A Bible School Program that Works

Not too long ago I attended a wonderful teacher workshop that motivated, challenged, and encouraged teachers and teaching. I thought I’d take just a minute to share with you some of the things that I learned.

Every Church Needs a Great Bible School Program.

Just think about it from the standpoint of time. Our young people, from birth to age 17 will have spent an average of 15,000 hours in the classroom at school. They will have sat in front of the TV for about 18,000 hours. Tragically, only 1,768 hours will have been spent in Bible school—that’s going to Bible class twice per week, for an hour each time. These stats tell us that we need to develop and maintain a good Bible school program.

During the teacher workshop I learned four reasons why the Bible school program in a local church is so important. First, it’s an investment in the future of the church (Mt. 4:4). Second, it’s insurance against the fires of hell (Mt. 16:26). Third, it’s insulation to protect us from the darts of the wicked one (1 Pt. 5:8; Eph. 6:16).  Fourth, it’s indoctrination with the message of the Messiah (Mt. 28:18-20; 1 Pt. 3:15). So, you see, we need a good Bible school program because of what it is.

There are Some Things that Every Bible School Teacher Needs to Know.

Every teacher needs to know his/her class—their students. I’m speaking primarily of the little children classes here. Know your students’ special needs and/or abilities. Know their home situation—the best you can. Of course, this knowledge will only come when you, as a teacher, spend time with the student. That might even mean spending time with the kids outside the classroom. Maybe plan to have devotionals in your home. Perhaps you can have a pizza party with your class at the beginning of the quarter. Just think of creative ways to get to know the kids.

Every teacher needs to know his/her lesson. The only way you can know it is by studying it. Know both the facts and the applications. Teacher preparation, by the way, does not begin in the car ride to the building on Sunday morning or Wednesday night.

Every teacher needs to know his/her time. Bible classes are normally less than an hour long—more like 45 minutes. Add to that, some of that time is spent in announcements (adult’s class), prayer, discipline (children’s class), and such like. All of this whittles class time down to a very short time indeed. Time is valuable, so use it wisely—plan ahead.

Every teacher needs to know himself/herself. Ask yourself: “What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? Am I physically, mentally, and spiritually preparing myself to teach?” If you’re not prepared, then be working toward that goal (Lk. 2:52).

The Best Bible School Programs Have Only Qualified Teachers on Staff.

You may think to yourself, “Well I’m not perfect.” Who is? We don’t need perfect teachers. God is not looking for perfect Christians, just Christians who love him enough to be faithful (Rev. 2:10).

At the workshop I attended the presenter made a rather humorous, but true statement regarding teacher qualifications. He said that in some cases the qualifying characteristic of our Bible class teachers is that they “have a pulse.” I think we sometimes get in such a desperate need for teachers that we grab the first person who comes along and stick them in a class. That’s not fair to the teacher or the students. What’s really tragic is when we put in unfaithful Christians to teach Bible classes using the following reasoning: “Well, if we let them teach a Bible class, then perhaps that will encourage them to be faithful.” This is certainly not a Biblical principle. Speaking as a father, I love my son too much for him to sit in a Bible class taught by an unfaithful Christian—thankfully, by the way, that’s not the case here.

So, what are the qualifications of a Bible class teacher? Let me just share with you seven of them. First, he/she should be faithful in all things (2 Tm. 2:2). Second, he/she should be committed to teaching (The “Book of Common Sense”). Third, he/she should know the Bible and be prepared to teach the lesson (2 Tm. 2:15). Fourth, he/she should demonstrate consistent behavior (Rm. 2:21-23). This would certainly imply that our teachers not be Sunday morning only Christians. Children can’t understand why they don’t see the teacher they love back on Sunday and Wednesday night. Fifth, he/she should have a cheerful and cooperative disposition. Sixth, he/she should desire to improve and have the capacity to change. Seventh, he/she should recognize the importance and seriousness of teaching (Jas. 3:1).

Great Teachers Know Why They Teach.

There are no less than three purposes for teaching. First, the purpose of teaching is to impart knowledge—the truth of God’s Word (Jn. 5:33; Jn. 8:32). Second, the purpose of teaching is to influence attitudes (Eph. 4:11-16). Third, the purpose of teaching is to lead to action (Rm. 12:1-2).

This was a fantastic teacher workshop and I’m grateful to brother Tom Miller for the knowledge he imparted to us as listeners. Brother Miller has spent dozens of years preparing and practicing these principles. I know that if we can apply these things to our own program it will help us to have an even better Bible school program than already exists. If you’d like to help our program to grow and glow then I’d encourage you to visit with brother Tim Feltner (our deacon over the Bible school program) or any of our four elders. Let’s work together to build up the church and glorify God in the process.