A new teaching approach to Sunday School in the Congo sees success.

Congo-Kinshasa (ECM/MNN)–African Sunday schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo are excited about a new teaching method developed by Every Child Ministries.

The method is like expository preaching, but it is active, involving the students and calling on ways of learning that Africans love. It involves teaching the Scripture slowly, sequentially, and in depth. The teacher reads a small segment—usually only a verse or two—slowly.

Then he asks questions to help the students really pay attention to what the Scripture says. Questions for primary students are mainly factual, while questions for high school students involve more thought. The students act out what happened in that verse, and finally, sing what happened with appropriate actions of all kinds.

The sequence—Read, Question, Act, Sing—is repeated for each section—3 to 5 times in a Bible lesson. Lorella Rouster, former missionary to Congo, developed the method with much input from the Congolese staff of Every Child Ministries.

She says that she had previously published a lesson using western teaching methods that covered the entire story of Jonah in one single lesson.

Using this slower style and African teaching techniques, the story of Jonah was covered in sixteen lessons. At the end, the children really knew the story of Jonah, and they had seriously considered the actual Bible text. They also enjoyed the teaching immensely. Now Every Child Ministries’ staff is working on a series on the book of Genesis.

You can learn more about Every Child Ministries at www.kidsyes.org or call 1-866-KIDSYES.