The Best Way’s of Teaching Sunday School
Teaching Sunday School Still a great method to disciple teens.
So you’re feeling urged to teach Sunday School? Been tapped on the shoulder by the Holy Spirit to get involved? Terrified that if you sit down with a bunch of Middle Schoolers your brain will go blank? Then this web site is just for you!
For years churches have been ignoring the junior high age kids, dumping them in with the high school group or letting them languish in the elementary age classes. “There’s only a few,” the elders rationalize, “As long as they’re quiet.” You, however, have become appalled at this treatment and must help. While Junior High ministry can be time and resource consuming that can not be used as an excuse for sidestepping the discipleship of our youth. Survey data now shows that 90% of kids make a decision to leave the church when they are in middle school.
Sunday School Done Properly
Sunday School done properly is a time-tested, effective method of discipleship but it must be a family oriented ministry.family oriented ministry. However, due to a lack of volunteers many churches are discontinuing their programs completely. I feel that the rational that students become dependent upon the program or the adult mentor for spiritual growth is a copout. One bad result, however, is that parents have abdicated their responsibility of discipling their kids to the youth leaders.
It does require a strong commitment on the part of the teacher. Parents, teachers, and churches must accept the responsibility for our kids as the family of Christ. As a Sunday School teacher you will have a pivotal mentoring role in the lives of your students long after they graduate. This website is full of helpful ideas and youth ministry resources.
Help! I’m A Volunteer Youth Worker
By Doug Fields / Zondervan/Youth Specialties
Help! I’m a Volunteer Youth Worker! gives you the basics for successfully reaching teenagers whether you’re an old hand at youth work or you’ve just signed on. These fifty, bite-sized suggestions are easy to remember and put into practice. They include tips on: How to build relationships with students, How to recruit and train other volunteers, How to get along with the pastor and youth director, How to model Christian love to your students, and more!
If you’re a professional youth worker looking for new ways to encourage and empower your volunteer youth workers, just hand them a copy of Help! I’m a Volunteer Youth Worker! And don’t forget to consult the book yourself–because you’re guaranteed to find great ideas for youth work that maybe even you hadn’t thought of.
Sunday School must be done differently than before.
Remember when you were a kid? Your Sunday School teacher dressed you in your Dad’s white shirt, attached a giant red plastic bow and shoved you on stage in front of the whole church? You were mortified. Then why are these kids, now parents themselves, subjecting they’re kids to the abuse? Soak up the advice contained on this website to make your Sunday School class fun, relevant, and successful. The book, Controlled Chaos: Making Sense of Junior High Ministry
Middle School Ministry: A Comprehensive Guide to Working with Early Adolescents
By Mark Oestreicher & Scott Rubin / Zondervan/Youth Specialties
You’re one of the few, the proud, the brave middle school youth-worker-which means that you’re a person who some might consider a little nuts, while other look at you in awe. But no matter what anyone else thinks, you know that being in the trenches with middle-schoolers requires a unique set of skills and knowledge. Middle School Ministry is the only comprehensive guide to ministry with young teens (11-14). In these pages you’ll find everything you need to understand and effectively minister to middle schoolers.
Play with them.
1Corinthians 9:19-22 “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” (NIV)
Could we say “To a kid, become like kid, to win the kids?” You don’t have to be cool but you must be authentic. Actually you can be yourself but meet the kids on their level. Don’t insist that they meet you on yours. Don’t be afraid to be silly or outrageous: Play with them.
101 Ideas for Making Disciples in Your Youth Group
By Kent Julian / Zondervan/Youth Specialties
Veteran youth worker Julian invites you to explore missional ACTS that really work with teens! Adoration of a God who moves in our lives; Community based on Christ’s love; Truth-and-Grace, making Scripture central to belief and behavior; Serving the whole person and sharing the gospel. Includes 25 hands-on activities that fit your ministry!
