PREPARED TO SERVE (750 words)

(preparing to be a missionary, or just preparing to witness—Matthew 4:19)

by Deb Brammer 

 

[Uses a boy and a girl puppet; props: two fishing poles with string for fishing line and a part of a paper clip for a hooks. One hook has a rubber band worm on it. The other hook is bare until you add a worm. You may want to have three poles ready, two with worms and one without, so you don’t have to attach the worm during the performance.]

 

(Sam enters, sits on the stage holding a fishing pole, and throws the line in the water. Sadie enters.)

 

SADIE: What are you doing, Sam?

 

SAM: Fishing. I heard there was this great big ol’ trout around here so I thought I’d surprise Dad and catch it.

 

SADIE: Oh. Can I help?

 

SAM: Sure. You can help me fish.

 

SADIE: Thanks. (sits down)

 

SAM: Sadie, you can’t fish without a fishing pole. Go home and find a pole and I’ll let you fish beside me. It gets kinda lonesome fishing by yourself.

 

SADIE: OK. I’ll go get a fishing pole. Be right back.

 

(Sadie exits. Sam sits and whistles. Sadie enters again.)

 

SADIE: Here I am. Where do I start fishing?

 

SAM: Just throw in your line anywhere.

 

(Sadie sits down and throws her line in the water.)

 

 SADIE: How’s that?

 

SAM: Looks good. Now you just gotta sit and wait for the trout to bite your hook.

 

SADIE: OK. (sings loudly) I will make you fishers of men!

 

SAM: Quiet, Sadie! You’ll scare the fish. They are afraid of loud noises.

 

SADIE: Oh. What do you do while you wait for the fish to bite.

 

SAM: Nothing. You just wait.

 

SADIE: So how do you know when the fish are going to bite?

 

SAM: Well, usually they start nibbling at your worm and…

 

SADIE: Worm? What worm? You didn’t say anything about a worm.

 

SAM: Don’t you have a worm on your hook?

 

SADIE: No. Am I supposed to?

 

SAM: Of course. That’s what the fish eat. You put a worm out there to get them to bite, only you fool them because the worm is on a hook. That’s how you catch them.

 

SADIE: Oh. Guess I’d better go find a worm then.

 

SAM: Yeah. Hurry back.

 

(Sadie exits. Sam sits and whistles. Sadie enters again.)

 

SADIE: I’m back with a worm on my hook.

 

SAM: OK. Throw your line in.

 

(Sadie sits, and throws her line in the water.)

 

SAM: Boy, Sadie, you’re not gonna be a very good fisherman if you don’t learn how to get ready. You gotta have a pole and line and hook and worm. It’s no use even trying to fish if you’re not ready.

 

SADIE: Yeah. I guess you’re right.

 

SAM: I’ve been sitting here thinking about Noah. What if he wouldn’t have been ready for the big rain?

 

SADIE: I guess he would have gotten kinda wet.

 

SAM: Kinda wet? He would have drowned! His family would have drowned, too. And all the animals. Noah went to a lot of work to get ready. He spent a lot of time building that ark. He had to gather all the animals and their food, too. But when the rain began to fall, he was ready for it.

 

SADIE: You’re right. Hey Sam, remember that verse we learned about when Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men?”

 

SAM: Yeah. But that’s not the same kind of fishing.

 

SADIE: I know. Fishing for men is like telling people about Jesus. But do you think we need to be ready to do that kind of fishing, too?

 

SAM: Well, I suppose you gotta be ready for any kind of fishing. How do you think we get ready to fish for men?

 

SADIE: Hmmm. I never thought about it before. But I suppose it would help if we memorized some Bible verses. Then when we have a chance to tell people about Jesus, we can say the verses even if we don’t have our Bibles with us.

 

SAM: Bible verses! I just remembered that I’m supposed to be memorizing a verse for Sunday School. I almost forgot all about it. (pulls fishing line in)

 

SADIE: Me, too. We’d better go learn it. (pulls her line in.) Sam, you may be good with hooks and worms and stuff. But we both need to be better prepared if we’re going to go fishing for men!

 

(Both exit, the same direction.)

 

[If using this script for missions you can follow with a discussion about what kids can do now prepare to be a missionary when they grow up. Mention things like: Find out about missions, pray for missionaries, keep your heart close to God, pray for the right future mate, and learn to be flexible and do new things.]