Sunday School
One of the greatest blessings and burdens that I have had in my Christian walk is teaching Sunday school. Over the years I have taught students from ages four to adults in their 70’s, The adult can be somewhat intimidating, especially when you have senior saints such as Minister Margaret Copney and other saints like her and Elder Ricky Lewis. Both of them have since gone home to be with the Lord, but there were others. When you had to teach the adults you knew that you had better study the lesson that you were going to teach. There was no half stepping with them. I never wanted to be embarrassed enough to stand before them unprepared.
When I was thirteen, I came to Sunday school and there was a young person teaching our class. It was Youth Sunday, from then on I wanted to be a Sunday school teacher. I love to watch people as they connect with what you are teaching. I was about 22 years old when I started teaching on a regular basis. Before then I just filled in on occasion. While growing up at Mt. Zion, I sat under Bible teachers like Mr. Joseph Neal, Bill Lewis and Dorothy Jean Brown. People knew that I knew the Bible so I filled in now and then. In 1981, I began to teach what is called the intermediate class. It was seventh, eighths and ninth grade students. Back then I was a very inexperienced young teacher, there were times when the kids got the best of me. I tried my best to connect with them on some level, but sometimes they wouldn’t take it seriously. Sometimes they didn’t want to be there so they made it known, by the constant talking and trying to get me off subject and other things. Sometimes I would connect with one or two of the students. I realized later, that they were just acting age appropriate. I taught there for a while and then I left Mt. Zion. My reasons for leaving were different. I needed more training and I knew a church where I could get training to become a better Sunday school teacher.
Memorial Baptist had a teacher training program. I had heard about this program while I was there singing on the Living Christmas tree. I knew that I needed some training and I wanted to be around when it was offered. They also had a Singles ministry at the time. I started going to the Single ministry events, being invited by Betty Sneed. Somebody found out that I had taught Sunday school and I taught a few times the Singles class. Then the teacher training started. It was on Sunday mornings during the Sunday school hour, Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. You could not miss a session unless it was an emergency and you had to call someone if you were going to miss. This was a good rule to follow. I took it when I went back to college, if I was going to miss a class, I would send an email to my teacher letting them know I was going to miss and why.
Near the end of our teacher training, they brought in Sunday school teachers from every age group and they told you what to expect from the age demographic if you were to teach that class. The next step we had to observe teachers teaching classes in different age groups and make notes. One class I observed was when someone had dressed up like John the Baptist to teach the seventh graders about John the Baptist. I thought that was something. It made an impression on me, because I am writing about it 20 years later. Finally we got to teach. I was nervous. I had the pleasure of working with Charlie Scott, he had the seventh grade class, and he asked me to be his assistant teacher. I did that until he went on a mission’s trip and at that time I became the seventh grade Sunday school teacher at Memorial Baptist. I enjoyed that, by then I had learned and was no longer embarrassed at some of the things that the kids did. The most amazing class I had was the second year I was there, they were something. Some of them even went to the mission field as adults. I am friends with some of them on Facebook. I run in to some of them out and they tell me that they were in my Sunday school class. My sister Sharon; Bless her heart, began to brag about the training I had as a Sunday school teacher and I got a phone call someone needed my help.
Someone needing my help was all I needed, but I just couldn’t leave Memorial I gave notice, for a while I would teach at Memorial Baptist that started at 9:30 AM and then walk to my next assignment Faith Temple of Deliverance whose Sunday school started at 10:30 AM. They needed my help. There I taught whatever class needed a teacher. I taught the younger ones, ten and under, the middle ones 11 through 15, the high school and young adults and the older adults. I did this until I got married. Getting married was an adjustment so I didn’t teach for a while.
I started attending Heart of God Ministries, and was enlisted to work in Children’s church there for a while. I mostly attended Sunday school and then I started having to work on Sunday’s. Then I got another call from Faith Temple, they needed my help again. So I went. I started not to, but my mom told me that since they needed my help and I had the experience that I should go and help out. One morning leaving for work I fell down my front walk hurting my knees very badly and I realized that I was having problems with my eyes. I was diagnosed with keratoconus, and I was going to have to have eye surgery. I had to stop teaching. I was going to have to have two eye surgeries. This really did something to my faith at the time, because, while I wasn’t perfect by a long shot, I tried to do what God said, apparently there was one thing I didn’t do and it was to accept my call into ministry. There were many reasons for this. One was mainly fear of moving ahead of God. I had seen this so much over the years and I didn’t want to be guilty.
After eye surgery number two, I started back at Heart of God ministries. I took the Training for Service class and a few other classes. I started teaching every fourth Sunday. In order to be a good teacher you have to study each week. Not only on the weeks that you teach, but others times as well. I remember someone telling me that in order to be a good teacher you need to put some time in studying each day. They were right.
