If you've followed this blog for very long, you will not be surprised to hear me say that the heart of Sunday School is sharing the Gospel of salvation through Christ with God's children.
Since that is the case, one could wonder why I have been slow to buy into the workshop rotation model of Sunday School.
Workshop Rotation
The workshop rotation model chooses to focus on just a few Bible accounts each year. The selected sections of Scripture are taught through several workshops (drama, video, art/crafts, cooking, and many others). Children attend a different workshop each week and study the same Bible account for three, four, or five weeks in a row. There are some significant positive aspects to this model. Repetition is a powerful teaching tool; students are likely to learn the Bible account and its application to their lives well through the month of instruction. Variety in learning styles are accommodated in the different workshops. A student who must miss an occasional week of Sunday School will not miss an entire lesson. Assuming that Law and Gospel are applied in each workshop and that the Gospel predominates in the instruction, I can certainly affirm this model.
Biblical Literacy
The workshop rotation model offers depth in biblical instruction. What it lacks is breadth. The students will encounter only ten or twelve Bible stories a year. This compares to the potential for learning forty or fifty Bible stories a year in a more traditional model.
The Bible is a library of books that together recount the amazing record of God's creation and preservation of a chosen people through whom and to whom He sends His Son, Jesus, as the Messiah, the Savior from sin, death, and Satan and the giver of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Students who learn the full scope of salvation history over time will be better able to understand and connect the various accounts in the Bible and find application to their lives. They will see God's love through a broader array of varied Gospel images. And, assuming that Law and Gospel are applied in each lesson and that the Gospel predominates in the instruction, the broader approach will provide both proclamation of the Gospel and increased biblical literacy.
From my perspective, it is a better way to teach God's children His Word.
What am I missing?
What approach do you take in your congregation?
In starting to use workshop rotation this year, we have seen an increase in the excitement of the kids and the teachers, a lessening of teacher burnout as lessons are shared, and most importantly, a greater retention of the Bible stories and their main points by both staff and kids.
ReplyDeleteRandy Keyes
Christ Lutheran, Lansing