Kevin Becker is in his element. He is taking candy away from children, hitting a friend when he doesn’t get his way and encouraging cheating.

But it’s all in the name of character-building.

Mr. Becker, known as The Story Guy, makes appearances every month throughout the school year at Wolftever Creek and East Ridge elementary schools.

His charge is to introduce to pupils in each grade the character trait of the month as part of the Hamilton County Schools Character Education Initiative.

“It cements that character trait for the children,” said Sharon Watts, principal of East Ridge Elementary. “It gives them that foundation. It helps them in understanding it better.”

Mr. Becker, 35, who is pastor of children and youth at Collegedale Community Church, doesn’t come with a prepared lecture.

Instead, in introducing the character trait of “fairness” during a recent appearance before kindergartners at East Ridge Elementary, he opens his presentation by slamming a rubber ball on the ground that bounces back up to the ceiling.

Since Mr. Becker has their attention, he keeps it by selecting several children from the audience and playing keep-away with an assistant, Nate Dubs, a student at Southern Adventist University.

In the middle of the game, he says to Nate, “Let’s cheat.”

For the next 15 minutes, as the 5-year-olds scream good-naturedly that Mr. Becker is a “cheater,” he and Nate use the ball, spoons, miniature

late bars, packages of Teddy Grahams snacks and inflatable boxing gloves — amid stories — to make their point to the students: Life isn’t fair, but there are three things they can do.

n Step back.

n Think big.

n Get strong.

To be sure they have the point, he has the children stand up, repeat the three actions and mimic them.

“They love him,” said Ms. Watts. “He’s animated. You can see the excitement, and that really helps. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t keep their attention.”

Mr. Becker visits East Ridge and has made character education visits at Westview, Apison, Ganns-Middle Valley, McBrien, Allen and Ooltewah elementaries through a grant from Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga.

He visits Wolftever Creek as a volunteer, having initiated a partnership between the school and his church soon after moving here from Atlanta.

Praying about what his church might do for outreach as he walked on a greenway near Collegedale several years ago, Mr. Becker came upon the school, went inside and asked, “How can I help?”

After he read to kindergartners, the teacher liked his high energy and animation and suggested he do character education.

A new sideline was born.

Mr. Becker now has presented the character trait of the month at Wolftever Creek for two and a half years and at East Ridge for two. Sometimes, he’ll bring an assistant like Mr. Dubs, and sometimes he’ll bring the children’s praise and motion team from his church.

Ralph Fernandez, principal at Wolftever Creek, said the Adventist pastor has gone beyond interpreting character traits in an effort to get parents involved with their children and with the school.

“He’s a real good guy,” he said. “He’s totally involved with the school. We can pretty much call him, and he’ll come out and help with anything.”

Interactive stories, Mr. Becker said, are able to reach children — many of whom don’t receive positive reinforcement at home — where other kinds of learning might not.

“The shortest distance between humans and truth is story,” he said, quoting Anthony De Mello in the book “One Minute Wisdom.”

Mr. Becker said it’s not difficult for him to separate his Sabbath work with his forays into public schools, where religious indoctrination is forbidden.

“I honor that,” he said. “I don’t try to sneak it in. I think (administrators) see I’m a man of value and virtue.”

On the other hand, Mr. Becker said, “I would love to be able to say ‘Jesus loves you.’”

Yet, Jesus used many methods in his ministry, he said.

Mr. Becker said he uses “lots of fun stuff” in his ministry at the Seventh-day Adventist Church such as a dressing up in a sumo suit, football uniform or hockey gear for children’s time, but he said inventing stories doesn’t come naturally to him.

“For me,” he said, “I have to find a story and look for ways to bring it to life.”

At Atlanta Adventist Academy, where Mr. Becker taught before coming to Chattanooga, Mr. Becker said he directed puppet theater and youth theater productions.

At home, where he is a husband and father of a 5-year-old and 2-year-old twins, he finds time to read stories and is occasionally roped into doing “just what he did” in his presentation at one of the schools.

“I guess I’m just a kid at heart,” he said.