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"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Matthew 18:20
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January 27, 2000
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The lesson was about the resurrection of the believers. It was near
Easter. There was a cemetery near our church. As I began the lesson I
got up and walked out of the room and down the lane toward the cemetery.
I asked questions about what the kids thought about death and dying, and
we talked about some of the miracles that Jesus did in raising people
from the dead.
When we arrived at the cemetery we sat around on the tombstones and we
read parts of I Corinthians 15, John 11.25, etc.
We talked about the difference between what happens to believers and
unbelievers. I had prepared cutout figures of a dozen or more people.
One saved and one unsaved from each of the major periods of biblical
time: 2 people from the OT [Moses & Ahab], 2 from the NT [Peter &
Pilate], 2 dead people from the church age [my dad & Hitler], 2 living
people from the church age [our pastor & Mr. "?"], 2 from the tribulation
period [A & B], and 2 from the millennium [X & Y].
I drew a red cross on each of the believers and showed what happened to
each one at the time of death [or rapture]. We closed our morning
mini-field trip with prayer for our unsaved friends.
Dr. Phil Myers
(From Christian Crafters.Com: Thanks for sharing this very unique and creative idea. I bet those kids will never forget what you taught them! - Sarah Keith/Moderator)
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“The 5-step approach”
There are AT LEAST 5 STEPS to getting and keeping a vibrant teaching
staff fro the new millennium. Many feel that those living life in the
fast lane are unwilling to give the time to effective teaching. It is my
firm conviction that they are not looking for less commitment. They are
looking for greater satisfaction from what they do.
Step 1 - Always bathe your recruitment tactics in PRAYER for a month!
What would it do to you if I met you in the church hallway and said,
“I've been praying for you by name for the last 4 weeks that you'd take
on a certain responsibility.”
Suppose I told you that the Lord has impressed upon my heart to set aside
time each day for the last month to pray for you, and I asked, “I'd like
to sit down with you and talk about an opportunity for you to impact the
lives of a group of people in our church. I'd like to come by your house
and talk to about it.”
Step 2 - Ask to come over to the house to talk
Make an APPOINTMENT to meet sometime within the next 10 days. Never ask
for a commitment while standing in a church hallway.
Step 3 - During your appointment explain the opportunity in terms of
BENEFITS to the teacher, rather than benefits to you [the
superintendent], i.e. “We need a warm body in the 7th grade girls class
and you have a pulse. You’d be just perfect.”
Instead, how about saying, “These are the qualities a teacher needs to
make an impact - you have these qualities.” Describe the impact a
certain teacher had on a student. Talk about curriculum, teacher
training sessions, facilities, and materials. Tell them something about
the spiritual progress of several of the students in the class. Have
them contact the previous teacher to talk about the previous year.
Make the job BIGGER not SMALLER.
Teaching is not a one-hour-a-week commitment. It involves making a
commitment to:
1. thorough preparation [2 hours minimum]
2. diligent prayer for each pupil each week
3. determination to spend time outside the class with the students
one-on-one [perhaps an hour a week or every other week.]
We’re not looking for teachers with less than this much commitment.
Step 4 - Tell them that you’ll give them a week to 10 DAYS TO PRAY about
it and you’ll come back for an answer.
Make an appointment and come back to the home. Never take “No” for an
answer over the phone.
Step 5 - Promise them you will “DO LUNCH” with them every 4 months or so
to talk about their classes.
Perhaps this will be the most rewarding part of the “recruitment process”
for you. Promise them you will sit in on a class from time to time.
Burnout is not the problem - job satisfaction is.
Make a personal commitment to encourage each teacher by talking to
him/her about what the
Lord is doing through their ministry in the lives of those in the class.
I am confident that if you are diligent in this process you will have
teachers finding great satisfaction in teaching.
Dr. Phil Myers
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>Teaching the Ten Commandments:
What about writing the commandments on flash cards. The first part of the commandment on one side of the card, and the second part of it on the reverse side. Each week set aside a few minutes to play, "THE BIG TEN" at the start of class. The class could divide into teams and the teacher flashes side one to all players. The first team to respond gets a point. (I like using those bell ringers you find in stores to get the store keepers attention-the kids love to 'ring in' for their answers.) You could also reward the winning team with some candy or a special privilege.
(I haven't actually used this game idea yet...But, if anyone ends up using it, let me know how it goes. I may just put it in the BIBLE GAMES section of the site.)
God bless,
Sarah Keith <><
Your Moderator
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>I teach Sunday School to K, 1, 2 grades. I come from a small church
>that is relatively poor. I am looking for a curriculum I can use to
>teach the children. Right now I am teaching them the Ten Commandments.
In response to the above question...
We are creating our own curriculum and some of the things we have done
may help you if you are working with a limited budget. I used the internet
to search bible coloring pages...there was quite a bit of material. Make
certain they are reproducible, then make one copy for each child...plus one
extra. Cut out a character from one copy and copy just the character onto
colored paper...one per child. In class, let the children glue the
character to the page and color the rest.
As a review activity, you can have them add one thing to their page as
they answer a question...for example, put stick on stars in a nighttime sky,
or add fish to a page about how Jesus fed 5000. For the ten commandments, it
could be that they add a stone tablet as they answer. You could also make
paper mache tablets out of newspaper, flour and water. Paint them and add
the verses. It would be a nice visual.
There are many review activities that don't require any materials at
all...play a modified version of mother may I...Teacher may I. As they
answer questions, they advance one space until they reach you. We have also
done a bulletin board that has children attached to yarn, with Jesus at one
end. The caption says "Let the children come unto me". As they answer
questions, their figure moves. This is also good as a positive
reinforcement...move the figures after the attendance time, bible story,
craft etc. By the end of class, praise those children who reached Jesus.
Kristina
Columbia, Tennessee
2-6 year olds
(Kristina,Thanks for sharing your great ideas! Sarah K.)
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A Valentine Craft:
Valentine Growth Charts:
1.Before class make a growth chart for each child
2.Cut a strip of paper 4" wide and 3 feet long.
3.Mark it with inch and foot measurements starting the bottom at 2 feet and ending at 4 feet 8 inches. Write down the whole length of it "I am God's Valentine. He watches over me inch by inch."
4. Cut out hearts (this will be the top of the growth chart) for the kids to decorate in class.
5. During class let the kids make Valentines by decorating the hearts with
bits of ribbon, doilies, stickers, etc.
6. Help them glue or staple their Valentines to the top of their Growth charts.
Linda Lawler
www.edupatterns.com
(Great idea Linda! Thank you!)
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SEND IN YOUR SUGGESTIONS, REQUESTS & IDEAS! :o)
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Bible verse of the day from christiancrafters.com:
"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."
Psalm 119:11
(Scripture references are taken from the New International Version - N.I.V.)
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You can access past SSTN letters:
Go to christiancrafters.com and click on Sunday School Teachers, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on 'Archives List'.
Also, don't forget the availability of free Bible Games and crafts in the Christian Crafters Showcase section @ ChristianCrafters.Com! If you have a Bible game or Christian craft that you've created, email me to share it with the rest of the world!
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