Generations In Faith Together

Redefine and Rename Sunday School ?

Sunday school: two words that bring memories of struggles with getting enough volunteers and trying to get parents involved but also two words that evoke some pretty happy memories of years past from my own experiece as a child and as a parent with three young boys.

So what are we to do in today's congregations to encourage this once dynamic ministry model to include all the ages in a whole new way?

For the time being, I'd like to submit my Ten Top Reasons to Not Kill Sunday School quite yet:

1. Death is permanent. Resurrection, renaming, reclaiming the way its’ done makes more sense.
2. Kill sounds like a sentence to carry out. The history of Sunday school alone affirms it had and continues to have a valuable place in the congregation.
3. This is one of the few places where lay persons get involved, equipped, and get tools to grow in their faith in leadership roles. If it’s gone, and decisions remain in the sole hands of the ordained, what will become of Christian education?  What about the body? How does it recognize the sense of a call?
4. Want a new name? Christian education is the heart of the church. Just call it what it is and go from there. Start with Faith Formation.
5. It’s not really dying. It is in true need of a little care and attention from church leadership. A new look and way to do it would help too.
6. Most pastors have not attended nor do they participate in Sunday school. It normally means Children’s Ministry, an important place (if not the most important place) to start! Shouldn’t there be a requirement to go for a while and experience it first before you kill it?
7. Seminaries require a minimum of one Christian ed course to earn a divinity degree. Doesn’t that mean it has very little priority? Let’s rethink how we teach in seminaries.
8. Google “Sunday school” and you will encounter hundreds of faith-based resources and publishing companies providing tools to teach the Christian faith. People continue to seek the resources.     They know Sunday school means Christian education.
9. If you told the average lay person sitting in the pew on a Sunday morning that you were going to kill Sunday school, they’d be in shock. Most know no other terminology. For some it would be evoking powerful memories and may be the very reason they are sitting there in the first place.
10. It’s the number one place in the congregation where adults of all ages are role models for the young. It provides a place for the lay to feel called. The relationships built there are lifelong and vibrant. Think twice before you kill the one thing that can actually grow the church!

What do you think?

 

Making Time for Family

We know making time for family is important, yet time and time again our busy schedules impede families actually having time to sit down together for mealtime or anytime for that matter. Today while I was eating breakfast, I was watching the Today Show. Matt Lauer was interviewing Laurie David about her new book, The Family Dinner. Two things she said caught my ear: "Highs & Lows" and "Rituals".

Laurie talked about the importance in taking time to sit down together as a family whether for dinner or another time and have intentional discussions. Sound familiar? Of course it does if you have been seeking tools to place faith formation in the hands of parents. A major step is to provide tools for building relationships and having faith talks at home. If you are trying to get the message across in your congregation about the importance of developing faith practices at home, I suggest you show this clip from the Today Show: Click here.

After viewing the short interview, ask parents if they have made time for one another at home every day. Highs & Lows is step number 1 of the FAITH5, a faith practice incorporated into all Faith Inkubators resources. Conversations following the watching of this clip have the potential to open the door to a discussion on the importance of adding a faith piece to the daily family conversation.

Building rituals in congregations and at home are essential to a healthy faith life.

I hope you take time to view this clip and then begin to dream how you can use it to encourage families in your congregation to give it a try, add a prayer and blessing and see what a difference it can make.

 

Old Testament Signing on YouTube

New! Even though it's "old", Old Testament that is...
Faith Inkubators has now placed Old Testament Tutorial and Song versions for learning scripture using American Sign Language (ASL) on YouTube to share with the world.

The goal is to embed scripture in the hearts and minds of all ages and provide tools for the home to encourage parents to get "on-board" as the faith role models they are called to be.
Not only is this a great tool for the family, but it can also be used as a training video for those leading songs used every week in the Faith Inkubators Bible Song Sunday school program.

To find each song, go to YouTube and type in Faith Inkubators and the title of the song found in the Bible Song resources. You will find both the song and tutorial version of the scripture.
For example:
Faith Inkubators Let There Be Light
Faith Inkubators Look Toward the Heavens

The New Testament scriptures are also on YouTube.
One of the best ways I have found to memorize scripture!

A Question of Bible Knowledge

I recently received this question in an e-mail. It is a common question and of great concern as we seek to reach out to our congregations and invite people to volunteer for programs to provide vital Christian education opportunities.
Thought I'd share my answer with you:

People often hesitate to work in Sunday school ministry because they feel that they do not have the skills or education or Bible knowledge to teach.  Have you noticed a similar dynamic with Bible Song?  Or are people more willing to be part of this ministry? 

I think people who enter our doors will always be “apprehensive” about participating. (that is until we are all Bible scholars!) It’s not so much a curriculum from my perspective, as a way of thinking. We have pretty much been telling parents it’s okay for years to just drop their children off for those of us who love to teach Bible stories so we can do what we love to do.

