Summer Sunday School
By: Billie Davis

Christian educators face an awesome challenge.

We hear that we should plug into upbeat methods for attracting attention, such as the music and techniques of popular entertainment. We should give up "religious scripts." Children's rooms should look like the kids' corner in a trendy store.

The message comes through: make the church more like the community, so children and newcomers will be attracted, enjoy the experience and feel at home with us.

But wait. We hear another message: Protect your children from the culture. We tell our children, or let them hear us say it, that the community is filled with evils and dangers. Strong voices from evangelical leaders declare that we are in a culture war. We must resist the pull of popular trends and attitudes. Television stimulates violence and sexual perversions. Public schools are becoming more unruly and dangerous. Teachers dumb down the students with "edutainment" instead of solid instruction in the basics. "Tolerance" and humanistic materials depreciate Christian values. Our society is becoming ever more pleasure-mad and undisciplined in behavior.

How do we live with these contradictions? How can we embrace change and innovation and yet preserve timeless values? How can we obey the biblical instructions to keep ourselves separate, and yet make our churches hospitable and attractive to children, youth and unchurched adults? How can we safeguard our children and yet help them find personal enrichment and ministry opportunities in the community?

Our ideal goal is to relate to culture and community as Jesus did during His time on earth. His methods were to live a consistent example, speak clearly basic truth and provide insights through stories and illustrations. He put sacred, eternal truths into words and contexts common people could understand. Then he told them to go into the world with His message of hope and love.

We can use our technology and culturally appropriate methods and devices to attract people and make them feel at home among us, if we remember also the unique Christian meaning of separation from the world. With good teaching, we can provide the basis for choice and decision-making, so our people can see the community as a place of opportunity as well as a danger.

Take Advantage of Summer
With no school and attention turning to outdoor activities, the Sunday school can have a prominent place in the lives of families and persons of every age group. We can design summer activities that relate church and community in ways that are spiritually uplifting, educational and also "fun." All department leaders can work together to produce "This Summer in Sunday School" posters and leaflets listing special activities and proposals. Activities can be planned around one or more of these themes: subject matter of the Sunday school lessons, opportunities for personal learning, opportunities for outreach and service, and vacation plans.

Lesson Topics
One set of lessons for young children features God's creation. Suggested activities include trips to a park and a zoo, or having the children bring plants, vegetables and nuts, and perhaps a carefully chosen pet or two for display and discussion.

Other lesson topics--such as "God Helps Me Do Good," "Obeying God's Laws," "Christian Attitudes," "Christian Responsibilities," and "Finding God's Will"--provide the basis for community involvement. One church "adopted" a nearby middle school and sponsored weekly sessions of fun, food and teaching during the summer. Others have sponsored projects of service, such as Habitat for Humanity, or helping maintain a local park.

Opportunities for Personal Learning
If we go to the extremes of thinking the "culture" is all fun and games or that it is a danger to be avoided, we risk depriving our children and young people of opportunities for personal learning and development. We should rather encourage them to be involved in the community without accepting all popular values and trends. Christian children and youth can influence their peers instead of yielding to influences. Teachers should encourage strengths instead of seeing their students as victims.

Introduce them to libraries, parks, museums, galleries, nature centers, health and fitness programs, and other community opportunities. Check local papers for lists of summer offerings and events and provide guidance. Plan some organized participation in those you feel are appropriate. Get them acquainted with local government agencies. Arrange for them to visit police and fire departments, the city hall and the courthouse.

If there is a suitable site nearby, plan a mini-picnic (about two hours) for families with small children. Have the families prepare food, and organize activities especially for the age group. Instead of keeping all attention on games, have the children examine the plants, water, birds and everything else that makes up the surroundings.

Opportunities for Outreach and Service
Help families arrange to do some volunteer work together. Organize groups of children and young people for service projects, such as a rescue mission, children's home, hospital, senior center or any other organization that helps people in poverty or with disabilities.

Instead of a traditional picnic, plan a tailgate party as a Fourth of July celebration. Instead of a ball game, work on landscaping of the church, or doing general repairs and improvements on the building and grounds and parking lot. Finish the day with a short patriotic service, giving thanks for the joy of Christian service and freedom of religion.

Vacation Plans
Be sure that families are aware of church events, such as VBS and camping programs, so these can be considered in making vacation plans. Check with your denominational Web site for suggestions. Give some time in Sunday school for discussion of summer plans, so people have opportunities to exchange ideas and give guidance.

Have church directories available in Sunday school classes. Suggest that the students look for the names and addresses of churches they may attend during their vacation trips.

Arrange for a Host Committee to prepare a special welcome for summer visitors. This may include plans for a reception room with light refreshments after services. If the area is known for certain tourist attractions, appropriate literature may be available, along with information about the church.

