The Sunday School Zone Blog
The Sunday School Zone Blog contains insights on children’s spiritual formation as well as tips, ideas, and suggestions to help Christian parents and leaders as they work with kids of all abilities (and even adults with special needs) at home, church, and school. If you would like to contribute to the blog, please visit our Writer Inquiries page and then send us an explanatory email at [email protected] describing the kind of writing you’d like to do. We welcome those who have something of substance to say to Christian parents and teachers of children. You already know that Sunday School Zone offers tons of free, printable Bible activities for kids. If you think you’d like to contribute, please read more…
Lead Volunteers: An Orderly Ministry is More Appealing
It is amazing to me the differences between an orderly ministry and a disorderly ministry. A ministry that is clean and clutter free just seems more appealing. Mirror Image? I have to take you back 10-15 years ago when I was a high school chemistry teacher. I taught next to a teacher and our rooms…
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Lead Volunteers: Walk with the Wise
Walk with the wise and become wise. A companion of fools, however, suffers harm. Have you ever noticed that when you spend a lot of time with an individual, you begin to say some of the same phrases and have some of the same jokes? You begin to carry out some of the subtle rhythms…
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Identity Development and Early Christian Education
It’s possible to begin influencing the development of a child’s identity from the very beginning. This generally happens within the family, but other people and factors also influence this development for better or worse, usually without even knowing it. This creates an opportunity for the intentional church to begin shaping the child’s identity from the…
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A Biblical Identity Model
A biblical identity must, by definition, reflect what the Bible says (or assumes) to be true about people. (The Bible is not always overt in its teachings. When the Bible assumes something to be true, then we can be certain that is the case.) Creating a model of biblical identity provides educators, ministers, and publishers…
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The Surrounding Environment and Identity
As we have seen, there are a variety of major factors that will impact the development of a child’s identity. These include the God of the Bible, significant individuals, and the community within which the child is living. We would be unwise, however, to minimize or ignore the impact of a child’s surrounding environment that…
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The Power of Community in Shaping Identity
The Nature of Community At some point, children begin to develop an understanding of the nature of a community. A community is different than an individual and is more than a mere collection of individuals. A community has its own identity that can be shared and acquired by the child. A community typically has values,…
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God’s Unfolding Story for Toddlers
We are in the early stages of developing God’s Unfolding Story for Toddlers. At this point it’s too early to know when it will be completed, but our goal is to have it ready for release by October of 2023. We are currently thinking through foundational issues like… Articulating the educational and developmental philosophy undergirding…
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What’s Coming with God’s Unfolding Story for Babies
If you’re reading this, you probably are receiving the free God’s Unfolding Story for Babies Newsletter, which means you have expressed interest in the curriculum, whether or not you are actually using it yet. Thank you for that interest! We know the curriculum is new and people will be curious about where it’s going. So,…
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The Power of the Individual in Shaping Identity
From the very beginning, God Himself declared that “it is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18). Then, because of that need, God created Eve and brought her to the man. It’s interesting that while God COULD have met the man’s need in any number of ways, He ultimately chose to provide…
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