The problem? Parents have been doing exactly what they are told. Who is telling them about their vital role in teaching faith to their own children and to join us, not drop the kids off? And where in our congregations are we providing “comfortable” places to step in and help adults learn alongside their own children without feeling any obligation whatsoever to teach or be a “Bible expert”. We are just as much at fault as the parents for allowing our system to grow the way it has. Sooooooooooooo…..it’s up to us to changeJ!

What Bible Song provides is a whole new energetic way to invite parents into an opening together with their children and then proceed to role model relationship building and caring groups while we teach them to pray and bless one another at the same time. Then we send them home to “literally” practice at home.

Debbie Streicher is National Director of Children and Family Ministry. She is located in Northern Virginia and happy to address any questions you may have regarding Faith Inkubators’ resources. Please contact her at dstreicher@faithink.com.

Let the Children Come!

As I look back through the archives of stories I’ve written, this one reminded me of the importance of providing faith role models for every child in the congregation. This includes parents and those we call “impact adults”. Sometimes we don’t realize the opportunities we have to “impact” the faith of a child until we hear the stories:

As the congregation grieved alongside David’s parents and family, story after story of a young man who lived life to its fullest was heard. He traveled the world extensively.  Stories from both young and old were filled with David’s love of God. Wherever he traveled, he shared Jesus’ love with all walks of life. In his humanness he wasn’t perfect, but it was clear the message he shared was consistent.

His life was cut short due to a reaction to a medication resulting in liver failure.

Over a thousand friends, family, and relatives came from around the world and were together to celebrate the life of this exceptional young man at his memorial.

                                   

David, in 29 short years, showed his faith through actions and words to countless rugby players, many Korean children to whom he taught English, traveling companions, and friends. Where did he learn to share Jesus’ love?

 
The answer: his parents. His father is the pastor and his mother a school teacher. He was surrounded and nurtured as a child in his faith by family, friends, and the congregation. What was not realized was how very much David shared this special love with others until the stories were told.

The life of one young man had an awesome impact on so many others.

  
Empowering children means empowering parents and other extended family adults to be role models of the faith. Reflecting on the stories heard about David, I knew he had been empowered by family and friends in his congregation because this story is about my congregation. What an awesome task we have before us as congregations to recognize the importance of building intentional role modeling and support for families into our programs and ministries.

 
Recognition of the home as a primary center for nurture and support is a key element.
The connection between church and home is essential.

One of David’s favorite quotes was: “To find happiness, be as a child, play and share, love one another, dance and sing. Somewhere in there you may even find God.”

Sharing God’s love is about playing, sharing, dancing, and singing. It’s about being as a child and being with a child. Because somewhere in there, you’re bound to find God!

 
So, bring it on! Support parents, involve the congregation and let the children come!

But Jesus called for them and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs." Luke 16:18

Debbie Streicher is Director of Children and Family Ministry at Faith Inkubators, www.faithink.com.  She can be contacted at dstreicher@faithink.com.

 

Sunday School as Sacred Space

Am I the only Christian educator who gets a little frustrated when during a Sunday school opening I see and hear parents who would rather talk and drink coffee in the background while sending their children up front to “be in Sunday school”?

Have you heard about the little boy who was asked what he wanted to do when he grew up? His answer: “I can’t wait until I grow up to be just like my Mommy and Daddy. Then I won’t have to go to Sunday school anymore!”

Ouch! As a Christian educator with a passion for family ministry and focusing on the dynamics of parents as role models of faith for their children, this is the last thing I want to hear.                 Unfortunately, we can understand why this child can’t wait to be like Mommy and Daddy.

I feel I am not alone in my thinking as I have heard from others who have expressed the same scenario and experienced similar frustrations within their own congregations.  My concern is the message we may be sending to our children about the role we all play in a learning setting when this happens. Although I appreciate the true need for parents to have time to talk with one another and the importance in providing a fellowship opportunity for all, I’m wondering how we can balance wanting parents to join children in Sunday school and wanting them to find our congregation as a place where they can gather each week, meet others, and build relationships.

 My concern lies in the message we send when we tolerate adults and youth congregating in the background and talking while we are teaching and sharing scripture lessons. This doesn’t happen when we gather in a worship service. Those sharing a scripture lesson and prayer for the day deserve respect. I have the hope that everyone present will honor the words shared and role model the reverence of the time together for all. Can we expect everyone to take at least 15 minutes for an opening and introduction to a lesson to pay attention and be present by sitting together and listening with us, not observing us? I believe it can speak volumes to those entering a room.

As you are reading this, you may think I am challenging our basic understanding of what Sunday school is, but I’d like to suggest we ask ourselves what is happening when we gather together in a place for Christian education. Can we consider this to be sacred space? Is it akin to the worship service?  Does worship only happen in the sanctuary? Can Sunday school happen in the worship space? Can worship happen in the Sunday school place? Is it not the place we teach all ages what worship is?

