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joeph2
rlgn-330-db1.docxRLGN 330 DB1
Set 1
I believe that one of the biggest reasons why parents do not teach their children spiritual truths is because they do not realize they are supposed to. A lot of people probably think that is why they bring their kids to church, for other people to teach them, so why should they do it at home as well. The role of the parents in teaching is getting increasingly more necessary than it was in the past. Children used to be taught about God and the Bible in school on top of what they learned at church and at home. Today, public schools are moving farther and farther in the opposite direction from God and kids are only in church a couple of hours a week at best, so the home has to make up the slack. If parents really are sincere about wanting their children to grow closer to God, then all it should take to get them to become teachers of their children is an explanation of why it is necessary. A good place to start is Deuteronomy 6:6-7 which says, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (KJV)
There are many reasons why teachers need to use a variety of different methods when teaching small children. One reason is because just using one method over and over again would probably lead to the children becoming bored and completely uninterested in what you are saying because of their short attention span. Another reason is that each child learns differently so using several methods gives teachers a greater chance of providing each child with their best learning scenario.
I would say that the characteristic that is lacking the most my church’s youth ministry is the sense of the presence of God. The book says that when this characteristic is present, “the students, parents, and adult workers felt that God was present when they met together,” (Yount 2008, ch.17) The adults in my church try to create an atmosphere where God can be felt but the youth always seems more interested in the sideshow entertainment that has to be there to even get them to come. The best example of this is when we go on a church campout. They get excited about the games and swim time in the lake, and they are barely present at service time. Most of the time they are present in body only with their mind off who knows where. The only way to fix this is to get them excited about the presence of God. Hopefully, with time and the Holy Spirit knocking at their heart, this goal can be accomplished.
In my church the mosaic, buster, and boomer age groups have the most and are pretty much even while we have zero that classify as senior and only a handful of builders. Being so even across the board means that we do not have one specific area to concentrate on. We have to be equally distributed in our approach to teaching to match our equally distributed ages.
Yount, William R. The Teaching Ministry of the Church. 2nd ed. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2008.
Set 2
Answer 1. Upon reading Chapter 15, I learned four aspects that should be possessed by parents in order to become effectively teachers of their children. First, parents should become praying parents like Hannah (1 Samuel 1:10-11). Children born of praying parents are more likely to hear God’s voice speaking to them. [1] Parents should be praying for their children’s salvation more than their health or success in school. Second, parents should dointentional and diligent teaching of spiritual truths to their children (Deut. 6:6-7). This can be carried out by teaching their children to love the Bible, to pray, and to give their money to God. Third, this will take parents to develop skillful teaching. Due to physical, mental, emotional, and social development of children, parents need to teach their children appropriate to their developmental needs. Fourth and last, parents should be a living testimony. Teaching their children will require them to live a holy life before them. [2]
Answer 2. Teachers need to vary their teaching methods because of children’s development. Even in Chapter 15, the author asserted that preschoolers undergo mental, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual developments. In the same time, as laid out in Chapter 16, childrenalso have cognitive, psychosocial, and sociocultural development. We cannot deny the fact that children grow in their ability to rationalize things and events, as well as develop enthusiastic attitude in learning. This makes children have their individual way or style of learning. To address this, teachers need to develop teaching methods that meet developmental needs and various learning style of these children. [3] Teachers should be mindful of the developmental appropriateness of the class activities, concepts presented, and the Bible stories shared. [4] If teaching methods allow children to be interested or satisfied in the process of learning, they are more likely to learn more and better of God’s word.
Answer 3. I think what our church is lacking or at least failing to fulfill is the area of “Focus on Households or Families.” There are trained adults in the youth ministry, and it seems like they are doing well. However, I believe that stronger partnership with the youth’s parents will make discipleship better. Engaging with parents in ways like inquiring about the child’s “progress” in the faith or lifestyle within the week can help youth workers identify the actual needs of the youth. Also, telling parents how their children behave or participate in the youth group could also help parents assess the way they should influence their children at home.
Answer 4. Considering our church’s profile, only a few are Boomers, some are Busters, but most of the adults are Mosaics. This implies that those who fall under the category of Mosaic share most of the similar life-changing events. [5] For me, this affects the teaching ministry in two ways. First, it seems proper to organize groups of adult ministry based on these categories in order to maximize learning, since “similar” people share the same learning context. Second, in cases where people from different categories are joined together in a teaching session, then the lesson must be appropriate and relevant both to the old and the young. It should not be addressing the concerns of the Mosaics alone or Boomers alone.
Word Count: 535
Bibliography
Kennemur, Karen. “Teaching Children.” In The Teaching Ministry of the Church, edited William Yount, Chapter 16. Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2008.
Lawson, Margaret. “The Adult Learner.” In The Teaching Ministry of the Church, edited by William Yount, Chapter 18. Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2008.
McQuitty, Marcia. “Teaching Preschoolers.” In The Teaching Ministry of the Church, edited by William Yount, Chapter 15. Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2008.
[1] . Marcia McQuitty, “Teaching Preschoolers,” in The Teaching Ministry of the Church, ed. William Yount (Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2008), Chapter 15.
[2] . Ibid.
[3] . Karen Kennemur, “Teaching Children,” in The Teaching Ministry of the Church, ed. William Yount (Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2008), Chapter 16.
[4] . Ibid.
[5] . Margaret Lawson, “The Adult Learner,” in The Teaching Ministry of the Church, ed. William Yount (Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2008), Chapter 18.
Set 3
What will it take to get parents to become the teachers of spiritual truths to their children?
First, parents have to understand that they should be the primary teachers for their children. The Bible tells us this in Proverbs 22:6 and Ephesians 6:4. Parents can teach their children how to love the Bible, how to pray and how to tithe. [1] The Yount text even states that parents are Spiritual teachers. Children can learn these Spiritual truths from trained teachers, such as parents, but that also means that the parents need to be trained in how to go about teaching their children. Children are usually more comfortable learning from someone they know so who better to start teaching the Bible than the parent.
Explain why teachers need to vary their teaching methods when teaching children.
When teaching we must learn that we have vary the methods in which we teach. If you teach the same way all of the time, repetition and ritual set in. [2] By not varying the teaching method will cause the learner to begin to tune out the message because it is the same old thing they always hear. When a teacher varies the method of delivery it also enables people who learn differently to pick up on the information.
After reading the “Characteristics of Youth Ministries that Produce Spiritually Mature Adults,” which characteristic is lacking most in your own church? What could you do to improve this area?
I would say the major characteristic that is lacking in my church youth ministry is congregational priority and support. The Youth Ministry is held in a different area of the church and very rarely do they participate with the rest of the church body. There have been some improvements by integrating some of the young adults into the worship team and allowing them to play instruments. I think more needs to be done to integrate the young adults into the service so that parents and other adults can see the fruits that are produced in our youth. This would also allow them to feel more support from the rest of the church.
Evaluate your church's generational profile. What proportion of adults fits into each of Barna’sgenerational divisions? How does this affect the way you teach the adults in your church?
My church has a large number of people that fit into each of the generational divisions. For this reason we have a multitude of small groups available for different ages and also for couples or singles. It allows the church goer to find the right fit for them so they are able to mature. In addition, there are Discipleship classes established to take a new church goer through the process of being a church member, finding a small group, serving, evangelism, and mission work. This allows for each generation of people to learn from a group they feel the most comfortable with.
Word Count: 414
Bibliography
Yount, William R. The Teaching Ministry of the Church 2nd Ed. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2008.
[1] Yount, William R. The Teaching Ministry of the Church 2nd Ed. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2008.
[2] Ibid.
