Category: Teach the Word

  • Growth Groups in Small to Medium Congregations

    As a parishioner, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to push the “Pause” button during a sermon if you have a question or need some clarification? As a preacher, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do the same in order to receive some instant feedback on how well people are connecting with…

  • Growth Groups in Large Congregations

    Do you want to help your members grow in faith and get to know one another in a fun setting? Try Growth Groups (GG). At Trinity, Waukesha, GG is a social, small group Bible study ministry that meets in members’ homes weekly for five weeks during the winter, spring, and fall. Lay leaders facilitate the…

  • One Good Idea for Teaching Adults

    Ron and Nancy faithfully attend worship and serve at their church. As for attending the Sunday morning Bible study, well, they’ve tried it, but they just won’t come back. You see, they really don’t like it when their pastor has breakout groups. They don’t like to be “forced” to dialog with others at their table.…

  • One Good Idea for Teaching Youth and Teens

    They are part of the group known as Generation Z (also known as Post-Millennials, the iGeneration, or Plurals). They live in a world of continuous updates, and their brains process information faster because of apps like Snapchat and ever-changing posts on Instagram. Their attention spans can be much shorter than those of the generations before…

  • One Good Idea for Teaching Children

    “So what have you got for us today?” a little five-year old regularly asks me at our preschool chapel. She’s from a Hindu family, but she is so excited to learn about Jesus and can’t wait to tell you about him. So what do I have for her today? In any Bible lesson, there is…

  • One Good Idea for Teaching Confirmation Class

    After some years without teaching a confirmation class, I knew I wanted to try some new things I hadn’t done before. I knew I wanted to involve parents in teaching their children spiritual truths, and I wanted it to be interactive between parents and students. For me, an important component was to have both parents…

  • Our Emotions and Memory

    How do we teach in a brain-friendly way so that our learners will be more likely to recall the information being learned? Over the past four issues, we’ve explored several strategies that will help us teach in a brain-friendly way. In this issue, we will investigate how our emotional state impacts our ability to learn.…

  • Making Lessons Meaningful

    How do we teach in a brain friendly way so that our learners will be more likely to recall the information? Five simple strategies will enable us to optimize memory formation. We will continue using a mnemonic device called CROME to help us remember the five strategies. C stands for “Chunk” Information. R reminds us…