Posted on 20 Nov 2019 by CERC
Young children can learn BIG truths: Emma Lo
Ever wondered what Sunday School is like from a teacher’s perspective? Hear from Emma Lo, one of our Sunday School teachers who is also Head of Children Ministry!
1. How did you start teaching at Sunday School?
I started teaching at Sunday School when I became a member of the church five years ago. The church encourages all members to teach so that we may raise godly offspring, should we have children in future. I got more actively involved in Sunday School when I began to work more closely with children in my day job as a paediatric speech and language therapist.
2. How do you plan your lesson plans? What goes into the planning?
The Sunday School scriptwriters will first come up with a syllabus for the teachers to prepare the lesson plan. The teachers will then read the Bible passage that the lesson is based on to figure out the central truth and condense the teaching points to something bite-sized for the children to understand, while still being faithful to the text. We will also read some commentaries to understand the text better. The teachers will then meet up to further discuss the lesson plan in order to come up with fun games, crafts and skits to help the children to understand the teaching points in different ways.
3. How do you tell whether a child is truly learning at Sunday School?
Children learn all the time in Sunday School. They learn who God is, what God has done and who they are in relation to God. Some of them will then express their desire to follow Jesus when they realise that they are sinners saved by Jesus, the glorious king. They will then try their very best to obey God by obeying their parents and teachers and loving their friends and family. However, they will, like all adults, still struggle to be obedient to God, but are now willing to be corrected. For instance, some children who used to be rebellious and wanted things their own way at Sunday School now listen to our instructions. They will also share the gospel to their friends in school.
4. How else do you think children can grow in the Word?
Parents play the biggest role in helping their children grow in the Word. God instructed parents to teach their children His Word all the time so that they may remember the Lord’s work in saving His people (Deuteronomy 11:19). Parents are given the best opportunity to apply God’s Word in every part of the family’s life at home; from small to big decisions. It’s important that parents teach their children how to behave in light of who Scripture has revealed us to be before God: how they should respond during conflicts with their friends, whether they should share a nice piece of cake with their siblings, how honest should they be with their parents, etc.
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God instructed parents to teach their children His Word all the time so that they may remember the Lord’s work in saving His people (Deuteronomy 11:19)
5. How would you encourage parents and/or other Sunday School teachers?
Don’t assume that young children cannot learn big truths of God. If they can remember the name of every dinosaur, their brains are a lot more capable than we think. It is all about phrasing and translating biblical truths to a child’s level of understanding. As they grow and develop, their grasp of truth will also develop into a more robust understanding.
6. What is the most satisfying thing about teaching Sunday School?
Seeing them grow into children who want to serve God. It’s encouraging to hear a kid say, “When I grow up, I want to write songs to teach everyone about Jesus.”