Sunday school is something I have always enjoyed, there were times when I quit going, because I was just too lazy to get up. There were times when I couldn’t go, because of illness. I still missed it. Just like ministry teaching Sunday school is definitely a calling. Children need to go to Sunday school that is where they learn the foundations of faith, which will lead to their salvation. With the world the way it is, children need a firm foundation. Sunday school is also for adults, they can ask questions, share prayer requests and learn something, and so next Sunday if you don’t have to work, let’s try to head for Sunday school.
When I was thirteen, I came to Sunday school and there was a young person teaching our class. It was Youth Sunday, from then on I wanted to be a Sunday school teacher. I love to watch people as they connect with what you are teaching. I was about 22 years old when I started teaching on a regular basis. Before then I just filled in on occasion. While growing up at Mt. Zion, I sat under Bible teachers like Mr. Joseph Neal, Bill Lewis and Dorothy Jean Brown. People knew that I knew the Bible so I filled in now and then. In 1981, I began to teach what is called the intermediate class. It was seventh, eighths and ninth grade students. Back then I was a very inexperienced young teacher, there were times when the kids got the best of me. I tried my best to connect with them on some level, but sometimes they wouldn’t take it seriously. Sometimes they didn’t want to be there so they made it known, by the constant talking and trying to get me off subject and other things. Sometimes I would connect with one or two of the students. I realized later, that they were just acting age appropriate. I taught there for a while and then I left Mt. Zion. My reasons for leaving were different. I needed more training and I knew a church where I could get training to become a better Sunday school teacher.
Memorial Baptist had a teacher training program. I had heard about this program while I was there singing on the Living Christmas tree. I knew that I needed some training and I wanted to be around when it was offered. They also had a Singles ministry at the time. I started going to the Single ministry events, being invited by Betty Sneed. Somebody found out that I had taught Sunday school and I taught a few times the Singles class. Then the teacher training started. It was on Sunday mornings during the Sunday school hour, Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. You could not miss a session unless it was an emergency and you had to call someone if you were going to miss. This was a good rule to follow. I took it when I went back to college, if I was going to miss a class, I would send an email to my teacher letting them know I was going to miss and why.
Near the end of our teacher training, they brought in Sunday school teachers from every age group and they told you what to expect from the age demographic if you were to teach that class. The next step we had to observe teachers teaching classes in different age groups and make notes. One class I observed was when someone had dressed up like John the Baptist to teach the seventh graders about John the Baptist. I thought that was something. It made an impression on me, because I am writing about it 20 years later. Finally we got to teach. I was nervous. I had the pleasure of working with Charlie Scott, he had the seventh grade class, and he asked me to be his assistant teacher. I did that until he went on a mission’s trip and at that time I became the seventh grade Sunday school teacher at Memorial Baptist. I enjoyed that, by then I had learned and was no longer embarrassed at some of the things that the kids did. The most amazing class I had was the second year I was there, they were something. Some of them even went to the mission field as adults. I am friends with some of them on Facebook. I run in to some of them out and they tell me that they were in my Sunday school class. My sister Sharon; Bless her heart, began to brag about the training I had as a Sunday school teacher and I got a phone call someone needed my help.
Someone needing my help was all I needed, but I just couldn’t leave Memorial I gave notice, for a while I would teach at Memorial Baptist that started at 9:30 AM and then walk to my next assignment Faith Temple of Deliverance whose Sunday school started at 10:30 AM. They needed my help. There I taught whatever class needed a teacher. I taught the younger ones, ten and under, the middle ones 11 through 15, the high school and young adults and the older adults. I did this until I got married. Getting married was an adjustment so I didn’t teach for a while.
I started attending Heart of God Ministries, and was enlisted to work in Children’s church there for a while. I mostly attended Sunday school and then I started having to work on Sunday’s. Then I got another call from Faith Temple, they needed my help again. So I went. I started not to, but my mom told me that since they needed my help and I had the experience that I should go and help out. One morning leaving for work I fell down my front walk hurting my knees very badly and I realized that I was having problems with my eyes. I was diagnosed with keratoconus, and I was going to have to have eye surgery. I had to stop teaching. I was going to have to have two eye surgeries. This really did something to my faith at the time, because, while I wasn’t perfect by a long shot, I tried to do what God said, apparently there was one thing I didn’t do and it was to accept my call into ministry. There were many reasons for this. One was mainly fear of moving ahead of God. I had seen this so much over the years and I didn’t want to be guilty.
After eye surgery number two, I started back at Heart of God ministries. I took the Training for Service class and a few other classes. I started teaching every fourth Sunday. In order to be a good teacher you have to study each week. Not only on the weeks that you teach, but others times as well. I remember someone telling me that in order to be a good teacher you need to put some time in studying each day. They were right.
Sunday school is something I have always enjoyed, there were times when I quit going, because I was just too lazy to get up. There were times when I couldn’t go, because of illness. I still missed it. Just like ministry teaching Sunday school is definitely a calling. Children need to go to Sunday school that is where they learn the foundations of faith, which will lead to their salvation. With the world the way it is, children need a firm foundation. Sunday school is also for adults, they can ask questions, share prayer requests and learn something, and so next Sunday if you don’t have to work, let’s try to head for Sunday school.
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