Callahan's Third Key Applied to Sunday School

A few weeks ago, I began reviewing (in between other posts), Kennon Callahan's Twelve Keys to an Effective Church, and applying them to Sunday School. These keys, taken together, provide a great tool for renewed effort toward excellence.

Callahan's Third Key is "corporate, dynamic worship" (his word order and punctuation, not mine). Worship is a primary activity for the Church; it plays a lesser role within the 60 to 75 minutes most congregation's have for Sunday School. And the connection between Sunday School and worship is extremely important as well. Let's look briefly at each.

The Congregation's Worship
The vitality of the congregation's worship affects the health and growth of the congregation and indirectly the health and growth of the Sunday School as well, especially when a worshiping congregation that welcomes and involves children in the Divine Service. You can read more about my thoughts in a previous post by clicking here.

Worship in the Sunday School
Worship plays two important roles within the context of the Sunday School itself. It is a worship opportunity, and it is an educational opportunity.

Opening and closing devotions, whether done as an individual class or larger segment of the Sunday School provide unique opportunities for children to experience worship that is tailored to their specific levels of development, reading ability, and interest. Child-friendly hymns and songs, opportunity for individual prayer concerns to be addressed, and even object lessons or devotional thoughts targeted for children are all possible in a much greater degree than in the Divine Service.

What resources do you find most helpful in classroom devotions or department-wide worship? What resources should your publishing house be providing?

These opening and closing devotions are also an important, even vital, opportunity to teach the elements of corporate worship to children. We can explain the vocabulary used in the parts of the liturgy. We can teach the refrains, such as the Alleluia and Verse, that come and go so quickly in the service that some children are "left in the dust." We can help children memorize the creed and the Lord's Prayer so that their participation in the worship can be more meaningful. We can teach them how to follow the hymn texts from one staff of music to the next in the hymnal. In these ways and more, we can ensure that children grow into full participation in the congregation's worship.

How well does your curriculum integrate the elements of the Divine Service (hymns and liturgy) into classroom/Sunday School worship? What more would you like to see?

Time spend in Sunday School preparing children for and leading them in worship is not wasted. It is excellent Christian education!

God bless you as you teach God's Word (in liturgy and song) to His children.