The children's Christmas service is a wonderful teaching opportunity in and of itself. It not only teaches God's Word, Law and Gospel, to the children (I hope and pray that this is so), but it provides an opportunity for the children to be the teachers, sharing God's wonderful Christmas Gospel with the congregation members, family, and friends who attend. It is an event that offers spectacular visibility for your Sunday School within the congregation and in your community. By all means, continue this tradition in your congregation or begin it.
But don't let it crowd out the Sunday School's agenda for teaching the Bible's salvation narrative in an organized sequence of lessons. Keep this main thing the main thing, even in December. Here are some tips for preparing for the Christmas service with a minimum or disruption.
- Use the musical selections of the service in school-wide or classroom openings and closing in December.
- Practice for the service outside of Sunday School time. I had mostly seen these rehearsals run on a couple of Saturday mornings in December. Yes, it is another family commitment during a very busy time of the year, but parents are usually highly committed to this event. If they understand that the Saturday rehearsals are the price of participating in it, they will usually bite the bullet and make it work. (And it can be a great kid-free shopping window, though you don't have to advertise it as such.)
- If using some Sunday time is essential to make it work, don't surrender the entire hour. Use a half hour. Or keep the kids for an extra 20 minutes after class for rehearsal.
- Send home unused Sunday School materials (leaflets and craft pages) with the children with a note suggesting how they can be used to teach or review the lesson at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment