Looking Ahead In Christian Ed
ed ited b y M a rga ret Jaeobaen, M .A . Associate professor of Christian Education, Biola Bible College
Building From The Cradle Roll Up (part two)
By Lois J. Curley mental, the emotional and the spirit ual development of their children. With these aims as the pattern for a parents’ group the practical train ing presented and the popular re ception accorded it has exceeded ex pectations in nearly every instance reported. Home and Church Cooperate One great value of this type of a program linking the home and the church is in its appeal even to those parents whose spiritual inclinations and interests are not evident either in their home life or in their attend ance of any church. But there are few up-to-date parents who would not respond with interest to a help ful presentation of such topics as teaching obedience, discovering and training musical talent, emotional growth, development and care of children’s teeth, beginning a family altar, answering a child’s questions about God and other pertinent sub jects. Through a careful selection of speakers and leaders and the coor dinating remarks of the cradle roll superintendent or other chairman of the parents’ group, the evening’s dis cussion can always conclude with a clear spiritual emphasis and applica tion. In a parents’ group and follow ing or along with the discussion of an important child-related subject there is afforded a most logical time and place to present Christ as the only foundation upon which to build the home and the lives therein. Building the Church Important stepping stones into the church fellowship are the friendships and acquaintances made through a parents’ group. Because people are usually reluctant to begin fellowship
A Bible class for young parents is one of the strong links in the chain of contact between the church and the home. To keep vital, however, the mutual interest of the cradle roll and the home until the child is actively enrolled in the nurs ery department for two-and-three- year-olds may become a serious prob lem. And this is intensified when there are parents who, regardless of the in terest and attentions of the cradle roll department, remain disinterested in the opportunities for Bible study and Christian fellowship in the Sunday school or for worship and service through the other departments of the church program. To meet this need a carefully integrated program for parents has been devised and success fully used in the small and in the large church with heartening results. Mother's Night Out— and Daddy's too! This program centers in a group for parents of the cradle roll depart ment, including, of course, the pre cradle roll parents. Primarily these monthly get-togethers are planned for the mothers, although it has been found well worthwhile to include at one or two annual affairs the fathers also. Some of these groups meet regu larly at the church. Others find it more effective to gather in Christian homes that are large enough to ac comodate the group comfortably. The purpose of such a mothers’ or a parents’ group should be a practical expression of the cradle roll’s three fold ministry: 1) To encourage and strengthen the home for Christ; 2) to emphasize and educate parents for their roles as a Christian father and mother; and 3) to give guidance and understanding in the physical, the 38
with an unfamiliar group, it is quite necessary to have all parents person ally contacted by the cradle roll rep resentative and especially invited to the meeting several days in advance. It is a thoughtful plan to have some one stop by for each newcomer to the group and for the hesitant or timid ones as well. Dining the time of fellowship and refreshments which appropriately conclude the parents’ evening group, Bible class members have a splendid opportunity to be come acquainted with those who do not attend the Sunday Bible classes and to enthusiastically urge them to be present and join in the blessings of studying the Word. Building the Sunday School Building the Sunday school from the cradle roll up is a logical method of construction. And through the Sun day school this building method af fords a unique home ministry. Be cause of the mutual interest in the baby, the cradle roll representatives can find an entrance into the homes more naturally than any other or ganization of the church. Wherever this means of building the Sunday school—and the church—has been carefully and prayerfully used, the results have been outstanding. And without exception the effectiveness of this strategic department has been markedly increased by a well-planned church nursery and an enthusiastic Bible class on the Sunday calendar. As the special link between the home and the church the carefully inte grated program for parents—and par ticularly for mothers— cannot be too highly recommended. e n d . Copyrighted, 1953, Gospel Light Press. Used by permission. THE KING'S BUSINESS
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