How To Teach Sunday School

  1. The Tools

    1. The King James Bible - No other Bible is allowed to be taught from. If the verse you are teaching from is hard for your students to understand, it is because it is more profound than just a few easy words! It is an opportunity for you to work harder to make it understood - which is your job as teacher!
    2. Teaching Packs - These are lesson packs that help you with ideas and lesson outlines about the many subjects of the Bible.
    3. Visuals - These are drawings and pictures of people and places in the Bible that you can use to help your students better visualise the Bible lesson as you teach it. They include cut-outs of people, animals, and Bible objects like chariots and crowns, etc.
    4. Object Lessons.
    5. True Life Stories.
    6. Bible Dictionary, and Bible Maps
    7. Prayer! No amount of teaching will ever take the place of walking with God! Your students will know when you have spent time with God, and when you haven't (Acts 4:13)!

  2. The Team - No Rogues Allowed!

    1. Co-labouring WITH Christ Jesus, who is the authority
    2. Co-labouring WITH the Pastor - working under his leadership - working to fulfil his vision and goals for the people in his church
    3. Co-labouring WITH the other teachers

  3. The Target (Mt 28:20) - "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

    1. Souls saved!
    2. Young and older Christians, fed, nourished, and challenged to live for God with zeal, and love!
    3. To be the best teacher possible! This is not a place for half-hearted effort, but fanatical zeal!

     

  4. The Teacher - a Gift from Christ to the local body of believers (Eph 4:11)

    1. Is Saved - Must be a true, born-again, blood-bought child of God (Luke 6:39)!
    2. Is Sensitive - Cares (1 Cor 13:1-4). God doesn't want half-hearted servants (Col 3:23). Pray for your class every day, and weep for those that are not saved, or are rebellious to God's word and work in their lives!
    3. Is Submissive - Loyal - work as a team with the other teachers, and the pastor (Eph 4:11)
      1. To the Book - no opinions, or preconceived ides
      2. To the Pastor - don't do anything that you know he would not approve of
    4. Is Studious - be hungry for God, and willing to study to feed both yourself, and your little flock (2 Tim 2:15). Prepare your lessons during the week, not just on Saturdays! Work hard at preparing your lesson like it is a full-course meal for them to enjoy! The Sunday School teacher must be in all church meetings, when they are not in their class - you need preaching too!
    5. Is Steadfast - faithful, committed to a long-term effort (1 Cor 4:1,2). Be strong in your effort, and never let disappointments, and struggle keep you from fulfilling God's will through you!
    6. Is Serious - you are not dealing just with facts, and places, and events, but with souls (2 Tim 2:21-26)! The children need to know that you believe that what you are teaching is the most important thing to know and live! More important than your own wants, and schedule, and family even!
    7. Is Spirited - Enthusiastic, Spirit Filled, Excited to be able to serve (1 Tim 1:12)! Make every Sunday School exciting, and a special time - your children should want to be there - not HAVE to be there! Always pray and ask God to show you how to lead your flock like Jesus would if He were there, and be as excited as He would be!

  5. The Time in Class - A Suggested Schedule for Class Time

10.15 Arrive at the classroom to setup for class, and to have a brief time of prayer before the kids come

10.30 Arrive in Church for the General Assembly time

10.50 Your kids will arrive down to your classroom - Get them all organized into their chairs

10.55 Start singing some Bible Songs - ask for favourites, and use Song Posters

11.05 Take attendance of those who are there

11.10 Open with prayer - ask the children if they would like to pray for something- like maybe their sister is sick, etc.

11.10 Begin your Lesson Time

11.30 Have a Bible Quiz about the things you taught

11.40 More Bible Songs - Allow the children to stretch their legs and move around

11.45 Craft Time - have something for the students to do with their hands that relates to what you taught them.

12.00 Read a Bible Story out of a Bible Story book (if you have time)

12.10 Close with prayer. Tell the kids how special this time has been for you!

12.10 Snack Time

12.20 Clean up and head back in to church

 

Some Final Notes on Teaching Sunday School

bulletWalk with the Lord yourself throughout the week. You can't give out, what you don't have.
bulletPray for wisdom, and help (James 1:5,6) in both preparing to teach, and in teaching.
bulletKeep a list of the children who are in your class, so that you can pray for their spiritual growth.
bulletFind out what portion of the Bible that you will be teaching from - it usually will be defined by the Sunday School Materials provided to you by the Pastor.
bulletRead through the section, and determine the central subject idea (main idea) that you learn from it (ie, Getting forgiveness, Being forgiving, Salvation, Winning over temptation, Obedience, The love of Jesus, Satan's tricks, God's promises, Having a humble heart, Standing up for what is right, etc.).
bulletKeep a notebook. In that Sunday School Notebook, begin to list all the things that are ingredients to the main idea (information that helps you and the students understand the main idea), and let those things be the items that you want to teach the children.
bulletList the important people, and places of the portion of Scripture being taught. Make sure that you can explain who these people are, and where these places are - don't let the children get the idea that this is all a fairytale. Let them know these people really lived, and loved God!
bulletList any special words that might be hard for the children to understand. Don't take it for granted that they understand everything you say. Take the time to explain to each of them.
bulletThink of ways to get the children involved in the teaching of the lesson - invite them to act out a part of the lesson with you (use only the good children to make an incentive for those misbehaving).
bulletGo back through your list of things that you learned from the Scripture portion and think of ways of helping the children learn it - using flannelgraph figures, drawing it yourself on a white-board, puppets, collages of pictures from magazines, story books, picture books, etc
bulletUse objects that can help present the truths of what you are teaching (like a rock and modeling clay can be used to teach children to have a soft heart towards God).
bulletCome up with a craft that will reinforce their understanding of what you just taught using simple paper-puppets, colouring pages, small figures on a stick, etc.
bulletBe efficient. Don't drag on and on as you teach. Be like a machine gun, or a race car, and have everybody in the class "hop on" as you teach them the Bible!
bulletCome to class with several games that the children can get involved in like a Bible Drill, Bible Hangman, "Who Am I?" (a child comes up to the front of the class and has to give clues about who they are, and the class has to try and guess it) - make up teams of boys against the girls, or set aside the group of children into two teams for competition.
bulletHave a small special prize for the winning team.
bulletIf the children are getting out of hand, have a special "Quiet Seat Prize" for the person who is the most quiet and good during the lesson.
bulletHave lots of Bible Songs to fill up the time - use Pastor's Song Posters
bulletHave fun yourself!
bulletHave special class activities outside of class - like a class hike, or 10-pin bowling, or something just for your class. The best thing would be to have something once a month, but that will not always be possible.