- We appreciate your
courage! But you are a volunteer and you are not alone. Remember that
you are on a team with other parents helping to teach each of our
classes. If you need help, ask!
- Greet the students
and try to connect with each one briefly before class begins. Let your
disciples realize that you know who their parents are. Don't hesitate to talk to a parent, if you feel like you have
something you need their help on, order, etc.
- Make it a point to be
ready to meet and greet new parents who might bring their child back
to "check-out" Sunday School. Portray confidence in yourself and what
you are working to accomplish.
- If you have a new
student visiting, do all you can to make them feel accepted. Ask a
regular student to be their "buddy" and help them
feel more comfortable.
- Set up a few ground
rules before you begin class and be ready to enforce them. An orderly
class gets more accomplished, week after week.
Four Essentials!
- One person talks at
a time.
- You are the teacher,
you do most of the talking.
- Don't let the
students interrupt one another and distract the class.
- Alternate your
students around the table or on the floor - / boy / girl / boy /
girl / boy / etc.
(If you need an
assistant, recruit a teen to help with order, etc.)
- Come to your class
with some preparation. This "prep time" will give you more
confidence and help you to lead throughout the thirty-five minutes.
You do not need to finish the whole lesson if you run out of time.
But please stick to the curriculum. Week after week, we need the
consistency that a good curriculum provides, so don't freelance.
It is important to send
something home with every child, every
week, to show their parents what they are learning. So ahead of time,
be sure to make enough copies of any sheets that need to be handed
out in the class.
- In your own Bible
reading times, take a few minutes and pray for your
upcoming class during the week. Also take a few minutes and pray at
the beginning of the class with your students. This will quiet the
children and reminds your students that we are part of something
special and God is in our midst.
- Don't bore the kids.
Make it fun - for you and for your students. The key here, again, is a
little preparation every week on our part, as teachers.
As you have read in our
Promise Land handbook, we are serious about raising godly, Christian
kids. Our two primary goals every week are to:
- Make sure that the
class was an encouraging, fun time.
- Make sure our
children learn something about their Savior
and their faith.
- Believe God to use
you to make a difference every Sunday in some child's life. By God's
grace you are more than capable of impacting
these young souls.
- Talk and brainstorm
with the other teachers on your "team" about ideas on how to make your
class time stronger and more effective.
I really appreciate all
of your work and service. Remember, you are
helping to fulfill Deuteronomy Chapter 6. "When your son asks you
in times to come, saying, 'What do the testimonies and the statutes
and the judgments mean which the Lord commanded us?' Then you shall
teach them and talk about these words, when you sit with them and when
you walk with them." God wants us each involved in teaching our
children.
May God bless you in
this good work!
Keep pressing, Rick Whitney, regional-pastor
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