Suffer the Children
Some children don't want to go to school during the week, let alone on the weekend. So for many Sunday school teachers, keeping students engaged in the extra lessons is often a challenge.
In some cases, churches turn to technology.
Calvin Presbyterian Church's traditional approach to Sunday school leads children through four- to six-week Bible lessons, using PowerPoint "just to add emphasis," said Bruce Smith, youth director at the Harmony church.
Children also receive "dead tree versions" — books and handouts — to supplement the message.
At Discovery Christian Church in Cranberry, children play games and other activities associated with that week's Bible study, said Stacie Salva, children and family minister.
"Kids don't like to just sit still," he said.
Some lessons are presented on DVD with singalongs, question-and-answer segments and games to test Bible knowledge.
"We have a very interactive curriculum that we are currently using with the elementary program," Salva said, "because that's what kids are used to."
Elementary classes also have a Nintendo GameCube to play before or after class.
"I think simple things like having the video games on Sunday can help kids feel comfortable," she said.
"If the kids are comfortable they're going to pay attention more and feel this is a good place to be and that what they're learning is relevant to their life — that it's not just something you do on Sunday but something you can do everyday."
Victory Family Church in Cranberry takes children's comfort to a whole new level in a theater room with puppets, a soft playroom with three tiers of 30-by-30-foot crawl tunnels, café-style snack room, extreme sports-themed room with skeeball machines and a large-group space with DVD players, black lights, Dance Dance Revolution machine, PlayStations and other technological amenities.
On any given Sunday, about 400 children, infant through fifth grade, attend ministry programs at the church, said Jody Bartell, children's pastor.
"To us, children's ministry isn't baby-sitting," he said. "We really minister to kids in a venue and a voice they can understand."
The children's areas comprise two-thirds of the recent $14 million building off Route 19.
Expansion is also under way for Calvin. Smith said packed Sunday school classes now meet in two separate Grandview Avenue houses next to the church.
A two-story, $1.1 million addition will add office space, meeting rooms and classrooms.
Incorporating technology has only served to enhance each church's message, the ministers say.
"The only thing that's changed about the format is the building," Bartell said.
"We really believe kids are not the church of tomorrow, they're the church of today."
