The Student is the Teacher

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Every Sunday, after attending his Sunday school at the VCF Church in Sta Rosa, my eldest makes it his personal commitment to open up our garage to the neighborhood kids to hold his own version of Sunday school, with him as the teacher. He opens his class with a prayer, then he tells a Bible story laced with lessons kids can relate to. After each story is a question and answer portion for the kids, followed by some parlor games he leads. Of course, the class ends with a prayer.

The kids, around seven of them, ranging from two to five year-olds seem always excited to attend “Teacher” Rovik’s class. They huddle and sit together on the carpet Rovik lays out in the garage every Sunday afternoon. Aside from enjoying the games, the kids also get to showcase their “talents” in singing and dancing during the talent time/portion allotted in the ‘class sked’.

As a mom, my contribution is to prepare the kids’ snacks and from time to time, I pitch in the story-telling time when my son asks me to. I also act as the process observer and give a few pointers to my teacher-son on how to manage his class.

Overall, it amuses me to see Rovik displaying his teaching and leadership skills, at the same time sharing the good news to the kids. On the one hand, such passion to fulfill Matt 28:18-20 (even if he hasn’t memorized the verses yet) is a welcome rebuke to me, who in my more than a decade of following Jesus (and even getting sidetracked on the side), memorizing hundreds of Bible verses through the Nav’s TMS and never missing every important seminar as a College student and professional, only got to teach to a handful of kids once in my lifetime. Besides, I can’t even locate the very few girls (about three of them) I “discipled” back in College. Whew, looking back at what I’ve done (or accomplished?) so far, makes me sweaty, man. It is still a long way to go, and only little time is left.

Back to Rovik, it is a humbling experience to see my kid who accepted the Lord only on February 11, 2007 raring and raging to make a difference in God’s kingdom. I can never lay claim to what God is doing to him nowadays despite being his teacher. Why not—neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything but only God who makes things grow!

There are several lessons that can be gleaned from Rovik’s ministry:

1. First, you don’t need to be an experienced adult to reach out and share the good news. Neither is it a prerequisite that you know first the Bible from cover to cover before you can preach.
“ But God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong…” (1Cor 1:27)

2. God uses just about anybody regardless of age who has a heart for him; willing to be used and is available for His work.

3. The faith of a child is precious to our Heavenly Father
“ For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these…” (Matt 19:14)
“From the lips of infants and children you have ordained praise..” (Psalm 8:2)

4. Wherever God put us is our mission field (Thanks to Kuya GB).(Col 3:17)

I used to wonder and pray if I was at the right place and having the right job that met this fomula: Mission, Expression and Provision (or MEP for short). But I realized that wherever I am, I am called to be a disciple. The Great Commission is not only for the missionaries who responded to the Great Call, and left behind a life of ease and comfort in order to ease others’ burdens and comfort the downtrodden. It is for everyone who believes—the busy Executive, the rattled Mom, the dazed teener, the penny-pinching employee, the city dweller or the mountain swashbuckler. The Great Commission bell rings just as loud to everyone, wherever he is- whether he goes out to the mission field or stays put in his own sphere of influence.

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