Help! I'm the New Christian Educator!
by Diana L. Hynson

Are you a long-time Sunday school or public school teacher who was hired by your local church to work with Christian education? Does the picture of your total responsibility look different from this side than it did before you came on board? Are you feeling somewhat overwhelmed? Then this article is for you.

We are finding that more and more churches, in response to the emerging needs of their educational ministry, are hiring members or local people who have long-time experience as Sunday school teachers to step into the greater role of Christian educator for the church. In many of those instances, the continuing education opportunities and budget for the new Christian educator may be limited, even non-existent. So how do you, as the "home-grown educator," feel equipped for this broader, more comprehensive work? Take heart. Help is out there, and it is not hard to find.

Talk to People and Build a Team
Did someone (or several someones) do your job before you? Talk to them if you can to see what they wanted to do, what they did, and what they were unable to do; and find out why things worked or didn't work. (The success factors are important here, not the actual activities.) If you are in virgin territory, be sure you have a good job description in writing. Work with the staff-parish relations committee and the education committee. If there is no education committee, work with the pastor and committee on lay leadership to gather a group of people who will help you with a vision and mission for this ministry. You don't have to do it alone, even if it's what you get paid to do.

Talk to the teachers and other leaders, such as the church school superintendent, the person who orders curriculum, the people who do the bulletin boards, and the pastor. What have they been doing? What help do they want and need? What initiative are they willing to take to become better equipped to do their ministry in Christian education? What support and advocacy has the pastor offered, both privately and publicly, for the teachers and leaders? How does the pastor serve as a champion (from the pulpit, in the church newsletter, at various functions) for the ministry of Christian education and all its participants?

Talk also to parents. What are their hopes for their children's Christian formation and for their own? As stakeholders in your ministry, how can they be supportive and involved? What are they willing to do or to contribute to ensure that they and their children have a high quality, faithful experience in Christian formation?

Christian education and formation is at the heart of making disciples, and everyone should take it seriously. We can't overestimate its importance in the life of the church. The greater your network of concerned and involved people, including pastor, parents, and church leaders, the easier your work should be — and the more vital your church will be!

Read
Discipleship Resources (www.discipleshipresources.org) is one good source of materials for Christian educators. Cokesbury (www.cokesbury.com) is another. Several books in particular might form the core of your personal library. (Most are available through Discipleship Resoures):

• Foundations: Shaping the Ministry of Christian Education in Your Congregation
  The basic primer on the vision, mission, and theological grounding of Christian education ministry within The United Methodist Church.
• The Ministry of Christian Education and Formation: A Practical Guide for Your Congregation
  A great "nuts and bolts" guide to doing this ministry; recruiting and building a ministry team, working with curriculum, planning a budget, and much more.
• What Every Teacher Needs to Know About . . .
  A series of ten booklets on a range of subjects; great for training new or inexperienced teachers the basics before they enter a classroom).
• Safe Sanctuaries (one for working with children, the other for youth)
  An absolute must for ensuring you are up to speed on the legal and moral requirements for providing a safe place for minors.
• Keeping in Touch: Christian Formation and Teaching
  Helps teachers and leaders understand the fundamentals of keeping in touch with God, God's people, one's experience, the world, and teaching.
• Start Here: Teaching and Learning with Adults
  Tips on adult learning, including the seven preferred intelligences that affect how people learn.
• 103 Questions Youth Workers Ask
  Written in a Q & A format according to numerous themes.
• Let There Be Peace in the Classroom
  Includes tips on working with children, activities that promote a peaceful classroom, and more.
• Making God Real for a New Generation: Ministry With Millennials Born From 1982 to 1999
  An introduction to ministry with youth and young adults.
• The Graying of the Church: A Leader's Guide for Older Adult Ministry in The United Methodist Church
  Includes new ministry models, ways to motivate older adults, and general resources.
• Leader in Christian Education Ministries
  Available from Cokesbury; a quarterly magazine with helps for leaders along a wide range of Christian education issues, such as working with volunteers, planning, Christian seasons, and much more).
• Catalogs and newsletters (some things will be online, such as newsletters on age-level ministries — from both the General Board of Discipleship and Cokesbury. Other items you'll find in catalogs, such as the age-level curriculum catalogs from Cokesbury and other leader helps in Christian education and spiritual formation from Discipleship Resources and The Upper Room, www.upperroom.org).

Check Local Resources
Check with your conference office to see if there is a staff person on the district or conference who has responsibility for Christian education and formation. Is there a district or conference library or resource center? Is there a larger church nearby that has a professional Christian educator (one who has been through seminary or through some kind of certification course)? These people and resource centers will have a wealth of information.

Take Advantage of Training Opportunities
Most conferences and some districts will sponsor training opportunities. Check the conference or district office or website to see if there are any local events scheduled. Some conferences sponsor a formalized program for people over the course of perhaps three years to take classes that lead to certification or other form of credentialing. The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (http://www.gbhem.org) offers a certification course in Christian education. Check out those opportunities. Accredited seminaries offer degree programs in Christian education, and some also offer non-degree courses through a lay ministry program (such as Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC). Some of these classes are online.

Join Christian Educators Fellowship (CEF)
CEF, a national organization for Christian educators, also has local chapters in many annual conferences. Through the national CEF, members receive Newsline (a monthly e-newsletter); Christians in Education (a quarterly magazine); access to numerous brochures and resources that provide tips and helps; and much more. CEF sponsors a biennial event that offers inspirational plenary sessions; a multitude of workshops on every facet of Christian education; access to various vendors, including Cokesbury; networking opportunities; and much, much more — including LOTS of fun and fellowship. Local chapters offer support, training, and networking opportunities as well. Check out http://www.cefumc.org.

Look to National Staff
You have already found the website for the General Board of Discipleship. Cruise through these and other pages to find out more about what we do. The Christian Education site includes a roster of the staff who work with various Christian education and age-level ministries. Our phone numbers and other contact information are available. Call or e-mail us. Ask questions. We're here to help, and we may be able to come to you. The General Board of Discipleship sponsors regular events as well, such as Focus (in Nashville in July 2005) for teachers and leaders in children's ministry; Connection (in Nashville in March 2005) for teachers and leaders in youth ministry; Keeping in Touch seminars, by invitation, for teachers and leaders in educational ministry; and so on. Look under "events" or on the specific event sites for more information.

Dr. Diana L. Hynson (dhynson@gbod.org) is the Director of Learning and Teaching Ministries at the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee.

Posted 10-22-04


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