Back In The Saddle

In order to better understand Sunday school here in Zambia I have begun visiting the class of Good Shepherd Church here in Makeni. I use the singular "class" because more often than not there is only one. Held during the worship service, the Sunday school is attended by over thirty children, ages ranging from 1-13. Although three teachers are scheduled, usually only one shows up. Curriculum consists of suggested Bible passages posted outside the church walls on a bulletin board. From one of the passages the teacher creates a lesson. Before the lesson the children sing for about 20 minutes, which I love hearing and watching. It’s very energetic and enthusiastic. Oftentimes it is led by the older girls, usually Chipo (third from the left in the first picture). Then the teacher reads the selected Bible passage, writes something on the chalkboard from the passage, and then lectures or asks questions. Afterwards the children sing again for about 15 minutes until it is time to go into the church building and receive a blessing from the pastor.

This past Sunday I sat in on the class of Mrs. Ngoma, the pastor’s wife. After instructing the children from a passage in Deuteronomy about obeying God and thus receiving His blessing, she asked me to teach the children a song and say a few words, i.e., teach a lesson. Whispering a prayer for God’s help, I rose to my feet wondering what I was going to say next. I remembered that I had wondered if the children understood what it meant to be a Christian. “What is a Christian?” I asked, writing down their answers on the chalkboard. Chipo’s answer was, “one who believes in the Lord.” Bingo. Other answers ranged from one who goes to church, doesn’t fight, to one who prays every day. I had some fun with their first answer. I said, “If I drove to Autoworld and walked into their shop, would that make me a car?” Laughter erupted. “Neither does walking into church make you a Christian,” I said.

Trying to tie Mrs. Ngoma’s lesson to a Bible story, I told the story of the bronze serpent in the O.T. and how Jesus said that those “bitten” by sin must look to Him. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (ESV, John 3:14) After teaching them a few songs I realized, I LOVE teaching! Please pray for me this Sunday as it is my turn to teach. Please pray that God would open my eyes as well as the eyes of the children.