Ridgity in your rules:
If you insist the kids act and dress in your preconceived ways you are doomed. Making them dress in button down shirts with ties, girls in dresses, making them call you Mr., Sir, or Mrs. will just turn them off. You must let the kids be kids.
My three rules:
1. No fighting.
2. No farting.
3. No screaming.
4. No spit wads.
We had to add that last one after a long car trip back from Acquire the Fire. Other than that I keep it pretty loose. Note: I don’t have a dress code but I do have a stink code.
Make your class or meeting less like school. Let the kids be kids by giving them the chance to do everything they aren’t allowed to do at school, like chew gum, text their friends, throw paper airplanes (no spit wads), and talk without raising their hands. This creates a relaxed atmosphere.
Teaching That Makes a Difference: How to Teach for Teens for Holistic Impact
By Dan Lambert / Zondervan/Youth Specialties
This book will help teachers in a variety of Christian youth ministry settings more effectively to plan and to teach so that their efforts will genuinely impact the lives of the teens they serve. This long-needed book will be used by professional youth workers to enhance their own practice; will equip volunteers; and will become a foundational text in college and seminary classrooms.
This book is a comprehensive, research-informed text whose passion is fueled by the urgent need in youth ministry to better reach students, to inform them about God’s will for their lives, and to have students experience change in their lives they can experience beyond the youth-group setting. No other text in print so fully helps youth workers teach teens holistically. This book combines adolescent development theory, educational theory, and practical applications and ideas. With this book’s comprehensive outlook, teachers and youth leaders can have greater opportunities for a richer impact on students for the sake of the Gospel.
My bodyguard:
So I didn’t have to be distracted from the teaching aspect of youth group I was blessed to have a parent volunteer like this six foot plus, contractor. He kept a lid on things while I taught. For the most part he’d just sit himself between the “unruly young’uns”. You either made room or got sat on. It worked well. Even though his son graduated out of the youth group this dad developed into a loving extended parent for the youth. Jump to my blog for more information on parents and adults in youth ministry.
Sunday School:
You want your class to be as little like a school classroom as you can. More like hanging out. See my page on Youth Facilities. In addition: No need to raise hands to speak, get a snack if you want. See my page on using rewards with more about teaching style.
When the class grew over twenty kids I actually used a PA system to amplify my voice so I didn’t have to shout over the kids. We’d pass the mic around for them to read Bible verses. That just made it even more fun.
The New Breed, Second Edition
By Jonathan McKee & Thomas W. McKee / Group Publishing
The world of volunteers has changed. But have you changed also?
Across the country, volunteer ranks continue to grow, but people are volunteering differently. They’re working online, seeking flexible schedules, and pursuing a role in defining how projects should be completed. They want to feel a sense of responsibility for your organization’s overall mission.
Put simply, these volunteers don’t simply want to make a contribution; they want to make a difference!
Making A Difference
Jonathan and Thomas McKee have tapped into their decades of experience with the simple goal of helping you recruit, anage, and lead a new breed of volunteers. They’ll guide you to a clearer understanding of what today’s volunteers look like, how they want to get involved, and how you can most effectively attract, train, and unleash them within your organization.
You’ll also discover a bounty of helpful resources to assist you, including job descriptions, applications, and interview questions; activities, icebreakers, and team-builders for volunteer meetings; community building activities; and tips for board retreats and planning sessions.
The 21st century calls for a new system and for a greatly expanded definition of what it means to be a volunteer. If you can harness this passion and potential, you’ll experience results that will reward both your organization and your volunteers.
The Skinny on Volunteers: A Big Youth Ministry Topic in a Single Little Book
Many of us don’t do much when it comes to mobilizing volunteers and equipping them for ministry. Our plate is already full, and building a great team sounds like yet another task to add to the list.
But what if your efforts to mobilize and equip volunteers actually lightened your schedule? What if this investment of time actually paid back double, quadruple, or even tenfold?
