo

Illustrated Ministry

Progressive Faith Resources for the Church & Home

  • Home
  • About
  • Products
  • Blog
    • Coloring Posters
    • Community Spotlight
    • Curriculum
    • Faith Formation
    • Family Ministry
    • Reviews
    • Sunday School
    • Tutorials
    • Worship
    • Youth Ministry
  • FB Group
  • Contact Us
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Licensing Terms
    • Multi-Entity License Request Form
    • Submit Product Ideas
  • Work with Us
  • SHOP
You are here: Home / Worship / The Worst Children’s Moment Ever

The Worst Children’s Moment Ever

Reading Time: 2 minutes — Adam Walker Cleaveland — October 6, 2015 Leave a Comment

I’m guessing that many of you have experienced many a children’s moment during your time in churches. I’ve witnessed some that have gone on for 10-15 minutes and they felt like they would never end (I’ve probably given one or two of those myself). I’ve seen some object lessons just go horribly wrong. I’ve seen pastors who seem like they have no understanding, whatsoever, of how to relate to children. It’s true that I’ve seen some bad ones.

However, a few years ago while I was serving a church in Oregon, I experienced, perhaps, my worst children’s moment.

It was Sunday morning, and I was scrambling around before worship trying to think of what to do for the children’s moment. We had a small group of kids, so I ended up landing on the idea that I would ask the kids how to spell G-O-D, and then give them some sheets with letters on them. I had four sheets with the letters L, O, V and E. See, it was going to be tricky – there were four sheets of paper, but I asked them to spell the name of God, which has three letters. But they had to use all of their signs.

I explained to the kids what they had to do, and after awhile, I thought they had it figured out. I was standing behind the kids, and heard some chuckles from the congregation, and so I stepped down to the floor and turned around, and this is what I saw.

Worst Children's Moment Ever

God is spelled…E-V-O-L?

Say it out loud. EVOL.

God is evil. Awesome. That went JUST like I had envisioned it.

I’m sure you all have your own stories of children’s moments that have just bombed – or perhaps just some really bad ones you’ve seen done before. Share your favorite “worst” children’s moments in the comments section.

Subscribe to our Blog

Enter your email below and receive our blog posts in your inbox.

    We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    Share this:

    • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
    • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
    • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
    • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
    • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
    • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

    Filed Under: Worship Tagged With: Children's Moments, Children's Sermon

    About Adam Walker Cleaveland

    Adam is the founder of Illustrated Ministry. He is an artist, pastor, pastor’s spouse, and father of four (two living). Adam is an ordained Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and after doing youth ministry for over 15 years, he founded Illustrated Ministry, LLC in 2015. He resides in Racine, Wisconsin with his wife and their two children.

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Sign up for our email list to receive news and product announcements and we'll send you a free sample pack.
    SIGN UP

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube

    Illustrated Ministry

    Copyright © 2025 Illustrated Ministry, LLC. All rights reserved. Licensing Terms.

    • Home
    • About
    • Products
    • Blog
    • FB Group
    • Contact Us
    • Work with Us
    • SHOP