“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints”
(Philemon 1:4-5).
• How can praying for and spending time with students build a firmer foundation for their lives?
• How can we inspire faith in students by forming relationships with them?
Think about your closest friends. How did you become close? Probably not by simply spending a short time together, making your friends call you by your last name. Most friendships are developed through quality time spent together.
Lots of quality time!
Over cups of coffee on rainy days. Getting together for dessert and games on weekends. Discussing the Big Life Questions together.Your kids deserve the same.
You probably can’t spend the same amount of time with each child in your class as you do with your closest friends, but you can find some time to get to know kids personally—and to let them get to know you.
Remember: It’s OK to interrupt a lesson to spend time on relationships. Try these ideas:
• Spend one-on-one time in class. If class size and volunteer numbers permit, take a few minutes out of each lesson to spend time with each child. Ask questions. Really listen to the answers. Find out what life is like for each student.
• Stop to play. Children love to play. They love to imagine. So do that. Bring in a game. Write a story together. Fire up your imagination!
• Work with them. We teachers often direct kids to do a project and then coach them through it. Instead, do the project with them. When kids are working in groups, join a group and take part. If kids are working alone, do the same project alone as well.
The more children experience healthy relationships at church, the more likely they are to have a healthy relationship with Jesus.
Take this training deeper as you think over these questions:
• In number of minutes, how much time do you intentionally spend getting to know children in your class?
• Would your students say the same?
• How can you safely spend time with kids outside of class?
I can better connect to students by…
God has blessed you with a role in the lives of several children in your church. It’s an exciting thing and the more you embrace the idea of truly knowing and caring for your students, the more you will be a Christ-like presence and example in their lives. It’s a high calling, one that you are investing eternal treasure in.
With your students in mind, consider what it means to be a shepherd and friend in their lives. Plan something fun and unexpected to show them you thought about them during the week. For example, bring a special treat or make them each a special card. Tell them how much you enjoy spending time with them each week.
Don't Interrupt Me
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
• How will seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness help you be a wise and discerning teacher?
• What have you set as the primary goal of your ministry with children?
Four-year-old Kristen was fidgeting with her new name tag—concentrating more on the cute cotton-ball sheep than listening to a story about the Good Shepherd. The lesson came to a screeching halt when the name tag finally tore off and fell to the floor.
Kristen ran over to her teacher in tears—the whole class was distracted. But Kristen’s teacher turned the interruption into a God moment. She picked up the name tag, removed it from sight, and said, “Kristen, did you know our Good Shepherd, Jesus, knows our names even when our name tags fall off?”
Skillfully, the teacher transformed a distraction into a teachable moment, then returned to her lesson with the smoothness of a waltz.
These God moments are brief windows of time. God opens a door—but it’ll quickly close if you don’t walk through right away. The moments are disguised as distractions and off-topic questions. They’re hidden in interruptions.
As a wise teacher, remember that it’s OK to set the curriculum aside for these moments. Don’t put a God moment off to the end of the lesson. It might vanish before the lesson’s over. Or you’ll run out of time. You’ll lose that opportunity for kids to experience biblical truth in a unique way.
If you strap yourself to a lesson, you can deadlock the learning process. Instead of feeling guilty or frustrated about a twist, respond with a desire to use the interruption as a teaching tool.
This may not come naturally at first. Being frustrated is easy—being patient and focused on faith growth is not.
But here’s the good news: When you seek God’s direction, the Holy Spirit will provide spiritual “antennae” to help you recognize—and skillfully utilize—God moments.
Sometimes the back roads, the byways off the beaten path, are the ones that lead to the most memorable places.
Take this training deeper as you think over these questions:
• How do you react to interruptions?
• How can you foster God moments in your classroom?
• What criteria will you use to discern if an interruption should take the place of the lesson?
Lord, help me prepare for teachable moments with my students by…
Children are not an interruption to the work. They are the work.
Jesus always recognized a learning moment. He knew when people were ripe for learning and he didn’t let the moment pass by. Read about the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), the storm on the lake (Luke 8:22-25), the man with the shriveled hand in the synagogue (Matthew 12:9-13).
How did Jesus take advantage of these opportunities? What impact did such lessons have? Make a list of ways those same principles could apply to your classroom. As a weekly reminder to “watch” for God moments, set out a pair of kid’s sunglasses where they’ll catch your eye as you interact with your students.
• How will seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness help you be a wise and discerning teacher?
• What have you set as the primary goal of your ministry with children?
Four-year-old Kristen was fidgeting with her new name tag—concentrating more on the cute cotton-ball sheep than listening to a story about the Good Shepherd. The lesson came to a screeching halt when the name tag finally tore off and fell to the floor.
Kristen ran over to her teacher in tears—the whole class was distracted. But Kristen’s teacher turned the interruption into a God moment. She picked up the name tag, removed it from sight, and said, “Kristen, did you know our Good Shepherd, Jesus, knows our names even when our name tags fall off?”
Skillfully, the teacher transformed a distraction into a teachable moment, then returned to her lesson with the smoothness of a waltz.
These God moments are brief windows of time. God opens a door—but it’ll quickly close if you don’t walk through right away. The moments are disguised as distractions and off-topic questions. They’re hidden in interruptions.
As a wise teacher, remember that it’s OK to set the curriculum aside for these moments. Don’t put a God moment off to the end of the lesson. It might vanish before the lesson’s over. Or you’ll run out of time. You’ll lose that opportunity for kids to experience biblical truth in a unique way.
If you strap yourself to a lesson, you can deadlock the learning process. Instead of feeling guilty or frustrated about a twist, respond with a desire to use the interruption as a teaching tool.
This may not come naturally at first. Being frustrated is easy—being patient and focused on faith growth is not.
But here’s the good news: When you seek God’s direction, the Holy Spirit will provide spiritual “antennae” to help you recognize—and skillfully utilize—God moments.
Sometimes the back roads, the byways off the beaten path, are the ones that lead to the most memorable places.
Take this training deeper as you think over these questions:
• How do you react to interruptions?
• How can you foster God moments in your classroom?
• What criteria will you use to discern if an interruption should take the place of the lesson?
Lord, help me prepare for teachable moments with my students by…
Children are not an interruption to the work. They are the work.
Jesus always recognized a learning moment. He knew when people were ripe for learning and he didn’t let the moment pass by. Read about the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), the storm on the lake (Luke 8:22-25), the man with the shriveled hand in the synagogue (Matthew 12:9-13).
How did Jesus take advantage of these opportunities? What impact did such lessons have? Make a list of ways those same principles could apply to your classroom. As a weekly reminder to “watch” for God moments, set out a pair of kid’s sunglasses where they’ll catch your eye as you interact with your students.
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