How Do I Start Up A Sunday School Class At Our Church?

Jan 14, 2010
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Luke 14:23
by: Kathy Medina

You have been given an opportunity to do something really fantastic. I encourage you to implement something in your local church for these kids. I would also open the class up to any special needs child.

Depending on the child, you could get kids who are from one end of the autism spectrum to the other. Some children may be able to understand and comprehend a Sunday School lesson. Other children may just need to be watched and played with while their parents are in service hearing the word of God.

Know that you will be doing each and every parent a service by allowing them to attend a service and/or Sunday School class knowing that their child is safe. If you have a child on the lower end of the spectrum, knowing that you are being a service to their parents, is still absolutely a blessing.

I highly recommend and organization called Joni And Friends. They are in most areas. They will go into a church and train anyone who will work with children that has special needs. They have information about most disabilities and how to teach lessons, songs and have fun with them. I believe that they do this training for no charge. At least they do here in my area. You just have to ask. Their program is called, "Through The Roof." They may have a small fee for materials.

They also have a disability awareness program that is for children ages 4-12. It is called, "Camp Lean On The Lord." It includes a mission project, a dvd, Biblical lessons and a music cd.

Joni and Friends also has a Family Retreat that you would do the parents a service in telling them about it. It is for one week. It will recharge their batteries and they will be glad they they went. Most regional centers will pay the cost for the special needs child to go. If a family cannot afford to go, it is worth the church sponsoring them to go.

It may also be helpful to have the parents of these children meet. They will understand each other and be a good support for each other. I have several churches that meet and use my book, Finding God In Autism as a study resource for these parents.

Some churches use felt boards and tell a short Bible Story to the kids. For those who are not able to attend to a story, they usually have bubbles or toys to keep the children engaged. Some kids do well to walk around the church grounds. I know one church who rotates high school kids to walk the kids around each week.

I know that at our church we have a pager system so that if they are having problems with one of the kids, the parents get paged. If a church does not have a pager system, most people have cell phones and it eases the parents minds to know that someone will contact them if their child is having a particular difficult Sunday.

Luke 14:23 says this, "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full."

How Do I Start Up A Sunday School Class At Our Church?

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How Do I Start Up A Sunday School Class At Our Church?