As adults in the faith, most of us have a solid understanding of how worship looks throughout the year. We grow accustomed—maybe even desensitized—to the changes around us. Sometimes the altar has a green parament but other times purple, for example. While children may be more observant of these patterns than we expect, it’s important that we intentionally teach them about the seasons of the Church Year in Sunday School.

Youth are not just the church’s future—they’re also the church’s now. As a leader, volunteer, or church worker, your job is to remind youth that they’re loved by Jesus and their congregation. The following is an excerpt from Connected for Life: Essential Guide to Youth Ministry, which provides guidance, encouragement, and advice on leading a youth ministry that supports young adults in their faith for life.

Continue learning how to teach Holy Baptism with the Third and Fourth Parts on Baptism in Luther’s Small Catechism

Our children face numerous challenges today, such as topics of conversation happening before they are ready to hear them, pressures regarding their identity, and more. When it comes to conversations about sexual identity and faith, the best we can do is continue to point our children back to God and His Word. In this post, we are going to cover specifics about the new Learning about Sex Education Curriculum and how it equips parents or guardians, teachers, and children to be in the world but not of it.

What is Baptism? Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word.

The truth of God’s Word never changes, but with each new group of catechumens come different learning needs. How do you tailor your teaching to meet students where they are? This post will explore teaching models for confirmation and help you decide which works best for your setting. 

Here are a few ideas for teaching the Law and Gospel from the Lord’s Prayer, Petitions 5–7 and Conclusion in Luther’s Small Catechism.

Vacation Bible School is a blast! The week is filled with fun activities, catchy songs, delicious snacks, and time with friends. For some, VBS can be the turning point in their faith. The volunteer who has been doing this for years walks away with a deeper knowledge of how to share the Good News of Jesus with others; the new volunteer experiences what it’s like to encourage a young one in his or her faith; the older VBS participant looking at his or her last VBS before becoming a volunteer has memories of how impactful this event can be. All these things and more are jam-packed into a five-day VBS. With all those possibilities, the best thing we can do is pray for everyone who gets to be a part of VBS!

The Lord’s Prayer is the next portion of Luther’s Small Catechism we will be thinking through for ideas on how to teach Law and Gospel.

How are your summer Sunday School plans coming along?

If you’re anything like me, it’s possible that you may not be quite as prepared as you’d like to be. Between Easter events, Confirmations, graduation, and summer vacation planning, it can be easy for Sunday School plans to be put on the back burner.