The Evangelism Handbook
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Preparing the Lesson
There is much to learn about teacher-child relationships, motivation, characteristics of growth and basic principles, but one day the teacher is called upon to teach! How do you prepare?
Preparation Prayer
First and foremost comes personal prayer. Under-gird yourself and your work with petition and praise. Don't be like John Buchan's atheist - "A man with no invisible means of support!"
Thorough Reading
Examine carefully all the relevant printed materials. Research the Bible passages given, absorb the lesson and search through the workbook and any handout materials there may be. Ask God to lead you in this quest for the right approach and subject matter to make known to the class. Every year it is a good idea for the Sunday school teachers to sit down together, to set down the merits of the syllabus they are using and look at the alternatives available on the market.
The following analysis will assist you in deciding.
Sunday School Syllabus Analysis - Instructions
1. Draw up an analysis form.
2. Write down a list of qualities in the left hand column.
3. Choose the one that is most important to you and score it 10.
4. Rate the other qualities against it i.e., high importance 8, low importance 3.
5. List the different courses under consideration across the top.
6. Choose from the courses the one which is best in each category and score it 10.
7. Rate the other courses against it i.e., very good 7 poor 4
8. Multiply the score for the course by the rating for the quality and enter these scores into each of the spaces.
9. Add up the scores under each course.
10. The highest score indicates your best choice. The lowest score points to your worst option.
Evaluating the Form
You need a good catchy opening, then a steady build-up to a real challenge about three quarters of the way through. Let the kids and their excitement down gently at the end!
Decide the Content
After reading through the various teaching materials and the Biblical passages, one needs then to make a decision as to what to leave out and what to include in the lesson. This is often the most difficult task. Most workbooks contain over an hour's worth of activities, so the knife must be
levelled at all but the most appropriate. It is better to complete a few things well than to cover everything poorly. On the other hand it is a good exercise to try to condense what you have chosen.
If it still retains its meaning and clarity with fewer words then perhaps you might want to introduce another item.
Certain things you definitely need. With children, always give them some visual aid to help them grasp the truth. You will want to begin with something that grabs their interest, something they can relate to well. Variety is another important aspect in retaining their attention for the full lesson period. This might mean pupil participation - a game or craft or using their sense of smell are a few ideas. Finally don't drag out a lesson for the sake of finishing it. Be prepared to adapt if necessary and to compress items or include others as the need arises. Words are like the rays of the sun.
If they are concentrated they burn so much hotter. If striking visual aids will add extra intensity to the message then include them and cut down on the words.
Prepare Visuals
A picture may not always be worth a thousand words, but it will often give more clarity to a theme than any amount of explanation. Although good visual aids may take as long as the lesson to prepare, I find that they seem to help you think around the subject and to get it clear in your own mind. In this television age, people are slow to conjure up mental images from the spoken word, whereas a picture can say it all.
A picture also keeps the theme in front of them though their minds tend to wander off.
Run Through
Once your visuals are complete it is time to practice the whole presentation. You should hold up cards in front of a mirror, or if you are using some piece of equipment like a projector, a chalkboard, or a cassette recorder you should rehearse the whole thing as you intend to present it. Make notes as you go along and once you have finished go back and change the wording or improve the visual. Try to make the material flow naturally from one item to the next by using key words or association of ideas. Work away at it until you feel you cannot improve it anymore.
Imagine you are a child listening to it, and think of the reaction he or she might have.
Remember the story of the proud father who took his ten-year-old to see the Indianapolis 500 race. The cars roared round the curve and the boy tugged on his father's sleeve, "Look, Daddy, there's a monarch butterfly!"
Finally - enjoy it and be enthusiastic and your kids will probably enjoy it too!
"Practical Christian Outreach in the Local Church"
