Superintendents Guide to Training their Staff #1

 Make Training Happen!

 (An overview of how to make training your volunteers happen in your Sunday School, and find creative ways to build a close-knit community)

 See the big picture of Training

 Plan an annual calendar of Teacher training strategies and enrichment events that work for your church, and see your ministry grow.

 Why?

Let’s stop to consider how many parts there are to the Teacher’s job in your Sunday School:

• Planning

• Knowing correct Policies and Procedures

• Knowing correct Child Safety Policies

• Understanding the different Age Characteristics

• Handling Discipline Challenges correctly

• Appropriate Teaching Methods

• Story-telling

• Leading Group Discussions

• Good use of different Media

…. And so many more!

 Therefore, no matter what it is called – Teacher training, orientation, enrichment, or networking – the process of building up good skills of your volunteer teachers and helpers plays a very significant part of any Children’s ministry or Sunday School within the local church.

 Follow Jesus’ training style, and, just as He had a three-year plan for His volunteers (He called them), so you, too, need to have a training plan for your staff.

 Start planning today!

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Gods word is a complete mapbook

“I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You” Psalms 119:11.

This weekend as our training team from SANSSA on their way to Bethlehem in the Free State, to run a Discover Teaching course, we had an interesting exercise in travelling, when you have no idea where you are going.

We were given lots of advice and differing opinions about how to get there and ended up going 90kms extra.

This reminded me that it is so easy to listen to the many voices telling you how to live your life.

We can have a built in GPS which can have updates added everyday.

When we have given our hearts to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is present with us to lead and guide us. As we daily read God’s Word we have one complete guidebook.

When we daily download God’s word into our spirits, we have the only reliable information that will get us through the unfamiliar territory of our lives and help us to arrive safely at our destination of life with Him forever!

Spiritual, emotionally and intellectually , each of us daily moves through new and uncharted territory, in our lives. We are all going forward to an unknown place and its no wonder we end up lost and confused.

As we study the map book God has given us, we will find that it is reliable and will keep us from wandering and wondering in our lives.

As Sunday School teachers, we then need to help our learners to realise this truth, that Gods word is a complete map book for their lives.

The younger they are to discover this truth, the less chance there is for them to get lost on the way.

Give them a love of reading their map book and thereby you will help them to be constantly downloading life changing instructions and principles into the GPS in their hearts. Then the Holy Spirit can use this to guide them.
Help your learner to find the best route possible to their God given destination of a life with Him forever.

Don’t let your own map book become outdated or unreliable but keep it fresh in your mind and heart!

Out of the abundance of your heart will flow streams of living water.

Don’t let them Loose the Art of Reading!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” Ps 119:105.

As children read, understanding grows. Reading is hard work but do it in your classes anyway.

This verse speaks of growth. Grow in your learners a desire to read the Word of God.

As the digital era grows and expands it is easy to relegate books into the annuls of history.

South Africa today has a high illiteracy rate, but you as a Sunday School teacher can help reverse this and you can be part of preserving the art and love of reading.

Letting your learners read in class may be slow and painful but persevere in letting them discover for themselves the joy and reward of reading and studying God’s word.

During lesson time use your Bible and keep your lesson plan and notes in your bible and refer back to it rather than only using your lesson book. This will show the children that you teach from God’s book and not from man’s book.

Encourage the children to read God’s word at home. If they don’t have their own Bibles encourage the adults in the church to donate some or have a fund raising drive to buy some.

Most of the children today are exposed to a high-tech world, so picture books can be a great high-touch interest corner for your class.

Try to have books about the Holy Land so that children can see what a well is or a water jar.

Use a Bible atlas along side a modern atlas to help children realise that the people and places of the Bible really exist.

For younger children have books with a few clear pictures and not a lot of words.

For older children include more advanced picture books and some children’s Bible story books.

Have someone around to talk about the books with the children and who can ask them open ended questions to stimulate their thinking.

Life is caught not taught and the model of the adult, will shape the child. You will soon have them longing to read on their own.

Give them a thirst for God’s Word – Jesus Christ!