WELCOME 'Back-to-SUNDAY-School'

By Justin Kollmeyer
Pastor

We've been living the great annual "Back-to-School" experience for a couple of weeks now, but there's also ANOTHER great "Back-to-..." that occurs at this time each year.

"Back-to-SUNDAY SCHOOL"! For many of you this is no "Back-to-..." at all. You never miss a Sunday.

But for many of us, this is kind of a "New Year" with hopeful resolutions for a shift back into "The Spiritual Lane." For some (children, youth, and adults) this might even be a FIRST like pre-school or kindergarten or first grade a FIRST TIME to encounter the "good stuff" Sunday School has to offer.

Whatever your situation...WELCOME! WELCOME to any of the fine churches in our community! EVERY Church has its doors and hearts OPEN to you! Especially at this time of the year! Please "make yourselves at home"! You'll be so glad you did!

On this subject, I often run across lists that try to help parents give their children the best experience possible in Sunday School.

Here's a marvelous list that I believe will be quite helpful to you parents since you, of course, want your children get the most out of Sunday School.

1. Encourage your child to develop friendships at Sunday School. One of the strongest benefits the church provides your family is an extended "family" of both adult and childhood friends who support positive Christian values. Consistent attendance makes it easy for meaningful friendships to grow.

2. Be consistent in bringing your child to Sunday School so that he or she will benefit from the Biblical instruction. Children are surrounded by influences which are often in conflict with the real truth of life. Sunday School can be your child's most important hour every week! Perhaps better than any other, Sunday School is the place and time where the good values and understandings YOU want your kids to have are reinforced.

3. Cultivate friendships with your child's teachers. It's easier for you to approach two or three teachers than for them to personally contact the parents of all the children in their classes. They have busy lives and give so much! Your support helps teachers do an even better job! And besides, this gives you another important friendship as well.

4. Watch for and talk with your child about the take-home materials provided each week. Just a few minutes (!) of informal conversation at home can help tremendously to reinforce and apply the Bible Truths your child has studied. And we parents usually learn something from these as well!

5. Use the Bible in your home. Open the Bible in your home to the Bible story or Scripture reading from last week's Sunday School class. Copy key verses onto a folded index card and set it on your kitchen table or put it on the front of your refrigerator. NOTE: If you do not have a Bible, I promise you that ANY church in this community will GIVE you one if you simply ask! There are several newer translations that are wonderfully easy to read and understand.

6. Ask a few questions about the Bible Story to see what your child remembers and understands and talk about how the story illustrates familiar experiences at home or in the neighborhood. A good question is, "What is one way you can do what that story teaches us?"

7. During the week look for ways to connect a recent Bible verse or story to specific situations. For example, while watching TV, ask how a character's action compares with those of a person in a Bible story.

This is obviously just the tip of the iceberg! So many of you out there would have additional ones to add from your own experiences.

I invite you to share these with your churches and with "newcomers" for whom the "Sunday School Thing" might be just beginning.

WELCOME BACK to SUNDAY SCHOOL! And have a GREAT year!

Kollmeyer is Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Hwy. 314 in Fayetteville, between Lowe's and The Pavilion. He invites any family without a Church and Sunday School "home" to "make yourselves at home" at Prince of Peace. Contemporary Worship begins at 9:30 with a children's dismissal to Sunday School at 10:00, or simply come at 10:00 for Sunday School and stay for 11:00 Traditional Worship. An Early Worship also begins at 8:15. Visit www.popdove.com or call 770-461-3403.