In the Subject Guide found in the back of my Bible, worship is defined as giving reverence and honor to God. It also references praise and prayer. In my opinion, God deserves our reverence and honor through our praise and prayer no matter where we gather to share His Word.  

My challenge to you is to think about places and spaces you meet in your congregation to praise God and hear His Word. Are they sacred spaces?

Britannica.com’s definition of sacred is: the power, being, or realm understood by religious persons to be at the core of existence and to have a transformative effect on their lives and destinies.

The definition of space according to Merriam -Webster is: a period of time.

In the context and setting of our church buildings, where and when are the times and places you gather all the ages and provide opportunities to experience transformative effects on lives?

Although I know the worship service is our first answer, as a Christian educator, I have also witnessed lives changing and relationships strengthened through prayer and praise for God during a period of time we call Sunday school. It has taken setting expectations and being intentional.

The challenge before us is to help those entering our buildings to feel that transforming love everywhere and create opportunities for this to happen. God’s work happens in amazing ways and in unexpected places. Our work is to provide time for this to happen.

Time for children, parents, and youth…time to praise God together …                                                 then we have our coffee and doughnuts.

I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts about this and what you have experienced.                               

And if you already experience Sunday school as sacred space in your congregation,                              please share how you do it!

With Arts and Hands and Voices

The word education comes from the Latin word educo meaning to draw out. Faith Inkubators Bible Song curricula is designed to draw out thoughts and an understanding of scripture from children, youth, and adults through art, signing a verse from the Bible with hands, and using voices to sing scripture verbatim to praise God. This is a different way of thinking.

The Sunday school teacher way of thinking we are familiar with is to make a craft ahead of time, have supplies ready, and help children do it while reciting or reading the story to them. Normally one adult has more children in the group than one can handle.                                                                  

Bible Song small group time is called Art Attack. There is no premade craft. Art supplies are for telling the scripture in one’s own creative way and those in the group take turns retelling the story heard during large group opening. Adults in some cases outnumber the children in a group.                                             

The directions for Bible Song Art Attack small group time are simple:

1. Come with your child.
2. Share Highs & Lows.
3. Read the scripture.
4. Get creative and use art or music to retell the story you heard together in large group opening through art of your choice and music.
5. Pray for one another and bless one another.

Some anticipate small group time to mean the time when an already prepared craft is brought out and everyone makes the same craft to take home or display on the wall. As a Sunday school teacher when I first volunteered, I felt I needed to know all the Bible verses and prepare a lesson before I got to church. I felt ill-equipped but knew I wanted to help somehow. Many times I was looking at the lesson and preparing it on the way in the car!

If there is time and energy to find volunteers who will spend the time to prepare a lesson and gather supplies for a craft each week, that’s one thing. On staff in a congregation, I never found it easy to do. If you’re seeking to bring more volunteers on board, get parents involved and encourage them to learn with their children, that’s another.

My experience has taught me that two things could make a difference rather quickly in any setting:

1. Smaller group size with more parental involvement providing an added benefit of fewer discipline problems.
2. Encouraging parents and adults in small groups that it’s more about listening, caring, asking questions, and appreciating responses than pouring a lesson into a child, youth, or other adult.

If there is a program where the expectation is not to prepare and have to do something before coming each week, parents and other adults are more likely to participate. They begin to understand and enjoy their role of facilitating and drawing out, not leading all the time.

The most important ingredient is to provide an atmosphere that says, “I like being here.”, “Someone cares and is listening.”, and “I want to come back.”
                 

The Dog's Tail

A few weeks ago, during the children’s message, a story about a dog’s tail and happiness was shared. My first thought? What a great analogy for thinking of how our actions and attitudes make a difference in the way we approach ministry.

When a dog is happy, he wags his tail. The story goes: A young dog wanted to be able to catch happiness so knowing that happiness was in his tail, he spent the entire day chasing his tail. No matter how fast he ran or how hard he tried, he just kept running in circles. He got really frustrated. He couldn’t “catch” happiness.

That evening he asked an older and wiser dog how he could catch happiness. He could not reach his tail no matter how hard he tried. The older dog shared his wisdom: “I stopped seeking happiness by chasing my tail a long time ago. I learned that all I have to do is look ahead and stay focused on where I’m going and it just follows!”

The definition of insanity: Doing things the same way over and over again and expecting different results. Not very different then the dog chasing his tail!

So what does this have to do with Bible Song you may ask? Congregations change curriculums for Sunday school because something isn’t working. They try book after book, publisher after publisher, and run in circles trying to get volunteers. Why? They seem to be seeking happiness with a curriculum that works and addresses the needs of both the volunteers and the parents. Is there a problem? Most congregations want to implement and plan Bible Song just like they have planned every other resource. Parents and volunteers view time commitments and planning as cutting into schedules. This does not lead to happiness, so why do things the same way?

