SOCCSKSARGEN-SUNDAY-SCHOOL-TRAINING

SOCCSKSARGEN-SUNDAY-SCHOOL-TRAINING

by: Bro. Lance Cordova

JECPP Southern Mindanao SOCCKSARGEN Section conducted a one-day Sunday School Training for children´s church teachers on July 22, 2022.  The training was held at EFC Gensan and was participated on by 20 teachers from EFC Koronadal, EFC Cacub, EFC Polomolok, EFC Gawan, EFC Sambag and EFC Gensan respectively.

The morning lessons emphasized the core principles of instructing children drawn from God’s word. The first speaker was Pastor Albert Polino, Jecpp Soccsksargen Core Leader, who shared “Why We Need to Teach the Children.” He highlighted that Jesus loves the little children, and He does not want any little ones to be lost (Matthew 18:14).   He challenged the teachers to be more loving to the children.

The second speakers were EFC Gensan’s own Sunday School teachers, Mae Gedoria and Lance Cordova. They shared “Presenting the Gospel to Children.” They stated that the children are imaginative, which allows the teacher to be creative. Along with teaching how to deliver Bible stories, memory verses, and action songs that must all be related, they also covered how the activities and lesson should flow. The pastors in attendance at the seminar had the best responses when the question of how to handle kids who poorly behave themselves in class was brought up.

Brother Britz Ria, the third speaker, spoke on “Doing the Feeding Ministry,” emphasizing on the value of feeding ministry in evangelism and how Jesus himself practiced it during the feeding of the five thousand (Matthew 14:13–21).

The afternoon “Feeding Ministry Practicum,” wherein teachers and pastors worked on the church’s actual feeding program, was the most fascinating part of the training. Teachers were challenged to apply what they had learned in the daytime lessons.  They were divided into two groups, each with their own feeding location. The other group observed and watched as one of the groups performed the feeding ministry. It was a fantastic experience for the teachers because some of them are not accustomed to sharing the gospel in public, but they were significantly challenged and grateful to do so for the first time during the practicum.

The teachers were brought back to church after the practicum to share their testimonies and experiences about how God used the training to challenge them even more to do children’s ministry.

Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”