This weekend, we started our new schedule. Karen & I will be shifting around all the church plants to focus on training. Sam & Ellie Rodriguez will focus on working with the church plants that require more attention.
The training we want to provide is actually for the entire body of Christians. It is a way to work outside of the traditional "church service" into a more family oriented meeting. The idea came from this year's campaign. We had an educational campaign where we trained five different families in home school activities. One of the activities was a Bible story time that included acting out the story as a skit.
The activities were so interesting to both children and parents that we immediately saw the value of using them with the regular church meetings. They are an effective evangelistic tool. They combine fun social games with important learning of life skills with the learning of God's word. Its a great example of our team strategy to wholly affect the spirit, mind, and body as God created man.
This weekend we started our first meeting where we are trying to show the church how to combine these into the traditional service. Saturday, we introduced some of the activities. Then Sunday, during Bible study we acted out the text using both children and adults. This was combined with summarizing the story, reading the scripture, and asking questions about it. After this, we had our main service. One difference that I noticed was that the children were still attentive during the main service. Normally, they leave during the Bible study and continue playing outside until service is over. However, since they were engaged during the Bible study, they continued to feel like a part during the rest of the service.
When our service was over, it was time to prepare for a fellowship meal. While waiting, we played many educational games with the children. Games designed to teach English, Writing, and Arithmetic. One of the favorite games is "Teacher Says." This is the same as "Simon Says." It is an excellent game for teaching many English words and both children and adults enjoy playing it.
Another important activity is writing. We don't use pencils and paper. Instead, we use sticks, charcoal, and dirt. For the young children, we teach them to trace their names. For the older children, we advise them on how to improve their penmanship. It is amazing to see how quickly a child can learn when given proper attention. I asked a seven year old girl named Anna to help demonstrate the name writing activity. She could already write her name, but it was in all uppercase and the size of the letters were inconsistent and not straight. I wrote her name properly and asked her to copy it on the line below. I pointed out the lowercase letters, how they were half as tall as the first letter, and how they were all straight and the same height with each other. She understood and copied her name fixing mistakes on her own as she went. Then, I made a new line in a different place and asked her to write her name again. This time, it looked great. In five minutes, she went from writing her name at a preschool level to a 2nd grade level.
All the adults were very excited to see the impact that they could have on their own children. They have always been told that education is for the schools. However, as the church brings education about spiritual truth, it also enables our earthly lives to be completely transformed. Children and other adults were coming to see what we were doing. These simple activities are a great way to show others that we care.
This training will help the church provide a great service in the community. This is a great example of how the family of Christ acts as the light on the hill. These good works will help many and give them a chance to hear the story of Jesus that will give them eternal life. May God bless the men and women as they serve the community around them.
- Rick Love
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