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The Bible Society of India / The Book Room

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Session 1: Surprise Beginning!

Hi everyone, welcome to all. We are grateful to you for joining the Life on Life Sunday School Teachers’ Training Curriculum. We trust that it will be a great blessing to you and the Sunday School children you minister to.

Let’s start this session with a small game. Kindly stand up in your respective places. Each of can pick a balloon, blow it, and tie it up. After that, you should keep all of the balloons in the air for one minute. I will keep track of the time. If a balloon falls on the floor, pick it up and put it into motion again.

Hope you enjoyed the game, thank you so much. You may be seated now.

I would like to invite two volunteers to come forward. Collect the balloons from the others and give them to them. You should keep all your balloons in the air and not let them fall on the ground.

That was fun, but it was also hard work. This activity helps us to understand what it is like to teach children. Teaching children is fun, but it is also hard work, just like keeping the balloons in the air. As a Sunday School teacher or a children’s ministry leader, you have lots of responsibility to keep children’s attention. Those responsibilities are like keeping these balloons in the air. You have to keep all of the children moving in the right direction without them getting distracted.

What are the important things you must do in order to be an effective Sunday School teacher or children’s ministry leader? Here are a few points.

1. Spend a lot of time preparing the lesson.

2. Please see to it that the children are paying attention.

3. You need to help them to understand what is being taught.

4. You need to lead them into a deeper understanding of who Jesus is.

5. You have to tell the stories with enthusiasm.

6. Please ask questions that cause children to think.

7. You need to handle any problems related to indiscipline.

8. Kindly be prepared to deal with unexpected crises.

9. You often need to do follow-up after the class.

10. Please remember to pray for each child.

11. You need to pray daily for yourself and the children’s families.

Wow! Who can keep all those balloons in the air without dropping any of them? None, right. In the same way, keeping the children’s attention and bringing them to God in our human strength is impossible. None of us can do that without God’s help.

According to Acts 1:8, we can be a witness to Christ only by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

Kindly stand as we look to Him in prayer. Let’s pray.

Dear Lord, I thank You for the opportunity to learn from the Life on Life Curriculum. Thank You for all those who could partake in today’s session. Lord, bless them, and also the children who participate in their Sunday Schools. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

I praise and thank God that He chose you to be a Sunday School teacher. We have to humbly acknowledge that this task is beyond our human ability. That is why we need to ask the Lord to empower us with His Holy Spirit to teach His Word to the children and pray daily for the children’s spiritual growth.

Thank you for joining us and I trust that you liked the first session, Surprise Beginning. In our next session, you will learn about God’s heart for children. Hope to see you then, may God bless you.

• Take a moment and write something new that you learned in this session.