Janice Whittingham offers some tips on how to choose between the abundance of materials and courses available for Scripture and Sunday School teachers.

A small church office with a guillotine, photocopier and twelve eight-year-old boys was a nightmare! My first Sunday School class, a young Christian myself, and I didn’t have God’s perspective on things. My ministry was shaped more by my part-time McDonald’s party clown job and a desire to entertain children than by God’s Word. I mistakenly thought that ministry to children was about fun rather than faithfulness. Don’t get me wrong, enthusiasm, creativity and fun matter in ministry to children, but faithfulness is what really counts.

God wants us to lovingly, carefully and clearly teach his word to children so that they may know him and grow in him. God wants Sunday School and Scripture teachers to be faithful – faithful followers of King Jesus who depend on our heavenly Father in prayer, who love children with the Lord’s love and who seek to proclaim and explain the Bible so that children understand its mighty truths. Ministry to children is an awesome responsibility and a wonderful privilege.

The aisles of Christian bookshops are full of Children’s Ministry resources. There are plenty of books, CDs, videos and curriculum – cool, crazy and attractively packaged. These same aisles are a minefield for the person who wants to faithfully serve children. Most material claims to be ‘Bible-based’, ‘fun-filled’ and easy to use, and there’s so much out there!

So how do you choose?  I’ve found this simple principle helpful: Will this resource help me to faithfully and clearly teach the Bible to children? This principle raises two critical concerns which should shape our choices: theology matters, and so do children.

The claim to be ‘Bible-based’ is not enough. Will the material help you to “correctly handle the word of truth”? Does it teach what the Bible teaches? Are Bible passages understood in their context? Are doctrines consistent with God’s Word? Truth matters. Evaluation of the theology of resources is very important and if you don’t think you can do it, approach someone. Your minister has been trained in theology for some time and should be willing and able to help you.

Flash packaging and happy kids on the cover guarantee nothing. Will the material help you to teach in a way that children will understand? Is the material grounded in an appreciation of the educational and social development of children? Are lessons presented in appropriate language and are activities do-able? Children are different to us in many ways and are precious. Again, if you don’t feel able to evaluate this aspect of resources, approach someone in your church who can. Trained teachers, parents or grand-parents experienced with a range of children may be able to help you.  And there are books around which deal with the development of children, too.

Careful evaluation of resources is extremely important. It takes time. In planning for our church’s ministry to children for next year, I’ve found the following resources to be fabulous:

• Their God is so Big by Stephanie Carmichael (1) – An excellent training tool for Bible teachers who serve children and a ready reference for information about children and many aspects of ministering to them. A must read!
• Meet the King (2) – This CD teaches through Mark’s Gospel using plenty of great songs, Bible readings and simple explanations. The ten-week teaching program, designed for all age Sunday Schools, includes lessons, activities and the construction of a calico and felt banner. This resource is gold – wonderfully Christ-centred and useable wherever there are children.
• Introductions (3) – a Sunday School Syllabus for young children (Two-and-a-half-year-olds to eight-year-olds). A thorough syllabus designed to help teachers of these ages to know “how to present the material (which is biblically faithful) in a meaningful, memorable and age-appropriate way.” Includes lessons and activities.  Amazingly good!
• PREP (4) – an SRE/Scripture resource for 5-12 year olds.  Recently revised, PREP is bold and faithful in proclaiming the truths of Scripture to unchurched children. May be adapted to a variety of contexts. Some helpful and innovative material.
• All Colin Buchanan CDs for children, as they teach children deep truths about our great God with passion and clarity.
• Bible Story Colouring Pages (5) includes reproducible pictures of all the main Bible stories.
• Sing-Along Songs for Young Children (6) includes two reprod-ucible CDs of songs for pre-schoolers.

A visit to www.sundayschoolresources.com will provide many ideas for ministering to children too, from how to choose a Bible to games and memory verses. Beware, the Internet absorbs much valuable time.

Notes
<font size=“1”> 1 Available from Matthias Media
2 Available from Matthias Media
3 See [url=http://www.teachinglittleones.com]http://www.teachinglittleones.com[/url]
4 Christian education Committee of the Presbyterian Church in NSW 9690 9372
5 Published by Gospel Light
6 Published by Gospel Light </font>

Janice Whittingham attends Alstonville Presbyterian Church and taught her first Sunday School class in 1993.