Concordia Publishing House

Why do a Sunday School checkup?

Checkups are valuable, even if they don’t always bring good news. For example, an automotive checkup can prolong your car’s life, avoid costly repairs, and make for safe driving. A Sunday School checkup is also good. Checkups help us identify our strengths and set new goals so we can be even better. What we measure is also important. Some things are not ours to judge. We are not checking faith in this exercise; we are checking other stuff—the means to the Means of Grace. We know that it is the Holy Spirit who brings children to faith and enlightens them through God’s Word and Sacraments. However, we are privileged to teach God’s Word, and because of the high value we place on this life-giving task, we seek excellence.

What? Teaching adults with special needs in a separate class? I thought that wasn’t the way we do things anymore. But it’s important to remember that one size doesn’t fit all. One type of classroom doesn’t meet everyone's needs. Just as all children with special needs don’t need the same thing, neither do adults with special needs.

Encouraging your volunteers is an investment in the future of children’s ministry. Volunteer support doesn't have to cost a lot, it just needs to be intentional. Here's some low-cost (and some no-cost) ideas for volunteer appreciation that we think you'll find useful!

What comes to mind when you think of Memorial Day? A day off work? The weekend when the pool is opened? People selling poppies in front of stores? If you polled some of the children you know, what would they say? Here are a few activities you can do with children at your church to remember Memorial Day.

Sunday School, Midweek, and Vacation Bible School teachers are probably among the most underappreciated volunteers in the church. Unlike Day School teachers, these volunteers work with children only on a weekly basis, or in the case of VBS teachers, only once a year. While some volunteer teachers might receive a small Christmas gift from their regular students, most probably do not.

Here’s a great snack for you that will work great for Sunday school, VBS, or anytime you want to share a Bible story with your kids.

Get more time for real ministry with VBSMate.

A smooth-running VBS starts with registration. It’s a tough job without the right tools, so that’s why there's  VBSMate, your free online VBS registration tool! With VBSMate, you capture consistent and complete student and volunteer enrollment with less time spent on data entry—leaving more time available for building relationships with VBS kids and families. Generate additional events to support your VBS such as volunteer training, a closing VBS celebration, and follow up meetings after VBS. Or create a new church outreach event (like a fall festival) for those new families who visited your VBS.

There are many different tasks and types of workers needed to pull off a successful VBS. That’s why we’ve listed a variety of ways for you to recruit, train, and appreciate volunteers. Be sure to consult these “Seven Steps to Recruiting Success” often!

The Reformation is the cornerstone of our Lutheran faith. Teaching it to the future generation is important to uphold the central doctrine of rich faith and tradition we share this time of year. The following ideas will help teachers bring the story, characters and ideas of Reformation to life. Teachers may use them and adapt them according to their needs and students.

It’s no secret that being a teen in today’s world is difficult. As more teens are seen leaving church and losing faith, churches across the country are trying to figure out how best to meet the needs of these young people. The most common response seems to be to customize programs to teenagers’ needs. Youth Bible studies, youth service projects, youth conferences, and other “youth-centered” events are created and grown to connect young people to the church.

As a pastor’s daughter who, at 21, is not too far removed from teenhood, I’d like to suggest another option: Start treating teen church members more like adults.