If you were to approach teaching faith like you would teaching a foreign language, what new methods might you consider? After teaching languages and living in a number of foreign countries, I have come to see a direct parallel between learning foreign languages and learning the language of faith.

Learning a Foreign Language
Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) is a struggle for most adults who didn’t grow up with the language spoken in their homes. Likewise, many adults in our congregations also struggle learning the language of faith. It's like learning a second language. If they didn’t grow up with it spoken in their home, it seems foreign. It’s not that they don’t want to learn. It simply isn’t their native language, and learning it can make them feel uncomfortable.

Expectations
Families coming through the church doors may feel like they are entering an unknown culture. Immigrant parents often count on schools to teach English to their children. Similarly, parents drop their children at our church doors, counting on us to teach faith to their kids. Immigrant parents do not feel qualified or equipped to teach the strange new language. The same is true for many parents and the language of faith.

I received a question from a church about how to proceed when a Head to the Heart (H2H) small group Guide was not doing well with his or her group.

Am I the only Christian educator who gets a little frustrated when during a Sunday school opening I see and hear parents who would rather talk and drink coffee in the background while sending their children up front to “be in Sunday school”?

Have you heard about the little boy who was asked what he wanted to do when he grew up? His answer: “I can’t wait until I grow up to be just like my Mommy and Daddy. Then I won’t have to go to Sunday school anymore!”

Ouch! As a Christian educator with a passion for family ministry and focusing on the dynamics of parents as role models of faith for their children, this is the last thing I want to hear. Unfortunately, we can understand why this child can’t wait to be like Mommy and Daddy.

I feel I am not alone in my thinking as I have heard from others who have expressed the same scenario and experienced similar frustrations within their own congregations. My concern is the message we may be sending to our children about the role we all play in a learning setting when this happens.

I had a great conversation via Skype with the good folks at Bethel Lutheran in Rochester, MN this morning, discussing implementation of Head to the Heart (H2H) materials and a host of other things.

One area came up that I think deserves a bit more attention: planning and logistics.

We sometimes get so fired up about material and content that we forget to put time into the more practical things like length of a learning event and setting up a calendar, in short, all of those mundane things that don't seem important, but really are.

All churches are different, but based on stories from churches and my own personal experience, 90 minutes is a great amount of time for an H2H Learning Event, split into a 15-30-30-15 time frame: 15 minute Opening, 30 minute Presentation, 30 minute Small Group Time, 15 minute closing. Wednesdays work well, as do Sunday nights. Sunday mornings during the Sunday School hour are a real challenge, and not advised.

Concerning a calendar, we've discovered that most churches cover about 20 lessons in year, and begin in September and run through April. This is predicated on the Learning Event - Service Event - Learning Event - Huddle model. Some churches use September as an "orientation" month (please don't ever use that word in real life, please) then kick things into full gear in October.

Faith Stepping Stones, Head to the Heart*, and Bible Song together include over 120 scripture songs. Members receive one complimentary CD of each Bible Song music CD when they become a member of Bible Song and one CD for each individual Faith Stepping Stone licensed. Member feedback has taught us that more than one copy in your church and more copies in the hands of families can be beneficial.

Who should have the music?

Short answer: Parents, children, Sunday school groups, Children’s choir directors, and Worship teams.

Longer answer: At Faith Inkubators, we believe in memory work. We also believe that memory work doesn’t need to be work. That’s why all of our ministry resources teach Bible verse memorization with verses—verbatim from the NRSV translation—set to music. Why teach scripture with music? Because music feeds the brain what it craves.

This is not your grandmother’s church music. It is fun, funky, varied, and very challenging. The music is also completely Scriptural. We want children and families to listen to and sing the verse each week at church, every night at home, and wake up humming it each morning.

Hearing a song once a week doesn’t get it embedded in the mind. Hearing it once and then having it in your hands to listen to everyday makes a difference.

Why wouldn’t you want children and families listening in cars, in houses, and on their iPods? Why wouldn’t it be helpful to play the music not just for Opening each week, but in small groups also? Why wouldn’t the children’s choir practice scripture in songs and then sing it for the congregation? And last but not least, why wouldn’t the worship team want to have more music available at their fingertips for use during Worship? With over 120 theme scripture verses to choose from, it could be used as part of the lectionary plan.

How do you purchase more copies?

1. Music CDs are available in the Faith Inkubators store at store.faithink.com . All music CDs consist of two CDs. One with the vocal version and one with the instrumental version. The instrumentals come in handy for children’s choir when there are no musicians available. Buy ten or more and get a discount.

2. Tunes Music Store (Search for the album or song name)

3. Amazon.com (Search for the album or song name)

Free Sampler CD Now Available

As a special gift, we are offering the latest Music Guild Sampler as a free download.  Head to this page and scroll to the bottom for more information.  Offer expires August 31st, 2009.

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