Teaching, preaching, and doctrine must be passed on to everyone in an understandable way. Over the past few days, brothers and sisters have shown how this can be done even better than before.
New teaching material for Sunday School
After the summer break in Europe, and starting with the new school year, new teaching material for Sunday School will now also be introduced in Europe. The highlight of the new material are the in-depth activities that connect the message and content of the lesson with some form of action. Puzzles, tasks, and illustrations make the topic tangible.
The Sunday School teaching material is a joint project, which saw its beginnings in 2009 in Canada. It was introduced in Canada two years ago. The content has been translated into additional languages in Europe, and will be presented in the form of a textbook and a student workbook. In addition to this, the content is available to all teachers and ministers in digital form in the new NAC media portal.
Last weekend, the regional children’s representatives from the western part of Germany came together in Mainz (Germany). Other District Churches are planning similar events.
The art of preaching
Congregational rectors from the Swellendam Bishop Area met for a homiletics training two weeks ago. Homiletics, the art of preaching or sacred rhetoric, is part of theology. The sessions are designed to help grow and develop rectors in becoming better preachers. The training was conducted at three different locations because of the vastness of the Bishop Area. It is envisaged that the course will run into April to ensure that all trainees are adequately equipped for the new road ahead.
The interaction among the trainees was excellent. Ideas and experiences were shared, which added an extra boost to the event.
Information from sources other than the Internet
Not all brothers and sisters have access to digital content. For those who don’t, community is particularly important. The international member magazine of the Church features information about the Chief Apostle’s travels and divine services, reports about congregational life around the world, and articles of a doctrinal nature. The magazine is published quarterly and free of charge: in the archives section of the nac.today website in many languages, and in printed form in many countries.
Several districts supplement the international material with reports and information specific to their region. Just this week, the New Apostolic Church Southern Germany published a new edition with a regional supplement in its media library.