LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 290

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290 PARISH SERVICES AND YOUTH

(2) church school curricular materials today contain much
more help to aid the teacher in lesson preparation than they did
formerly: (3) the trend in church school curricular materials

provide new forms and patterns of teacher education for our
volunteer church school leaders.

Elements in a Volunteer Teacher Education Program
The following elements ought to be included in any volun-
teer teacher education Program that seeks competent teachers
of the Word.
1. The teacher ought to be a committed Christian who dem-
onstrates his or her faith through a Christian life. The teacher

of God nourishes Christian faith and life.

2. Because a teacher teaches as much by the kind of person
he is as by what he says, the teacher needs to grow in Christian
faith and life. Again, through the teacher’s devotional study of
the Scriptures he receives the Spirit’s power and gifts for such
growth in Christian personhood.

3. As a teacher of the church, the volunteer church school
teacher needs to grow in understanding of the Scriptures and

tion). Certainly our volunteer teachers also need to grow in
theological understanding.

4. The teacher needs to understand the students he teaches
and the world in which they live. Courses in psychology and
sociology are valid aspects of any comprehensive teacher train-
ing program.

5. The teacher ought to be able to teach (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24). Also
our volunteer church school teachers need opportunities to
develop their teaching skills.

New Forms of Volunteer Teacher Education

Churches of our Synod are experimenting successfully with
forms of volunteer teacher education other than the traditional
weekly teachers meeting. Some promising forms are:

1. Many congregations subscribe to Interaction. a basic
teacher training tool for all teachers of the congregation. Articles
from Interaction are available for the private reading by the
teacher and for discussion in teacher education meetings.

2. Individual congregations, or groups of congregations,
sponsor a short-term Adult School of Religion with courses of
value also for the church school teacher. Much more emphasis
ought to be given this form of adult education as it is a promising
Setting of the future for the in-service education of volunteer
teachers.

3. Teacher education courses one night a week for a period
of 6 or 8 weeks attract many teachers.

4. Some congregations are fortunate in having a double
teaching staff. A teacher teaches for 3 months and attends an
adult education group for three months.

5. Some congregations encourage teachers to follow a pri-
vate reading program. Such congregations often maintain
a library to make useful books and periodicals available for the
teacher's private study.

6. Some congregations join sister churches in area teacher
education events. This may be a semi-annual circuit institute,
a 6-week Adult School of Religion, or a periodic meeting to
introduce new curricular materials. Interparish cooperation
offers many possibilities also for teacher education.

7. Some congregations offer new teachers an orientation

bility for a class. New study books and audiovisual materials
are available for these sessions. These classes may well be held
on Sunday morning (during the Sunday school session).

8. Individual congregations, or groups of congregations, offer
1-day or weekend retreats. A substantial block of time for sus-
tained teacher education is an important advantage. For ex-
ample, the Eastern District has annually offered a retreat over
the Labor Day weekend for volunteer teachers.

9. In some instances, synodical colleges and seminaries, in
Cooperation with the synodical Board of Parish Education, offer
in-service programs also for volunteer church school teachers.

Services Provided by the Board of Parish Education

To assist Districts and congregations in the in-service educa-
tion of volunteer church school teachers, the synodical Board
of Parish Education provides a variety of services. We shall list
but a few of these.

1. Interaction is now our basic teacher training tool. This
monthly periodical includes articles for the teacher’s growth in
his faith and as a Christian person, for his growth in understand-
ing of the Scriptures and Lutheran theology, for his understand-
ing of his students and the world in which they live, and for his
improvement in teaching skills. In addition, the periodical con-
tains ideas and identification of promising resources for the
church school administrator. Congregations would do well to
provide every church school administrator and teacher with a
subscription of this significant magazine.

2. During the past biennium the Board of Parish Education
produced two new teacher training courses. Teach-Life. a
multimedia course, is particularly helpful for the orientation of

understand the nature of their ministry and how to improve it.

3. As an “idea starter” for circuit and other area church
school teachers institute program committees, the Board pro-
duces the semi-annual publication Program Resources for
Church School Conferences. This bulletin is free on request from
the respective District boards of parish education.

4. North American Lutheran Church School Conventions
are sponsored by the board to (a) inspire teachers in the realiza-
tion of the importance of their work; (b) provide a setting for
teachers to enjoy the fellowship of fellow-teachers from various
parts of the Synod; (c) offer meaningful teacher education
experiences; (d) enable teachers to gain new ideas and insights
from the experiences of church school workers in different Parts
of the Synod: and (e) give teachers and synodical educational
leaders an opportunity to share their insights and to minister
to one another.

The fifth North American Lutheran Church School Conven-
tion will be conducted in St. Paul, Minn., July 27-29, 1973.

4 y
26—28, 1974, and for Los Angeles, Calif., July 18—20, 1975.

5. Because “teachers of teachers” (pastors, directors of
Christian education, day school teachers, and others) have indi-
cated a desire to gain added skill for their leadership tasks, the
Board of Parish Education offers to serve conferences of our
professional ministers. During the latter part of 1973 the staff
will conduct a series of area workshops on “‘The Teaching of the
Faith to Sixth-, Seventh-, and Eighth-Graders.”

6. Upon request, staff members of the synodical Board of
Parish Education will Participate in teacher education events
sponsored by district boards of parish education.

The commitment of the synodical Board of Parish Education
to help Districts and congregations train teachers of the faith is
based on the conviction that thorough teacher education de-
Serves a priority rating in the ministry of every congregation.

VI. THE BOARD OF PARISH EDUCATION IS
COMMITTED TO THE PRINCIPLE THAT THE FAMILY
IS A BASIC TEACHING-NURTURING UNIT

One of the Synod's Strengths —Its Emphasis ona Ministry to Families

“What is the future for the family?” is a question frequently
asked by responsible people. “Does the family even have a
future?” is being asked by some who are skeptical about its
survival in an era of rapid change. And some who claim to be
prophetic say, “The family is obsolete.”

Families have problems because its members are human.
Modern life and culture exert pressures which cause unusual
problems even for the Christian families. Yet the family is God’s
creation, and to serve and strengthen the Christian family is
one of the responsibilities and privileges of a Christian congre-
gation.

The word “family” has numerous meanings. The Scriptures
often use the word in a broader context than the one to which
we and our culture are accustomed. The word “household”
comes close to the root meaning of the word. While we recog-
nize the prominence of today’s nuclear family, it is good to keep
in mind that in the household of faith each person is related to
every other person.