ISMT Goes to Kenya
I was worried when laughter erupted around the classroom. Participants in the Train the Trainer (TTT) conference I was teaching in Nairobi, Kenya, were reading a case study I’d put together of a “small church children’s ministry.” The study described a Sunday school with 100 children between ages 3 to 16, only one teacher whose helper hadn’t shown up, frequent canings, no resources and a poorly organized two-hour program. Was the case study too extreme? Had I offended this group of leaders?
But one by one they exclaimed through their laughter, “This is a Kenyan church you are describing!”
Once the laughter settled down, the group got to work listing issues this Sunday school class was struggling with and how they might develop a plan to assist such a church in developing its children’s ministry. After spending time later in several Nairobi Sunday school programs, I understood better their laughter—and challenges. One small classroom I visited alone held sixty 5-year olds with only two leaders. Most of the TTT participants were dealing with even more challenging ratios in their own regional churches.
I’d traveled to Kenya to meet with the regional Biblica (formerly International Bible Society) leadership and as BCM’s representative to the three-day Now and Next Theological Conference on Children, held in Nairobi March 9-12, 2011. Sponsored by the Lausanne Movement and World Evangelical Association,this event brought together 105 seminary and church leaders from 31 nations to focus on the place of the child in Scripture and the urgency of reaching the 4-14 Window.
Based in Nairobi, Biblica Africa is currently partnering with BCM to produce Footsteps of Faith, BCM’s Bible curriculum for children, for distribution in several African countries. At Biblica’s request, I had coordinated my time there to conduct a Train the Trainer workshop, an intensive three-day program that prepares key national leaders to train their own children’s ministry workers using BCM’s In Step with the Master Teacher training curriculum. Around thirty trainers participated in the workshop held March 7-9, 2011, including the Biblica Africa personnel responsible for children’s ministry training in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania as well as leaders representing other denominations and ministry organizations. On Saturday, March 12th, Biblica sponsored a one day ISMT training for local children’s ministry leaders, showcasing the Footsteps of Faith curriculum.
I will be returning to Nairobi for a follow-up TTT workshop in October, 2012. But already the 2011 workshop is producing fruit in East Africa. Several of the new ISMT instructors have now conducted training courses in their own regions, while other ISMT workshops are already on the schedule in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Meanwhile, we’ve received exciting feedback from 2011 participants in both the TTT and ISMT workshops. Here is what just a few had to say:
“The course [In Step with the Master Teacher] covers all one needs to know as a Sunday School teacher and is especially helpful to the trainer as it is very clear and concise. I really appreciated the practical presentations.”
“What stood out was the use of God’s Word as the foundation for all the teaching. It’s how Jesus did it!”
“The sessions on Building Relationships were especially helpful in the African culture where at times children feel they aren’t valued.”
“I was actually going to write a resignation letter and call it quits (from Sunday school) because my cup was totally dry. I have learned so much. God bless you!”