Curriculum
All Sunday school leaders and staff should be somewhat familiar with the curriculum program of the total school. Thus, they are prepared to work in cooperation with each other in making specific plans. A "Theme Chart" or scope and sequence outline should be available from the resource supplier. This should give ideas for adaptation of lesson topics to the season, including special days, such as the Fourth of July.

Additional information and ideas are available on the Web sites of resource suppliers and denominational organizations. Be sure to make use of this generous supply.

It makes sense to work hard at keeping classrooms "seeker-friendly." The real challenge, however, is not to engage them in fun and games related to religion. It is to show them how to find joy in learning and living as Christians. It is to show them how to use community opportunities in development of their attributes and abilities. It is to open to them the vast mission fields that every community offers.

Billie Davis is Education Consultant for the Sunday School Department,
Christian Education Division, Assemblies of God.

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Product Roundup

Adventures in Summer Sunday School by Augsburg Fortress
Adventures in Summer Sunday School from Augsburg Fortress is a flexible and easy-to-follow curriculum, including two updated 13-session courses, each providing an hour of age-appropriate activities for students age 2 to youth. Each session is laid out in an easy-to-use 1-2-3 format, beginning with an active, large-group worship and music experience. Next, learners explore the Bible through a presentation based on a script for a storyteller or a cast of characters. Finally, learners break into age-level groups for Bible story activities. Easy-to-use teacher guides feature the plans for age-level activities. Perforated pages make it easy for several leaders to share teaching duties without passing around a single teacher guide. Student packs contains 28 reproducible activity pages (two per session plus two bonus pages) students will use during age-level group time and with their families at home.
www.augsburgfortress.org

Radiant Life
With Radiant Life Sunday School curriculum, students will discover through active learning, enjoy activities geared for all learning styles and learn Christian character development through relevant stories. Teachers will enjoy easy-to-use, four-step lesson plans, which require little preparation time, and the at-a-glance materials checklist. Results can be seen through measurable objectives. Materials for each age (toddler through adult) provide teachers with all the resources needed for a successful Sunday school class: teacher guide, student guides, visual aids, a resource packet for in-class activities and take-home papers for continued fun and study throughout the week.
www.GospelPublishing.com

Group's FaithWeaver
The FaithWeaver family of resources from Group Publishing helps people of all ages-infants through adults-weave faith into their daily lives. Participants experience the same Bible stories in age-appropriate ways that appeal to all learning styles. This means discussions on the week's Bible Point are taken beyond church walls and applied throughout the week. Everyone in the church and in their families is unified with the same Bible story and Bible Point. Using creative activities and guided student-to-student interaction, FaithWeaver Bible studies deliver solid Bible truth along with clear, real-life application. These 13-session Bible studies help learners build relationships with each other, their families and God as they make real-life choices based on the Bible. The FaithWeaver family of resources is a Christian growth resource system that includes Sunday school, children's church, midweek and more.
www.faithweaver.com

Regular Baptist Press
Looking for curriculum that has Baptist distinctives, thorough Bible coverage and balance while using the King James Version? RBP's Sunday School curriculum has all these features and more. Children's materials take a student through the Bible from his or her time in the nursery through the sixth grade. Additional materials meet teaching needs in children's church and Sunday evening or midweek meetings. Junior high and senior high curricula ( My Faith and Real Faith ) teach students how to apply Biblical faith to their unique personal needs. New adult curriculum ( Life Design ) is intensely Biblical and intentionally practical. RBP materials use the KJV, teach the fundamentals of the faith and incorporate a variety of teaching methods that meet the needs and interests of students of all ages.
www.regularbaptistpress.org

Workshop Zone from Cook Ministries
The Workshop Zone from Cook Ministries is a rotation model curriculum that transforms Sunday school into a faith adventure. Each Workshop Zone monthly unit provides eight workshops (four for 2 nd and 3 rd graders, and four for 4 th and 5 th graders) that are deeply-rooted in a single Bible story. As kids rotate to a different workshop each week, they delve into the Bible story through exciting learning activities that allow God's truth to engage all the pathways to their hearts and minds. This approach does not require workshop leaders to be all things to all kids. Volunteers teach workshops that spring from their particular gifts. The goal is to contribute to the faith development of the children and the adults who work with them.
www.cookministries.com/nexgen

DiscipleLand
DiscipleLand is a Bible curriculum for Sunday school and midweek that helps children ages 2-14 grow into victorious disciples. Through the program, children develop a reservoir of knowledge based on a Biblical worldview. It helps them to display Christ-like character in every area of life and to demonstrate faithful conduct that honors God and helps people. DiscipleLand Preschool, ages 2-5, encourages children to love God and follow Jesus. DiscipleLand Core Bible, ages 6-14, gives young believers a rock-solid Bible foundation for life with Jesus Christ. DiscipleLand Adventures, ages 6-12, are topical Bible studies that also introduce kids to the experience, expertise and heart of ministries like Wycliffe Bible Translators, The JESUS Film Project, and Joni & Friends.
www.DiscipleLand.com