The Skinny on Volunteers will help you concentrate on three simple skills that will help you mobilize and equip leaders: recruiting, keeping, and training volunteers.
Yes, volunteers take time. But you’ll discover the rewards of investing in a team of people who will love teenagers, connect with them, and disciple them.
Discipline in class:
See my article: “Respect the kids“
Never yell at the kids. Yelling may be the easiest way to express your displeasure with a students behavior and it may at times be effective, but, the net result is that all the kids who witness this will lose respect for you and you’ll have a harder time getting their cooperation later.
The Love and Logic books have great tips for teachers as well as parents.
Jesus said: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) He wasn’t saying, “If you want to prove you love me, do what I say.” He was saying, Because you love me you’ll want to do what I teach.” Apply this to your teaching methods. If your kids love you, they will cooperate. Get your kids to love you then you’ll have very few problems. See also “Piercing Preteen Armor”
Partnering with Parents in Youth Ministry: The Practical Guide to Today’s Family-Based Youth Ministry
By Jim Burns & Mike DeVries / Bethany House
The most powerful force in a young person’s life is his or her family. The importance of this is pointed out in the writing of the Torah in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, where believers are mandated to pass their family legacies to the next generations.
The newest trend in youth ministry today is a very healthy move toward family-based ministry, a mind-set that helps the church act as a support system, while placing discipleship and training back into the hands of family. Partnering with Parents in Youth Ministry will help youth workers understand their unique role in helping families succeed and will give an overview strategy of family-based youth ministry, as well as practical ideas on implementing this awesome ministry in your church.
Encourage Parents to get in the game.
I’ve actually seen parents knees go weak as they’ve walked towards the Youth Building. They hear the commotion, they’re legs get wobbly, they turn and stagger away in fear. It doesn’t have to be that way. For more great advice on this issue click here. Tell the parents these two things: Approach the kids in a friendly manner and they will reciprocate. The rewards are huge. You’ll make an everlasting difference in their lives.
Here’s the only advice you’ll need to be a hit with kids:
1. Take them seriously: Listen to what they say; do not dismiss their feelings or thoughts.
2. Respect them: Give them the same respect you’d give a grownup.
99 Thoughts for Volunteers
By Danette Matty / Group Publishing
Youth ministry volunteers serve the teens in their ministry as well as the youth ministry leader of the church. Drawing from her 25 years as a youth volunteer, Danette Matty wants to equip, encourage and empower others like her in this essential role. You will glean practical tips and insights to work with teens, parents, and church leaders and you will see the lasting impact of your service.
Family-Based Youth Ministry
After seeing appalling abuses of the term ”family-based” youth ministry I need to weigh in on the subject. Some churches have actually scrapped their youth ministry and Sunday Schools in preference of their misinterpretation of the concept of a “family-based” youth ministry. In reality this is actually a reaction to the lack of committed volunteers and/ or their lack of commitment to fund a Youth Pastor staff position. These churches now feel justified in shirking their responsibility to train the youth in Christian principles arguing that these separate classes and groups take the youth out of the life of the church body.
In his book, “Family-Based Youth Ministry”, Mark DeVries does make the assertion that the current youth group model we have been following, if that is all a church is doing for it’s youth, fails the youth by not connecting them with adults within the body of the church. I think these church leaders only read chapter three, found the rational to be lazy, then stopped reading. At the end of (read more)
Family-Based Youth Ministry Revised and Expanded
By Mark DeVries / InterVarsity Press
In a culture that worships youth even as it abandons its young, this book gets adults, families and congregations involved. If you are disappointed with the results from the glitzy programs and entertaining activities you’ve used with your church’s young people, then this is the book for you. Family-Based Youth Ministry is a multigenerational approach that takes seriously the job of discipling teens and building mature believers. This revised and updated edition continues to hold out its bold challenge: Young people belong in the life of their church, and the church belongs in the lives of its youth. Now featured is free curriculum for use with youth and young adults together.
