Choosing a curriculum for any program in Children’s ministry is an increasing challenge and constant learning process, but also one of the primary responsibilities of the director. The challenge is that there is so much out there, and I hate to say it, but the majority of it ends up as moralistic teachings and character development, which is hardly worth the glossy paper it’s printed on. And the other challenge is that there is no perfect curriculum out there that will fit exactly what you need, and to be honest, I wouldn’t want one to exist anyway. If there was a perfect curriculum that fit every need, I have a feeling we would get pretty lazy and forget that it’s about the relationships we build, rather than the perfectly easy components of a quick lesson.
Above all we are to cloak our decisions in prayer, and move ahead in faith that the Holy Spirit is accomplishing his work in our weakness. Here are some of the questions I ask when choosing a curriculum:
1) What is the vision of the Children’s Ministry of Christ Church? (Worship, Discipleship, growth in grace, covenantal theology)
2) Are the lessons moral based (i.e. outward action) or heart based (inner transformation that leads to outward action)?
3) Doctrinal purity, in line with the Presbyterian faith. What is the publisher’s view of Scripture?
4) What are the social factors of our church? (how many kids, family backgrounds, age groups, special needs)
5) Year round curriculum? Thematic or topical?
6) Is the curriculum learner based, with an emphasis toward different learning styles?
7) How much of the activity is entertainment, media based (DVDs, etc.) rather than application, interaction (definitely my preference)? Is it fad-based?
8) Cost—what can our budget afford?
Curriculum, though very important, is simply a single tool to be used in a full toolbox of options. It is the teachers, the parents and the covenantal community of Christ Church that will make an everlasing difference in the lives of our children. Additional tools of music (hymns and worship songs), catechism, and bible memory are also necessary for the answer of why we believe the stories we learn on Sunday morning.
So, with all that fresh in your minds, here is the current list of curriculae we are using this Fall 2009 semester of the Christ Church PCA Children’s Ministry:
Nursery/Preschool Worship Hour: We are attempting to integrate more worship styles in the nursery and preschool times so that our children will know that Sundays are special, and are all about learning and worshipping our Lord and Savior. So, we use FaithWeavers and GCP's Show Me Jesus.
Children’s Worship: John Piper’s Children Desiring God mid-week curriculum, 26 weeks of worshipping the Creator through the first chapter of Genesis, called: He Has Been Clearly Seen!
Preschool Sunday School hour: Children’s Ministry International’s Catechism program.
K-5th Grade Sunday School: Group’s FaithWeavers 3 year rotational, through the Bible curriculum. Strengths: Solid Bible teaching that includes all 8 levels of learning, every age learns the same story at the same time, with a deeper understanding as the child matures in the faith. We separate the boys and girls during lesson time which is preceded by a half hour long conjoined age group for music and Bible memory.
4th-5th Grade boys: David C. Cook's Reformation Press upper elementary series.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Whisper of Scripture
If you don't have this book, buy it. If you don't have children, buy it. If you do have children, buy it. If you're looking for ways to improve your storytelling, buy it. If you breathe in oxygen, buy it. Now.
Am I making myself clear?
The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name
I can't even describe how amazing this book is, and if you already have it, you're nodding your head in complete agreement. Written by Sally Lloyd Jones and Illustrated by Jago, it is a far cry from the typical Children's Bible. Note: This is not a Children's Bible (and if you're looking for a good Children's Bible, that subject will come up in a future posting of comparing that strange breed of Bibles).
It is a story book, picking out some of the greatest stories in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation and continually pointing to the central person of Jesus. So essentially, it is accomplishing what the Bible has been telling us all along: those stories are all just sentences in a single epic story of God. If you want to know how to teach an Old Testament Bible story to your kids that is faithful to Scripture but is directly speaking about Jesus, this is the best tutorial you will ever receive. I've definitely learned some things! And forget about the moralistic anecdotes you often find in these kinds of books...this is a story book about blinding grace. And the pictures...I wish I could decorate our church nursery with such vivid beauty!
A quote:
No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne – everything – to rescue the ones he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life… There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the centre of the Story there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle – the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.
