Junior Sunday School Report 2012

The Junior Sunday School plays a crucial part in the Christian Education to children in Truth B-P Church. It ministers to children aged fourteen and below.

The objectives of the Junior Sunday School are based on Colossians 2:6-7, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

Our objectives are to lead the children to:

1.    the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Receive), 

2.    obey God and be a good testimony (Walk),

3.    a vibrant spiritual life (Rooted and Built up),

4.    a clear understanding of the basic Christian doctrines and teachings in the Word of God (Stablished and Abounding).

There were about 30 children in the Junior Sunday School in the year 2012. The children were grouped according to their ages into four departments (see table below). There were between four to eight children in each department.

Department:	Age range:	Venue:	Department superintendent/ assistant superintendent:
Pre-school	6 years old and below	Room 01-05	Eileen Chee / Mrs Mary Yong
Primary	7 to 9 years old	Room 03-07	Ng Boon Choo
Junior	10 to 12 years old	Room 03-08	Mrs Alice Tan
Young Teens	13 to 14 years old	Room 04-06	Eric Toh

Each department has its own curriculum to meet the spiritual needs of its students. Pre-school and Primary departments focused mainly on Bible narratives. The children learn not only about biblical characters and events in the Old and New Testaments, but were also taught foundational truths drawn from these Bible lessons and how they may apply them in their lives. Both departments used materials from the Regular Baptist Press.

Children in the Junior Department had a programme of systematic study of the Bible doctrines according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Their focus was to help the children understand the answers to the Catechism questions and the supporting doctrines.

Students in the Young Teens department were further grounded in their faith by a two-year programme that included a study of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith and a survey of the whole Bible. The Young Teens teacher would get the students to memorize scripture verses and to engage the students in a two-way discussion on practical applications. Both the Junior and Young Teens departments used materials which were developed in-house.

Besides regular Sunday school lessons, the children also have combined department programmes, which, in 2012, included the following activities:

·        --  Quarterly birthday celebrations

·         -- Easter Quiz

·         -- Teachers’ Day celebration

·         -- Missions Fortnight

·         -- Promotion Sunday 

Each department, with the exception of Pre-school, had an Open Sunday usually on the fifth Sunday of the month. This gave our Pastor, Rev Dennis Kwok, the opportunity to minister God’s Word to the children.

Some departments also organized special programmes. The Pre-school department had an outing at Yew Mei Green on 10 March, while the Junior and Young Teens departments had their combined outing to East Coast Park on 29 December.

The Junior Sunday School teachers gathered in church on 2 June for a teachers’ training session on the topic “The Makings for a Good Sunday School Lesson.” Eileen taught the Pre-school and Primary teachers while Xiao Wei taught the Junior and Young Teens teachers. Thank God that many participants found the session practical and felt that it was helpful for their lesson preparation.

Thank God for the department superintendents and assistant superintendents’ service in 2012. As part of the Junior Sunday School committee, they met quarterly to discuss and decide on matters concerning the Junior Sunday School. We are also thankful to God for the dedicated service of all the teachers and helpers. To show their appreciation, the Sunday School children presented a song item during the Worship Service on 2 September. Each teacher and helper also received a card made by the children. This was a part of our Teachers’ Day celebration which ended with a Teacher’s Day high-tea buffet.

Please pray that the Lord will give us wisdom and keep us faithful as we continue to serve Him in the training of these young children in the Word of God and in His ways. May these children be well trained in the way that they should go so that when they became old, they will not depart from it (Prov 22:6).