Common Questions
Q: “What does a complete Bible program look like?”
A: God, through His Word, changes peoples’ lives, therefore a strong Bible program keeps the Word of God central. This means that a large portion of time is given to engaging the students with the Bible content. Visuals, games, and other methods should help the student discover the relevancy to their lives; they do not become the center of attention. A strong Bible memory program is an integral part of a strong program. Because God, through His people, changes peoples’ lives, a healthy program will also expose students to the lives of godly examples, either indirectly through biographies and stories, or directly through testimonies and/or service projects.
Q: “How do I learn to effectively prepare a lesson straight from the Bible passage?”
A: A teacher must be taught before they can teach, so the first step of preparation is to understand what the passage is saying and then follow through on the application in one’s own life. For the teacher who has little preparation time, it is tempting to jump staright into a passage in order to get something “for the students” without first becomign a student who says, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” After this step has been taken, the teacher needs to organize their personal study into clear objectives for their lesson. (See “How to Develop Objectives from a Passage”). At this point, the teacher might be tempted to jump into method before finding and organizing their objective, but choosing an age-appropriate method should only come after the question “What am I going to teach and why?” has been answered. Planning visuals, Bible memory learning, and any other post-lesson activities should be the last part of the lesson plan preparation, and should coordinate with the truth that develops through the Bible passage.
Q: “I enjoy studying the Bible, but how do I make it relevant to the age I’m teaching?”
A: Sometimes after a lot of personal study, a teacher has difficulty knowing how to organize all the information. The lesson can become a series of interesting “points” rather than the development of one main objective. The lack of a cohesive objective makes the lesson feel scattered and meandering. By using the steps for organizing person study into an objective that reflects the development of the lesson, the teacher can see what truth applies and to the age they are teaching. At that point, the teacher needs to incorporate age-appropriate methods that will develop their objective. Books dealing with age-level characteristics can help understand what methods might or might not work with a particular age level. In addition, websites or materials that offer ideas for a particular age-level are very useful and easy to incorporate.
Q: “What resources provide a fun way to reinforce the truth of the passage?”
A: This website focuses on developing the content of the lesson from the Scripture, rather than providing all the ideas for how to teach that content. See the Activities page for helpful books and links to websites that give fun ideas for developing or reinforcing the truth of the lesson.
A: God, through His Word, changes peoples’ lives, therefore a strong Bible program keeps the Word of God central. This means that a large portion of time is given to engaging the students with the Bible content. Visuals, games, and other methods should help the student discover the relevancy to their lives; they do not become the center of attention. A strong Bible memory program is an integral part of a strong program. Because God, through His people, changes peoples’ lives, a healthy program will also expose students to the lives of godly examples, either indirectly through biographies and stories, or directly through testimonies and/or service projects.
Q: “How do I learn to effectively prepare a lesson straight from the Bible passage?”
A: A teacher must be taught before they can teach, so the first step of preparation is to understand what the passage is saying and then follow through on the application in one’s own life. For the teacher who has little preparation time, it is tempting to jump staright into a passage in order to get something “for the students” without first becomign a student who says, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” After this step has been taken, the teacher needs to organize their personal study into clear objectives for their lesson. (See “How to Develop Objectives from a Passage”). At this point, the teacher might be tempted to jump into method before finding and organizing their objective, but choosing an age-appropriate method should only come after the question “What am I going to teach and why?” has been answered. Planning visuals, Bible memory learning, and any other post-lesson activities should be the last part of the lesson plan preparation, and should coordinate with the truth that develops through the Bible passage.
Q: “I enjoy studying the Bible, but how do I make it relevant to the age I’m teaching?”
A: Sometimes after a lot of personal study, a teacher has difficulty knowing how to organize all the information. The lesson can become a series of interesting “points” rather than the development of one main objective. The lack of a cohesive objective makes the lesson feel scattered and meandering. By using the steps for organizing person study into an objective that reflects the development of the lesson, the teacher can see what truth applies and to the age they are teaching. At that point, the teacher needs to incorporate age-appropriate methods that will develop their objective. Books dealing with age-level characteristics can help understand what methods might or might not work with a particular age level. In addition, websites or materials that offer ideas for a particular age-level are very useful and easy to incorporate.
Q: “What resources provide a fun way to reinforce the truth of the passage?”
A: This website focuses on developing the content of the lesson from the Scripture, rather than providing all the ideas for how to teach that content. See the Activities page for helpful books and links to websites that give fun ideas for developing or reinforcing the truth of the lesson.