Buy it. Or wait until Oct. 1 and buy the Deluxe Edition, with the incredible David Suchet (any Poirot fans out there? tap tap. Is this thing on?) reading from cover to cover. Actually, buy 2 or 3, and give them to your neighbors with a batch of cookies and invite them to Christ Church sometime. In the din of this chaotic world, here's hoping the whisper of Scripture will keep reaching our ears.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Remember to Remember
The Fall is alive and kicking as of this first Sunday in September here at Christ Church! I keep stepping outside expecting to hear the crunching leaves beneath my feet and the beautiful spine-tinglings of a hearty bite of a chill in the air. But alas, I am rudely reminded that a forceful wind blew me here to this wet blanket called Florida, and I slide into my rusting hatchback with a broken air conditioner and scroll down my windows to find a daily stormy gale deluging through my window and onto my lap. Death by heat exhaustion or drowning. Yippee.
All that to say that even with the disappointing weather, this is my favorite time of the year. I find myself encountering a fresh new budget wiped clean, a desk piled high with colorful curricula and the overwhelming sense that I am in way over my head yet again. So many dreams have been built up and sinful doubts start to creep in, saying, not enough people, not enough funds, not enough time, not enough experience, just, well, not enough.
So after waking up with another migraine and feeling sorry for myself, I took a step back from all of that today and reflected on the past year of Children's Ministry here at Christ Church. The cure for self-pity is always remembering God's heaping helpings of grace. You'd think I'd know that by now, but I need constant reminders.
Like vines in the vineyard…
--Watching a Kindergartner over the last 12 months learn how to pray. When he first started, it was all mumbles, and drifted off to awkward silence after mere moments of folding our hands. Now, I can barely contain him each Sunday as he raises his hand to lead us in prayer before each snack, with beautiful prayers full of the relationship he is building with His father in Heaven. Last Sunday I told him that I loved hearing him pray, and that many adults in this world are afraid of praying aloud the way he so eagerly does each week. “Why are they afraid?” He asked, utterly confused. I pray he will never know this fear and will continue to witness through years and years of simple and thoughtful conversations in the throne room.
--Listening to the sweet songs of our children each week during Sunday School. I hate to miss it for even a moment. The spasms of boyhood briefly stop just long enough to sing “A mighty fortress is our God” with a little shyness yet a deepening understanding. Oh, and please, just take the time soon to dance and sing side by side with a 5 year old during corporate worship…I guarantee you will have a better grasp of the joyful canvas of true worship.
--Month after month of memorizing the Apostles Creed together, of learning how to draw a map of Israel, of imprinting catechism and the books of the Bible so that Scripture would become more real to them. Sure, they might moan and groan at another pop quiz, but when life hits them head on, I love to know that the tools they’ll need will be written on their hearts and easily found on the pages at their fingertips.
--Changing diapers and knowing that one simple smile and sweetest giggle from the smallest of infants can change your entire perspective of the day at hand. Count all those fingers and toes again. Smell their hair, and hold them close to your heart. Multiply that with all the babies we are having here at Christ Church, and our joy is overwhelming. God is so good. And that job is so important.
--Living in the moment with each child each week. They are overflowing with stories of God’s grace if you take the time to ask them about it. During Children’s worship we learn how the air we breathe, the frogs we catch, the trees we climb, the friends we make and the painful moments in our lives are all a part of the walk we share together. Last week the children took big gulps of air and marveled at how powerful air is in their life, which led us to discussing how our God is also invisible, but made visible in Creation with more power and majesty than we could ever imagine. And they got it. Romans 1:20 was a no-brainer to them. Wow.
--Watching our crew of teachers love each child with divine purpose, and continue to not only show up, but give their hearts and time with a sweetness and light for which I daily rejoice. What a blessing they are to so many on this kingdom mission.
--Being asked by 2nd graders how best to evangelize their classmates and invite them to church on a Sunday morning. If that doesn't humble my heart, nothing will.
Sigh. There’s so much more. So many names and faces. In writing out a list of God’s grace from this past year in the Children’s ministry this morning, I discovered 12 typed pages. And I know that I missed 99 percent of how God worked in our lives, but still, I’m praising God for this wealth of riches.
We need your prayers, Christ Church. Things are happening. They aren’t loud and flashy, and most people might glance in and find plenty lacking, but I am certain that we have witnessed the singing of angels and the footsteps of the King of Kings dance among us and gather the hearts of His children within the walls of this church and into the four corners of Jacksonville.
