Looking Ahead In Christian Ed ______________________
ed ited b y M a rga r e t Jacobsen 9 M»A» Associate professor of Christian Education, Biola Bible College
Workshops For Daily Vacation Bible School
partment meetings as arranged by department superintendent. The church should provide a nursery dur ing these hours-So that mothers may be able to .participate. This training will help them in the Christian nur ture of their own children as well as the children of others. A Typical Program One local church has followed this time schedule effectively: 9:30-10:00—Devotional message from the Word of God by pastor, direc tor of Christian education or a teacher, followed by prayer for school, teachers, pupils and the working of the Lord. 10:00-11:00—Departmental session for discussion of course materials, ac ceptance of specific responsibilities, actual practice of songs, construc tion of handwork, completion of teacher’s workbook as sample, etc., as planned by superintendent. 11:00-11:30 — Teaching techniques presented by public school teach ers, expert Sunday school teachers in such areas as discipline, story telling, visual aids, teaching mem ory work, stimulating memory work, etc. The pastor or director could be responsible for the plan ning of this period. Such a teacher-training workshop provides for fellowship with God in praypr and praise; builds a teaching fellowship in the local church; gives stability to the teaching staff. Though others may need to be added as as sistants from high school student ranks, or part-time assistance from others, a trained nucleus will help to provide a working unity. In such a workshop experience many Chris tians find'that God. can use them in His service to reach children with the gospel. They discover that the Holy Spirit makes use of them in overflowing measure, that they can lay hold of the strength of God for the impossible task, and that the Lord Jesus gives them more abun dant life personally as they trust in Him. END.
planning to use either Scripture Press or Gospel Light DVBS material. There will be a fifty-minute lecture on DVBS techniques particularly helpful to the department or school superintendent. Topics for considera tion include, school promotion, how to enlist teachers, missionary objec tives, the worship time, keeping rec ords, the closing night program and how to handle discipline. Following this period from 10:15 to 12:00 each morning Monday through Friday there will Be depart mental workshops. In this time teach ers will actually make up their own materials and handwork, gain exper ience in adapting story materials to their own needs, tell the stories, se lect and learn the songs to be used in their departments, experiment with interesting ways to teach memory work, and share experiences with other would-be teachers in DVBS schools. The dates for concentration on Scripture Press DVBS material are June 7-11 and Gospel Light material, June 14-18. Registrations should be in by June 1, as attendance is lim ited. The Registrar at the' Bible In stitute will be happy to handle in quiries. Local Church Workshop This workshop suggestion may also be utilized by the local pastor, or DVBS director. Personal approach should be made early to likely work ers on the Sunday school staff and untapped sources in the church fel lowship. Superintendents and pastor should meet for workshop planning sessions, to select literature, to de termine program, to delegate respon sibilities and to set up goals. Times of meeting may be (1), dur ing the morning once each week for a period of six to eight weeks; (2), two mornings each week for three or four weeks; (3 ), one or two full days, concentrating on preparation; (4 ), evenings once each month through the whole year, or for a specific period; (5), individual de
IT esterday a pastor asked, “ Are there | any B iola students who would be * able to help in our Daily Vacation Bible School this summer?” Then he went on to tell of each of his'faithful workers who for one reason or anoth er would not be able to assume the responsibilities of the church’s great est missionary opportunity during the summer — the outreach to all children in the community through the DVBS. Perhaps there are a few students whose summer plans are not fully made who could be contacted through the B iola Christian Service Depart ment for DVBS, but by the time this magazine reaches you, most of those students will have returned to their homes. The church that con stantly uses outside assistance in its God-given teaching task will dis cover sooner or later that its life is being short-circuited, that the bless ing which was intended for local church leaders is being channeled to these outsiders, and that the result is spiritual poverty of its own mem bers. Nevertheless the pastor of the lo cal church has leadership-education responsibilities. If die is to take the Lord Jesus as his pattern in such a ministry, he will spend much time with his best leaders that they may go out and teach others and thus ex pand the work. If he is to take Paul as his example, he heeds his advice to Timothy: “The things that thou hast heard of me among many wit nesses, the same commit thou to faith ful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Biola DVBS Workshop For those busy pastors who wish to give assistance along the lines of Bi ble teaching geared to the various ages of children, the DVBS work shop this summer at B iola may be a solution. From June 4-18 members of the Christian Education faculty, working with a selected group of Christian Education majors, propose to conduct a workshop for those
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