Be Careful What You Promise Your Volunteers

I've heard it said in a business context, "Under-promise and over-deliver." That's, of course, to counter the natural tendency of some to "over-promise and under-deliver."

"Over-promising," when it comes to volunteer enlistment is deadly. "It's easy!" "The curriculum does the work for you!" "You can just show up and teach." "The kids in this class are all angels."

Nor is "under-promising" a road to successful enlistment.

It seems that your mother was probably right: be honest, do your best, take responsibility, and forgive failure.

Be honest. Tell your potential volunteer exactly what you think the task will take. Tell them what skills and abilities you see that they have to do the task successfully. And be honest about what you will do to help them.

Do your best. Do everything you can to help your volunteer succeed. Provide orientation and training. Stand alongside the volunteer and coach through their first couple classes. Check back to see how they are doing. Don't short-change them in terms of providing all the necessary resources.

Take responsibility. If things don't go well at some point, be ready to support and defend the volunteer, and to assist in getting things back on track. If the volunteer decides to step down, offer sincere thanks, free from guilt, and learn from the experience what you can do better next time.

Forgive failure. Both in the volunteer, and in yourself. In this fallen world, things don't always work out. God forgives our failure; so should we.

Know that every minute and every dollar you invest in a volunteer to help them succeed is worth it, because the task you share has eternal results: forgiveness, life, and salvation for God's children.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Hidden Costs of Free Material

I know that churches face tight budgets. I pray fervently that congregations would be spared making choices between increasing the sub-standard pay for their church workers or purchasing quality material for their Sunday School. The lure of free Sunday School material may be hard to resist.

But consider these hidden costs of free material.

• Loss of color art. Free material is usually all black and white. Gone is the full-color art work, craft pages, and stickers found in material that costs something. Loss of art results in less realism, and less comprehension.
• Cost of photocopies. Most free material is available through Internet download or perhaps as files on a CD; it offers exclusively reproducible student material. The local church is on the hook to print no only the teacher guides, but also all the student material. And, as most church workers know, copies on the church copier are not really free.
• Expectation of quality. There is a subtle price we pay in what we expect of free material. "Okay, there are some typos, but it's free." "Well, no, it's not really Lutheran, but it's free." "It's a little more work for our leaders and volunteers, but it's free."
• Weak theological content. This one deserves to be mentioned again. I have yet to see free Sunday School material with strong biblical, Christ-centered, truly Lutheran content.
• Lack of doctrinal review. This is the reason, of course, for weak doctrine: no free Sunday School curriculum offered today goes through the doctrinal review process used by all entities of The Lutheran Church---Missouri Synod.  

Is it truly worth using free material if it fails to teach God's clear Word of Law and Gospel? Near the end of his reign King David was moved to offer a sacrifice in thanks for God's compassion in the face of David's sin. Ironically, the sacrifice was made in the spot that would eventually become the location of Solomon's temple. David bought both the place of sacrifice and the wood and oxen from a Jebusite named Araunah, though Araunah had offered to give them to David for free. David's response? “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24).

God bless you are you teach His children His Word.

What Is the Best Price for Sunday School Material?

I hear it all the time. "We can't afford to buy that curriculum for our Sunday School."

So, I have to ask, "What is the right price for Sunday School material?" For too many churches, pastors, DCEs, and Sunday School leaders the quick answer will be "Free."

The question behind it all is "How much is it worth to you? How much do you value it?" For a small Sunday School, the cost for each child could amount to $12-$15 dollars each quarter. A larger Sunday School may have a slightly lower per pupil cost with more children in each classroom. That price has not changed dramatically over the past 20 years, though it has increased some as costs for other things have risen.

If Sunday School is perceived only as an expense, the cost will always be too high. But if Sunday School is seen as an investment in the spiritual lives of children, your children, the value would seem to be priceless, worth any cost. That argument will never convince an accountant, but it might be worth discussing with those whose responsibility it is to provide Christian nurture for children. Does the Sunday School material you use bring eternal value to children?

Therein lies the real cost of free material, or low priced material. It that material is not rich in the Gospel, the pearl without price, it may be "worth less," that is, worth every penny you didn't pay for it.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

How Does Video Fit?

It seems more and more that video is an integral part of the Sunday School experience in some churches. What can video do?

• It can tell the Bible story or part of the story.
• It can introduce a concept.
• It can provoke critical thinking.
• It can prompt discussion.
• It can illustrate life application.
• It can explain content.

It seems there would be some obvious rules guiding the use of video in Sunday School.

• It should present Scripture accurately.
• It should support clear teaching of Law and Gospel.
• It should assist the teaching role, not replace it.
• It should be integrated into the lesson through introduction and follow-up discussion. 
• It does not need to be long; usually 2 or 3 minutes is enough.
• It should not be used merely to entertain.

Our current Sunday School materials are supported in the middle school and high school levels by carefully selected, brief video clips. You can find them on the Concordia Publishing House channel on YouTube, or you can access easily through our Sunday School website (browse to cph.org/sundayschool, click "Tools," and scroll down to "Middle/High School Videos"; they are arranged by Old Testament units). And it is likely that video will be a component of the next generation of Sunday School material from CPH.

How do you use video in your Sunday School?

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!