Oh, I know. We’re not done, there’s a lot to do, and there's a lot I still don't know. And I can get plenty anxious by the thought that there’s just not enough.
And you know what? I’m right, I’m definitely not enough. But He is. And I need to remember that this is enough for His ministry. His calling. His children.
All that to say that even with the disappointing weather, this is my favorite time of the year. I find myself encountering a fresh new budget wiped clean, a desk piled high with colorful curricula and the overwhelming sense that I am in way over my head yet again. So many dreams have been built up and sinful doubts start to creep in, saying, not enough people, not enough funds, not enough time, not enough experience, just, well, not enough.
So after waking up with another migraine and feeling sorry for myself, I took a step back from all of that today and reflected on the past year of Children's Ministry here at Christ Church. The cure for self-pity is always remembering God's heaping helpings of grace. You'd think I'd know that by now, but I need constant reminders.
Like vines in the vineyard…
--Watching a Kindergartner over the last 12 months learn how to pray. When he first started, it was all mumbles, and drifted off to awkward silence after mere moments of folding our hands. Now, I can barely contain him each Sunday as he raises his hand to lead us in prayer before each snack, with beautiful prayers full of the relationship he is building with His father in Heaven. Last Sunday I told him that I loved hearing him pray, and that many adults in this world are afraid of praying aloud the way he so eagerly does each week. “Why are they afraid?” He asked, utterly confused. I pray he will never know this fear and will continue to witness through years and years of simple and thoughtful conversations in the throne room.
--Listening to the sweet songs of our children each week during Sunday School. I hate to miss it for even a moment. The spasms of boyhood briefly stop just long enough to sing “A mighty fortress is our God” with a little shyness yet a deepening understanding. Oh, and please, just take the time soon to dance and sing side by side with a 5 year old during corporate worship…I guarantee you will have a better grasp of the joyful canvas of true worship.
--Month after month of memorizing the Apostles Creed together, of learning how to draw a map of Israel, of imprinting catechism and the books of the Bible so that Scripture would become more real to them. Sure, they might moan and groan at another pop quiz, but when life hits them head on, I love to know that the tools they’ll need will be written on their hearts and easily found on the pages at their fingertips.
--Changing diapers and knowing that one simple smile and sweetest giggle from the smallest of infants can change your entire perspective of the day at hand. Count all those fingers and toes again. Smell their hair, and hold them close to your heart. Multiply that with all the babies we are having here at Christ Church, and our joy is overwhelming. God is so good. And that job is so important.
--Living in the moment with each child each week. They are overflowing with stories of God’s grace if you take the time to ask them about it. During Children’s worship we learn how the air we breathe, the frogs we catch, the trees we climb, the friends we make and the painful moments in our lives are all a part of the walk we share together. Last week the children took big gulps of air and marveled at how powerful air is in their life, which led us to discussing how our God is also invisible, but made visible in Creation with more power and majesty than we could ever imagine. And they got it. Romans 1:20 was a no-brainer to them. Wow.
--Watching our crew of teachers love each child with divine purpose, and continue to not only show up, but give their hearts and time with a sweetness and light for which I daily rejoice. What a blessing they are to so many on this kingdom mission.
--Being asked by 2nd graders how best to evangelize their classmates and invite them to church on a Sunday morning. If that doesn't humble my heart, nothing will.
Sigh. There’s so much more. So many names and faces. In writing out a list of God’s grace from this past year in the Children’s ministry this morning, I discovered 12 typed pages. And I know that I missed 99 percent of how God worked in our lives, but still, I’m praising God for this wealth of riches.
We need your prayers, Christ Church. Things are happening. They aren’t loud and flashy, and most people might glance in and find plenty lacking, but I am certain that we have witnessed the singing of angels and the footsteps of the King of Kings dance among us and gather the hearts of His children within the walls of this church and into the four corners of Jacksonville.
Oh, I know. We’re not done, there’s a lot to do, and there's a lot I still don't know. And I can get plenty anxious by the thought that there’s just not enough.
And you know what? I’m right, I’m definitely not enough. But He is. And I need to remember that this is enough for His ministry. His calling. His children.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
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