■ m EDUCATION
Looking Ahead In Christian Ed
ed ited b y M a rga ret Jacobsen , M ./t . Associate professor of Christion Education, Biola Bible College
Building FromThe Cradle Roll Ip
B yL ois J. Curley
B u ild in g y ou r Sunday school from the cradle roll up w ill produce am azing results! W ise and prayer fu l bu ild in g u pon this foundational department has upped the attendance o f one Sunday school 127 per cent in the past six years. Reports from other churches that also know the rich harvest field to be found th rough the babies in the hom es of their com munities present reason enough for a cradle roll m inistry in every out- reaching chu rch of Christ. Before Baby Comes O ften underestimated are the va l ues of a pre-cradle roll emphasis. W h e n a baby is anticipated, parents’ hearts are often most tender as they look forw ard to their little one’s ar rival. A t this tim e the sincere and prayerfu l interest o f a cradle roll department representative and her chu rch in the expected ch ild can gain access to the hom e w h en hearts m ay be the most sympathetic to the claim s o f Christ. Rem inded o f the great joys and resp on sib ilities before the Lord w h ich a ba b y brings, soon- to-be parents m a y be led to seek spiritual guidan ce and Christian fe l low sh ip in the chu rch w h ich has shown a real interest in them in the com in g of their child. T h e value o f the contact in a home where a ba b y is expected cannot be too strongly emphasized. Before this baby arrives to rearrange the fam ily ’s schedule and give cause fo r m any stay-at-home excuses, these parents- to-be can readily be encouraged to take their places in a B ible class am ong other y oun g parents and to find there the rich rewards o f Bible study and Christian fellow ship. Be fore the baby comes is also a log ical time to rem ind the about-to-be father and m other o f the fine nursery-care facilities available at the chu rch for their baby. Advan ce encouragem ent 38
to have their y ou n g ch ild promoted to the participation and teaching pro gram in the nursery department of the Sunday school. In the Nursery Parents w ith very y oun g children cannot be expected to participate in the work, w orship or fellow sh ip as pects o f the chu rch program unless very adequate provision is made for the care o f their children. So the first essential— and the natural ac cessory to every cradle roll depart ment— is a carefu lly adm inistered chu rch nursery. T h e equipm ent and managem ent o f the chu rch nursery is the ideal “ special project” fo r the ladies aid society, the young-m ar- rieds’ B ible class, the mothers’ group, or for a comm ittee composed o f rep resentatives from each of sim ilarly interested organizations w ith in the church. What About Mother and Daddy? Even w ith a beau tifu lly equipped and com peten tly staffed nursery, one o f the prim ary objectives o f the cradle ro ll m inistry m a y be m in i m ized or rendered inoperative. U n less there is an alert and enthusiasti c a lly organized B ible class in w h ich the W o r d is taught effectively for y oun g parents, the Sunday school has missed its greatest opportunity to strengthen and en courage fathers and mothers in their role as Christian parents. Undoubtedly th rough the faith fu l preaching m inistry o f the pastor these y oun g parents m a y be brough t to the know ledge o f the Lord and into the jo y o f salvation. But the tremendous responsibility dare not be neglected in teaching fathers and mothers together in a B ible class G od’s practical and funda m ental lessons essential to their per sonal grow th in grace and in their role as parents. (To be continued) Copyrighted, 1953, Gospel Light Press. Used by permission. THE KING'S BUSINESS
to brin g their little one and to come as a fam ily to the L ord’s house is part of an important training process to h elp y oun g parents think in terms of a fam ily united in Christ and in the program o f H is church. On the Roll W h en Baby arrives the alert cradle roll representative has an opportunity to en roll a n ew m em ber b y the time the n ew baby is a few hours, or a few days, old. Imm ediate attention to this all-im portant arrival on the part o f the cradle roll representative and th e pastor m ay open even fu r ther the hearts o f these joyou s new parents to the claim s of Christ upon their own lives and their need of divine guidance in the care and train in g o f this precious little one. T h e m iracle of physical birth and the ex istence o f a n ew little life can v iv id ly brin g to a m other and a father a fresh comprehension o f the n ew birth unto everlasting life w h ich is theirs through faith in Christ. Hearts tender w ith the jo y o f a n ew ba b y ’s arrival are fertile ground. W h ile the cradle roll m inistry in cludes the expectant parents, it also includes those w h o have little ones up to tw o years o f age. W h en a ch ild reaches his second birthday he should be attending Sunday school as a m em ber o f the nursery department fo r two-and-three-year olds. But this step often takes m u ch patience on the part of the cradle roll representative to en courage in parents a desire and purpose to bring their little one to the nursery department of the Sun day school and then to leave him w h ile they attend the B ible class to gether for their particular age and interest group. H ow ever, the parents w h o have been regu larly brin ging their w ee baby and entrusting him to the competent care o f the chu rch nursery staff fo r the first tw o years o f his life find it a simple transition
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