A Sunday School should exist to cultivate a church’s future generation. It should ensure that the teachings and traditions of today are not lost once the current generation has run its course. At CMM we strive to achieve exactly this. Our Sunday School seeks to ensure a future
“where children passing through our doors do not only have a foundational education in God and His story, but are also equipped with the skills required to live out a life in that story, and possess a willingness to integrate into God’s community of believers.”
Achieving such a vision is easier said than done. At the Sunday School, therefore, we have set ourselves certain targets (objectives) that we believe, if achieved, would allow us to get one step closer to realising this vision.
- We aim to show all the children who pass through our doors the true meaning of love via our interactions with them
- We aim to show all the children who pass through our doors the true meaning of love via our teachings
- We aim to nurture all the children who pass through our doors in a way that ensures they belong, and are embedded, in God’s story
- We aim to nurture all the children that pass through our doors in a way that integrates them into God’s community of believers
- We aim to nurture all the children who pass through our doors in a way that develops a loving and compassionate attribute that may be required when committing to a life in God’s story
Our programmes, then, help us to achieve our targets:
- Learning Programme
- Our Learning Programme is divided into three segments and provides an opportunity for the children to develop an understanding of God and His story through various practical scenarios, reflections, and discussions.
- A practical portion (previously the Outreach Programme) [Objective 1; 2]
- Children are given a practical, real world, scenario which will then have to be navigated prior to any teachings being given. Scenarios include outreach activities, life like simulations, etc. and offer the opportunity for the children to determine, for themselves, how it is that they think each scenario should be handled.
- A debrief portion (previously the Boy/Girl Programme) [Objective 1; 2; 3; 5]
- Upon completion of the practical portion, a debrief takes place allowing the children to relay their thoughts and feelings that they experienced during the exercise. This offers an opportunity for discussion on why they made the decisions that they made and how their decisions impacted the scenario in different ways. Furthermore, it offers the opportunity to help the children recognise and understand why they are the way they are (identity) and develop a respect for others for being the way they are, all of which would have arisen as an outcome of the choices that were made.
- A lesson/theory portion [Objective 1; 2; 3; 5]
- Once the debrief has occurred children are then taught a theoretical, yet heavily discussion based, lesson which highlights the differences between a Biblical worldview and a non-Biblical worldview. As these two, often times, competing worldviews are compared and related to the decisions the children took during the course of the practical portion of the lesson, they are then left to ponder their future decisions.
- Teen Leaders Programme [Objective 2; 3; 5]
- Falling outside the age range that we, at the Sunday School, have determined, our teens are given the opportunity to experience the responsibility that is associated with leading. Each teen, whilst being mentored and guided by the Sunday School leadership team, is, therefore, given the opportunity to teach the lessons each week and manage the classes. This provides them with an opportunity to learn specific skills that could be added to their resumes one day, whilst also gaining a reference should they require it.
- Community Minute [Objective 1]
- An opportunity for the kids to gather, get vulnerable with each other, and share the good and the bad of the week they just had.
- Youth Celebrations [Objective 4]
- An opportunity for the kids to be integrated into the “big church” through responsibility (peace candle, scripture readings, etc.) and visibility.
- A practical portion (previously the Outreach Programme) [Objective 1; 2]
- Our Learning Programme is divided into three segments and provides an opportunity for the children to develop an understanding of God and His story through various practical scenarios, reflections, and discussions.
Other programmes, which don’t necessarily work to achieve our objectives but are offered as services to the children nevertheless, include:
- Outings
- Fun Days
- Annual Report Cards
Contact Kyle (072 948 5008) or the church office (021 422 2744).