Forming Faith
For Christian education and nurture leaders.
Too busy to teach?
By Elsie Rempel
How often has a potential Sunday school teacher told you, “I’d love to teach, but I’m just too busy, and I’m learning to say no”? What’s going on? Is it necessarily the person’s swirling schedule, or could it be a fear about what may be involved in teaching?
Recruiting and supporting volunteer teachers is an exhausting task when too many people say they’re too busy. Superintendents are often tempted to accept anyone with a pulse if they will just agree to teach. As a result, poorly motivated people are entrusted with helping to lay foundations for a lifetime of faith. Because it takes a lot more than a warm pulse to nurture faith in others, these recruits get frustrated and give up, leaving the recruiter with an even more daunting task.
How can we build a loyal and effective team of teachers who feel less oppressed by this thing we call “busyness”? Here are some ways we can keep our Christian formation ministries filled with energy and vision:
1. Lesson planning as spiritual self-care. In recruiting new volunteers, superintendents can highlight the opportunity to build one’s own spiritual life as a key reason to teach. Some begin each quarter with a meeting at which teachers gather to worship, using the scriptural themes for that quarter. Such meetings can serve as models of what can happen in the classroom.
They can also inspire teachers to worship with the text early each week. When students catch the teacher’s personal engagement with the text, the teacher is energized, and “busyness” doesn’t seem to be such a big issue. Important side benefits of previewing the session early are that it fosters creative thinking and allows teachers to collect supplies easily, without panicking on Saturday night.
2. A climate of support. Cultivating environments of support in the congregation energizes teachers, reducing the sense of drudgery that so often is at the root of being “too busy to teach this year.” Inviting children to share the Scriptures or the songs they have learned as part of our worship services lets teachers and children know their Sunday school experience is important in the life of the gathered church. Recognizing and praying for each semester’s teachers during worship reinforces the conviction that this ministry is a calling from God. Other events can include appreciation suppers or “super sundae” dessert evenings for the “super Sunday” school teachers.
3. Relay teaching. Motivated teachers who simply can’t teach every Sunday can be teamed with a partner. I love to teach Sunday school, but my work in the broader church takes me away many Sundays. Thankfully, the superintendent in my home congregation keeps me involved by supplying me with a partner who takes over on the Sundays I am away. Because Sunday school is a priority for both of us, we have made it work well.
4. A break from routine. Offering alternative programming now and then gives teachers a revitalizing break. One dynamic superintendent I know does this by planning several Sunday mornings a year in which all the classes join together for a worship celebration based on a Bible story, followed by multi-age centers. Not surprisingly, this superintendent enjoys and maintains a keen and faithful contingent of teachers.
5. Organization. Those who lead the Sunday school program can offer their teachers strategies that can ease the “busyness” of teaching. Briefly reviewing a quarter together before plunging into the individual sessions helps develop common goals. This way, teachers can find ways of collaborating on projects that run through several weeks. It also can also streamline the planning and acquisition of supplies.
An increasing number of churches are revising Christian education by moving to a multiage time of worship and story presentation, dividing into groups only for response activities. This builds up a sense of community among the teachers, breaks down the tasks, and allows them to serve from their areas of strength.
Leading a congregation’s Sunday school program is not easy, but it can be enormously life giving. Equipping, supporting, and collaborating with a team of teachers can revitalize both the teaching ministry and the superintendent. It might even lead to prospective teachers asking if they can join the team!Elsie Rempel is the Director of Christian Education and Nurture for Mennonite Church Canada. She lives in Winnipeg.