The insanity is beginning to show at the congregational level and we wonder why.  It’s like running in circles.  Change is good and I believe we need to begin listening to our volunteers and parents about what works and what doesn’t. Bible Song is a new, refreshing way to introduce scripture to young families and involve youth in doing ministry. It’s important to stay focused on where we’re going. We’re going forward staying focused on learning scripture and embedding it in hearts and minds through memorizing and interpreting in hands-on, fun ways.

Will there be complaints? Always! Is it important to listen to what’s working and what’s not? Always! Is it important to keep moving forward and stay focused on our goals? Of course! Should we look back and see if happiness is following? I don’t think we have to. It will naturally happen when we are intentional and stay focused on our goals.

If your goal is to invite young families to open the Bible when together in small groups once a week and in the home and you stay focused on the goal as you move forward, positive results will follow.

The truth is we are quick to give up if something doesn’t work right away and there are not instant results. Remember the reason the wise dog stopped chasing his tail was to focus on where he was going. It was inevitable happiness would follow. I think the same is true for Bible Song. Each congregation is like a family and can review what may work or not work in their own setting.  One day at a time, one step at a time.

Here’s an example of a wise congregation in Westby Coon Prairie, WI staying focused on their goals to get more parents involved and Bibles in hands.                                       I received this e-mail from Pastor Dennis Hallemeier a few weeks ago.

After a bumpy year with Bible Song last year, the two pastors called all the parents in May to listen to their evaluation of Bible Song and how we could make the experience better for them and for their children. This was invaluable. We have tweaked Bible Song this fall and have had a wonderful response. The major tweakings:

 1. Start all grades in regular classrooms for the first 15 minutes with one or two parent guides. Activities: welcome, highs & lows, offering, recognize birthdays, and brief intro to the story (supplied on the table).

 2. When Bible Song music starts on the intercom, age 5 through grade 6 go to the large group room for the day's Song (or a repeat of the previous week's song--so the children refresh and remember it), the day's story (some weeks we repeat the previous week's story in a different way--especially on stories we want to emphasize), and then some more music, followed by activity time (for the older kids, we have found various kinds of quizzes on the Bible stories to be engrossing).

 3. Ages 3 & 4 stay in their classrooms for the story and activities and music. (We found that this works best for us. The kids' parents feel most secure!)

 We have lots of parents involved--even some Dads (!)--on a rotating schedule.                          In short: it's working!

 Peace, Denny Hallemeier

You can post your ideas of what works and what doesn’t on our message board. We can help one another and grow together.

Let’s keep moving forward. It’s the only way to see what will follow!

The Gift of Scripture and Song

Over the years there have been many lists of the most influential people in history. Martin Luther is listed in the top 100 on more than one list and ranks right up there with Guttenberg, Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein.

The Wikipedia, the Free (online) Encyclopedia, states about Martin Luther:                                        

His translation of the Bible into the vernacular of the people made the Scriptures more accessible to them, and had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity.

Reformation Sunday is celebrated in many congregations the last weekend in October. I was privileged to be asked to read one of the lessons during a Reformation Worship at the National Cathedral in Washington DC this past weekend. The reading was from Deuteronomy 6:1-9. As I walked down the aisle in a processional behind flowing red streamers singing “A Mighty Fortress” with hundreds as it echoed in this cavernous building, I couldn’t help but reflect on what a gift it is to be able to read the Bible and sing hymns of adoration, praise, and scripture every week in worship and everyday in my home. If Martin Luther hadn’t nailed the 95 thesis on the door in Wittenberg, I wonder where I would be today. Would I even be familiar with a scripture verse that has had a major impact on my life and changed my family life?

Memorizing scripture embeds it in the mind and goes straight to the heart. The easiest way to memorize scripture is the way the brain learns through the arts, motion, and music. For more than a decade I have been helping congregations to understand the importance of giving parents tools and a means to be the primary teacher of faith in their own child’s life. The tools are simple: The Bible, scripture songs, and an enjoyable, comfortable setting where we learn together. No one is expected to “know it all”. Everyone is both a student and a teacher. Parents learn to read scripture, pray with, and bless their children at home.                                       

Thank you Martin Luther! Were it not for you we wouldn’t be revolutionizing the way we learn scripture through reading it for ourselves, highlighting it in the Bible, singing and signing it.

I invite you to reflect on the gifts Martin Luther has brought to you in your life and to the life of your congregation. In what ways have you been encouraged to “Keep these words?”             

How do you go about reciting them to the children, binding them on hands, and writing them on the doorposts of homes?

 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deut. 6:4-9

Scripture for the Day

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing;it is the gift of God."  Ephesians 2:8