Families & Youth
God Play Stories for Children, By Sunday School Teacher Mrs. Harrington
From the September 2019 Newsletter:
It is often said that it takes a caring village to raise a child. Here at St. Andrew’s we stimulate the intellectual, social and spiritual development of our children through long term relationships and the teaching of self-less values at the core of faith. At St. Andrew’s, we teach children and youth how to develop their internal life, which is a proven stress reliever and problem solving skill. Our St. Andrew’s faith family offers supervised egalitarian peer groups, and interaction with positive role models (who aren’t yelling at them to kick the ball, or benching them for not being good enough). St. Andrew’s offers a family atmosphere to children from broken homes or whose relatives are far flung or distant. These things and more highlight the impact of the St. Andrew’s” village” in raising a child, …not to mention the life benefits from knowing a forgiving and loving God.
Our Sunday school focuses on outreach to peers and friends. In a small group setting, where warmth and love flow and topics are non-threatening.
At St. Andrew’s, our younger children get introduced to the great Biblical dramas, connecting God’s story with their own. Our teachers teach children prayers, showing them the reality of an inner realm where God speaks to them and through them. Our teachers nurture creativity through crafts, projects and more.
Our Sunday school is a place of nurture. A place where, if nothing else, children are taught and shown that God loves them more than they can ever imagine and that Jesus is with them, always.
Here at St. Andrew’s we offer Sunday school for the older children and teens, too. Truth be told, most teenagers actually enjoy Sunday school once they are in a classroom with their peers.
Let’s look at some reasons why it’s important for your teen to attend Sunday school.
Temptation and a God centered life. Teens today are faced with so many temptations. You as a parent do your best to guide them, but it’s always good to have reinforcement. In Sunday school, your teen will learn that temptations will always be a part of life and that God will be there to help him or her stay on the right path.
Your teen will meet other Christian kids in Sunday school. These teens form tight bonds as they move through the years. As a parent, you can feel comfort in knowing that your child is hanging out with kids who are being taught the same values. There always seems to be a “wrong crowd” in school. The hope is that through attending Sunday school, your teen will stand firm in their teachings and not only steer clear of those who are in trouble, but also be a positive influence to those around them.
Today’s young adults are the most educated, intelligent, and informed in history. They rarely come to Sunday school without some idea of what Christianity is about. Those ideas may be completely off base, but that’s where our teachers come in. Our teens need an opportunity to ask people they can trust the hard questions they have about the Bible and about life. Our Sunday school teachers let them ask the hard questions. We let them talk. We let them engage our teachers about the absolute truth of the Bible. A lecture format may be easier for the teachers, but it’s much less effective for young adults.
At our Sunday school, a child is able to walk into a classroom and “belong” from day one. Each week our class is a stand alone study experience.
As for children growing up to own their faith, such formation occurs through relationships with adults who live and model the Christian faith. Children grow in faith when they are told- and shown- that God loves them, that Jesus gave himself for them, and that the Holy Spirit fills them.
It is often said that it takes a caring village to raise a child. Here at St. Andrew’s we stimulate the intellectual, social and spiritual development of our children through long term relationships and the teaching of self-less values at the core of faith. At St. Andrew’s, we teach children and youth how to develop their internal life, which is a proven stress reliever and problem solving skill. Our St. Andrew’s faith family offers supervised egalitarian peer groups, and interaction with positive role models (who aren’t yelling at them to kick the ball, or benching them for not being good enough). St. Andrew’s offers a family atmosphere to children from broken homes or whose relatives are far flung or distant. These things and more highlight the impact of the St. Andrew’s” village” in raising a child, …not to mention the life benefits from knowing a forgiving and loving God.
Our Sunday school focuses on outreach to peers and friends. In a small group setting, where warmth and love flow and topics are non-threatening.
At St. Andrew’s, our younger children get introduced to the great Biblical dramas, connecting God’s story with their own. Our teachers teach children prayers, showing them the reality of an inner realm where God speaks to them and through them. Our teachers nurture creativity through crafts, projects and more.
Our Sunday school is a place of nurture. A place where, if nothing else, children are taught and shown that God loves them more than they can ever imagine and that Jesus is with them, always.
Here at St. Andrew’s we offer Sunday school for the older children and teens, too. Truth be told, most teenagers actually enjoy Sunday school once they are in a classroom with their peers.
Let’s look at some reasons why it’s important for your teen to attend Sunday school.
Temptation and a God centered life. Teens today are faced with so many temptations. You as a parent do your best to guide them, but it’s always good to have reinforcement. In Sunday school, your teen will learn that temptations will always be a part of life and that God will be there to help him or her stay on the right path.
Your teen will meet other Christian kids in Sunday school. These teens form tight bonds as they move through the years. As a parent, you can feel comfort in knowing that your child is hanging out with kids who are being taught the same values. There always seems to be a “wrong crowd” in school. The hope is that through attending Sunday school, your teen will stand firm in their teachings and not only steer clear of those who are in trouble, but also be a positive influence to those around them.
Today’s young adults are the most educated, intelligent, and informed in history. They rarely come to Sunday school without some idea of what Christianity is about. Those ideas may be completely off base, but that’s where our teachers come in. Our teens need an opportunity to ask people they can trust the hard questions they have about the Bible and about life. Our Sunday school teachers let them ask the hard questions. We let them talk. We let them engage our teachers about the absolute truth of the Bible. A lecture format may be easier for the teachers, but it’s much less effective for young adults.
At our Sunday school, a child is able to walk into a classroom and “belong” from day one. Each week our class is a stand alone study experience.
As for children growing up to own their faith, such formation occurs through relationships with adults who live and model the Christian faith. Children grow in faith when they are told- and shown- that God loves them, that Jesus gave himself for them, and that the Holy Spirit fills them.
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