The Sunday School Teacher's Network Newsletter - Great ideas for children's ministry!


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Issue #60 - September 27, 2007	Home \| Search \| Support SSTN
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"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." -- Jesus
1) Adult Curriculum? 2) Halloween is not a celebration 3) Scripture Verse Competition & Auction 4) Involving Kids in Missions Lights, Camera, Action Bible Skits 21 Skits Based on the Gospel According to Mark 5) Bus Ministry Decorating? 6) SSTN Goes to Thailand 7) Skit With Angels? 8) Steps of Faith Badges 9) Parents Appreciation Service?	This book was written by a shepherd from Judah.
	Would you like to see something done differently? New curriculum ideas? Drop your suggestions into the box. Email us your suggestions!
Bible-4-Life Curriculum Gospel Fun Activities Easy Make N' Take Downloads Holidays & Holy Days Christian E-books Premium Club Membership Discount Email a friend to join us at SSTN!	Skit: A Harvest Carol Have you developed a skit, game or craft you'd like featured here? Email it to: SSTN submissions

1) Adult Curriculum? Do you happen to have adult curriculum or lessons? --from SSTN: yes we do, check out "The BE-Attitudes" on the following page: http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com/curriculum_beatitudes.htm

2) Halloween is not a celebration I have the responsibility of writing a skit regarding why we as Christians do not (celebrate) dress up and/or go trick or treating. The skit must be geared toward children ages 5-13 yrs. We do not host a Harvest party or anything special on that night. There are many religious holidays that we do not participate in and therefore do not create a special event to counter act them. Plainly said, as a Christian I do not celebrate Ramadan or Cinco de mayo and would not create a special party or celebration so that my children do not feel left out. That being said, I do however feel that because or culture has adapted Halloween as a holiday Christian children may need to be shown (taught about) why we don't dress up and why they can not trick or treat. I am not a playwright and need much help in this area because I do not want to be too preachy and it should still have some element of light heartedness as it is for children. Please help. I need ideas. --from SSTN: there has been much debate in the past few years over whether or not Christians should or should not celebrate some or not at all during Halloween. However, celebrating the harvest season is Biblical. It is called "The Feast of Weeks" or "The Feast of Harvest" and is also known as "The Feast of Pentecost". In fact, early Christians were assembled in Jerusalem for this feast when the Holy Spirit was first poured out on them. You could easily center your skit around this Biblical feast. Use a concordance to look up the appropriate Scriptures for your inspiration.

3) Scripture Verse Competition & Auction This summer Sunday School students at Mona Heights Chapel, Jamaica, were encouraged to learn a specific set of Scripture verses dealing with steps to salvation. Accounts were opened for each child and points/dollars were recorded each week for saying the verse, bringing their Bible, punctuality and attending the Family Bible Hour. At the end of the competition the accounts were added up and each child given "play dollars" which were used to buy items put up for auction. It proved to be a very exciting time as children bid for the items they wanted. There were also stalls where after the auction was over they could use their money to buy other items. Teachers and members of the church were asked to donate items such as toys, picture frames, pencils, purses etc. which they were not using, so that not much expense was involved. Those children who had not gone away on vacation and had worked and got money to spend were very happy and went away with a variety of prizes. It also was an incentive to those who had not come to Sunday School during the summer months to try and make sure they do not miss out next year.

4) Involving kids in Missions Our congregation is active in a mission designed for youth to be the leaders of. It is called the "Souper Bowl of Caring". (It takes place on Super Bowl Sunday, and who hasn't ever heard of that?) During our church service we collect money and non-perishable food items to be donated to the charity of our choice. The nice thing about this is, the donations stay in our local community! We advertise in our church bulletin for several weeks before the big event so people remember to bring in their donations. More information can be found at www.souperbowl.org. Jody Larmour Woodland United Methodist Church Michigamme, MI



5) Bus Ministry Decorating? I wonder if anyone out there works in a bus ministry and has some ideas for decorating the bus on the inside? Barbara

6) SSTN Goes to Thailand Hi Sarah: I just wanted to thank you again for such a wonderful job you do. Your work has gone all over the world with me. Patricia Siew from Singapore wrote requesting the Wordless Book song as she is going on a mission trip to Chiang Mai in Thailand. I too am going to Thailand to teach English and conduct a puppet seminar. With my English lessons I always have something pertaining to the Gospel and one is the Wordless Book. I had everything I wanted except the Wordless Book song and voila - you gave it to Patricia and now me, so you go with both of us to Thailand to help spread the Gospel. Thanks. --from SSTN: WOW! What a great encouragement! Thank you so much for saying so! All the rest of the network goes with you! ysic, Sarah Keith <><



7) Skit With Angels? I went to a Christmas service in 1994 where there was a skit with 2 or 3 people. It was one of the funniest skits I�ve seen in a church and I wish I had gotten a copy of it right then. Now I can�t find it or find anyone who knows anything about it. The skit was a couple of angels talking about the birth of Jesus. They had a certain amount of disdain for the humans where the event was going to take place. One of the angels was all about pomp and circumstance and was expecting there to be a HUGE display of God�s power when Jesus arrived. The other angel was gently trying to break the news to him that Jesus was going to be born a baby and born in a stable. In the end, the pomp and circumstance angel was put in charge of the display that the shepherds saw (fear not� heavenly hosts singing and maybe a light show) while everything else happened quietly and without much fuss. Have you ever heard of this skit? I would love to find a copy of it. Shannon Ward Huntersville, NC

8) Steps of Faith Badges A few years ago I had the children in my church work on a program, called "Steps of Faith." The kids were given a list of Biblical challenges to work on over a two year period. I matched each child with a mentor from the congregation. This person was a prayer partner and encourager. They also stitched a counted cross stitch "badge" for their child. When the child learned the challenge, they earned their badge. Once a month. all children received their badges in front of the congregation. I also had a few older gentlemen who made wooden shields for the kids. We hung the shields in our Nurture center. Whenever a child received a badge it was added to the shield. When the shields were completed, the children had a wonderful memento of their Biblical accomplishments. This a a very popular program with parents, children and people from the congregation! I hope this helps! Cherie

9) Parents Appreciation Service? we are looking for ideas on what to do for a parents appreciation service we would like to have. any ideas? please help r in ny

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