Read my classmate post. Think and write your thoughts and feelings about his post. (1 page)
Classmate’s Post
Sunday school, for most children I know who attend church services, is a time of enjoyment. I can remember some of my childhood Bible classes, and have no bad memories whatsoever. While children do not realize it, a foundation is being laid in those Sunday school classes. A love for the Bible, for God, for Jesus, and a very basic understanding of the church are all things that are laid out in those classes.
Kennemur wrote, “Sunday school is the most consistent and important means of helping children study the Bible within the confines of the church” (2008). This is a very true statement. There is nothing else that a congregation can do, at least on a consistent basis, that has the effect of a good Sunday school teaching program. Each Sunday morning and Wednesday night, God’s word is presented to children and it must be done in a way that is influential and memory-making.
Worship services are vital to children as well as adults. In worship, a sense of reverence for God is started. However, for children, little is gained as far as Bible study is concerned. Children are not equipped to take in information from a lecture. They can learn to respect the reading of God’s word, learn the words to songs, see people praying and take that in, and learn to give. However, true Bible study, for a child comes in the classroom setting for the first few years of their lives. Again, that is not to diminish the worship service, but it is simply a reality.
Because a Bible class program is the most consistent and important tool that helps children study the Bible, effort needs to be given by congregations to have the best teaching program possible. Sadly, too many congregations have a lack of willing teachers and simply try to find warm bodies to sit or stand before the children. There needs to be an emphasis on teacher training as well as why the church needs teachers.
I honestly believe more people would teach if they were given the proper tools to become good teachers. Having workshops for Bible class teachers to train them in teaching certain age groups would be very beneficial. Workshops that teach the teachers the best ways to use whatever curriculum the Bible class program uses would immensely help teachers feel more prepared. At the least, pairing a new teacher with an older, more experienced teacher would be beneficial.
Bible classes should be a time of learning and enjoyment for children. The lessons we hope the parents are teaching their children at home can be reinforced in Bible classes. If they are not being taught at home, they can at least be introduced in Bible classes.
One thing I have learned during the pandemic is that the congregations we attend need the Bible class program. We have not met for classes in nearly a year now. I am afraid we are going to have problems getting people back to classes. There is also the concern that many of our children have lost a year’s worth of teaching because little if anything has been taught at home.
Bible class is also important for the teachers. It causes them to study. A good teacher will have more information in his/her mind from study than it is possible to present. This builds up a reservoir of knowledge that can be drawn from later, whether in a classroom setting or in everyday life. There are numerous reasons why Bible classes are important and vital. This is a work of congregations that should never be neglected.
Reference
Kennemur, K. Teaching children. In William R. Yount (Ed.), The Teaching Ministry of the Church (2nd ed.) (pp. 303-323). Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group.
