To Cause to Learn

It's really important to know who you're teaching. This episode is all about those middle school years and what you need to know about them if you're teaching them the faith. 

We’ve been through teaching preschool through 5thgrade so we've moved into the Confirmation years and are answering the question: Why should you change how you teach confirmation?  It’s an area that makes many pastors uncomfortable and we’ll talk about why. 

Find the books mentioned on Amazon or pdf versions on www.carpentersministrytoolbox.com 

This episode is all about teaching the faith to 5th graders. For kids who love to talk about stuff like them, it's time to give them something to talk about. Who are kids at this age and how do we best teach the faith is what this episode is all about.

This episode is about teaching the faith to 4th graders and continues how to change a regular Sunday school class into Bible Inquiry. Fourth graders are a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Tap into their curiosity and point it toward the Bible. 

This episode is about teaching the faith to 3rd graders and introduces Bible Inquiry, which is taking Sunday school to the next level. Kids have taken their seriousness of 2nd grade and are ready to grow and learn about the people and places of the Bible. They're curious and have questions. Ready? Set? Go!

Most of the kids who come up for a Children's Message, Children's Sermon, Lamb's Lesson, or whatever it's called at your church, are in the Narrative Stage (Preschool-2nd Grade). What's the best message for kids this age? Object lesson? You might be surprised! This episode answers the questions: 

1. What are children's messages and what's their purpose?
2. What do you know about the age group of the kids who come forward and what works best for them?
3. Object lessons don't work, so where do you start?
4. What really works? 

Kids in the Narrative Stage (Preschool to 2nd grade) love stories. Why do we tell the story of the Bible and the stories in the Bible as if they're boring? We can do better. How? Listen and find out!

This episode is about teaching the faith to second graders! They're a little more serious than last year and not as boisterous, but curious, creative,  inventive, and ready to start talking about emotions. This episode answers the questions:

What is the Narrative Stage? (a brief overview) What's special about second graders in the Narrative Stage? How do we manage these thoughtful thinkers? How do we effectively teach the faith to second graders?

This episode will benefit anyone who has or works with these precious little lovers of Jesus and wants to share the faith with them through Bible stories at their developmental level. 

This episode is about teaching the faith to first graders. They're fun, boisterous, and always ready to learn something new. This episode answers the questions:

What is the Narrative Stage? What's special about first graders in the Narrative Stage? How do we manage these young adventurers? How do we effectively teach the faith to first graders?

This episode will benefit anyone who has or works with these precious little lovers of Jesus and wants to share the faith with them through Bible stories. 

This episode will benefit anyone who has or works with these precious little lovers of Jesus and wants to share the faith with them through Bible stories. 

This episode answers the questions: 

1. What is the Narrative Stage?
2. What's special about kids in the Narrative Stage?
3. How do we manage these little dynamos?
4. How do we effectively teach the faith to preschoolers and kinders?

This episode highlights cognitive development and male/female differences. God created us differently and those differences are deeper than appearance, desires, and abilities. It goes all the way down to our cells. It's important to know these differences because every class will have both boys and girls knowing more about their brain development helps us from allowing stereotypes to affect our teaching.

Does how the brain works and learns matter in teaching the faith? It does. This episode is briefly explains how the brain works and learns, and how that information helps when teaching the faith. 

This short message explains where I got the name, To Cause to Learn.