Rebecca Bhavanasi shares about our church ministry to children aged 4-7 at Hendon Baptist Church.
Even in the midst of the pandemic the world is currently facing, we praise God for He has made it possible for His people to continue His work using the medium of technology. Hendon Baptist Church is carrying out its Sunday school /Junior Church program via Zoom sessions every Friday from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. Children are divided into three age groups - Beginner-Primary (4-7), Juniors (7-11) and Seniors (11-16). The leaders conduct sessions of 30 minutes each with every group. The lessons for the older two groups are taken from the Scripture Union resources for Sunday Schools. The leaders of the younger group use a website called Together @ Home which uploads a new lesson each week and the leaders share it with the parents on a WhatsApp group so as to enable them to go through the lesson with their children during the week.
Ruth's Artwork
Each lesson for the Beginner-Primary group consists of a Bible story, questions for adults to ask children, a prayer to say together, a verse to remember, and at least three or four activities that the children could participate in. It also consists of a colouring page with the memory verse on it and a puzzle sheet. The parents involve their children in fun activities at home, share the story and help them memorize the Bible verse.
Daniel's Artwork
The Bible lessons are a combination of both Old and New Testament stories. So far the lessons covered for the Beginner- Primary group are : Jesus appears to His disciples; Emmaus Road; The Good Shepherd; story of the fiery furnace; Jesus comforts the disciples; King Nebuchadnezzar's dream; Jesus promises a helper; Peter heals the lame man and the writing on the wall (Daniel 5).
Ayomide's artwork
During the session on Friday, the children join via Zoom accompanied by a parent to assist them. Once all the children have greeted each other, the session commences with an opening prayer by either a child or an adult.
Joshua's artwork
To get the attention of the children, the leader begins with a game or an action song in which all children enjoy participating. For children who wouldn't have had a chance to learn the story, an animated version of the Bible story is shared on the screen by the leader to ensure all children understand the story. The children then showcase and share what they have learnt during the week.
Visual Aids used by Rebecca
The leader gives a chance to every kid to share their activities such as exhibiting their colouring pages, puzzles, reciting the verse, showing crafts they've made, etc. Their work is appreciated and encouraged by leaders and parents.
Christine's artwork (picture 1) and Derin's artwork (pictures 2 and 3)
The program finishes with another action song that is played for them to imitate and sing along. Before bidding a goodbye to all, the session ends with a closing prayer either by a child or an adult.
Toro's Artwork
The children very much enjoy these sessions. Parents are to be appreciated for their time and effort in helping their children learn stories and encouraging them to participate in these activities.
Thea's Artwork
