Training – It’s All in the Prep

Training is as important as recruiting. Have you developed a good training program for your teachers and volunteers? Even if you’ve already done some training, consider a second and/or third training a few weeks into the quarter to iron out any problems and answer questions that keep arising each Sunday.

Learning the dynamics of using the CDs, DVDs, Bible Memory Makers™, and handouts will help volunteers understand exactly how Sunday school will run once the kids enter the room.  Here’s what you’ll need:

• TV/VCR – Monitor should be at least 25” if more than 25 attendees
• Microphone (if more than 20 attendees)
• Refreshments
• Sign-in table & name tags
• Group’s Living Inside Out™ Module with Songs & Effects CD, Sights & Sounds DVD, Bible Memory Makers, and Leader Guides
• Object lesson gizmos from the lesson (if needed)
• Theme posters and Jabber Mat™*

*These items are available from Group Publishing or your local Group supplier.

1. Before the meeting, set up a CD player, TV, and a DVD player in your meeting room. Insert the Large-Group Sights & Sounds DVD from the theme box. Set chairs facing the TV. Decorate your meeting room to reflect one or more of the three themes included in the Living Inside Out Quarterly Kit and hang up the Theme posters from the Create-a-Theme Poster Pack.  
2. Designate areas of the room or specific tables for each of the three age ranges: preschool, lower elementary, and upper elementary. If you have a large group of volunteers in each age range, divide them into groups of five so they will have the experience of small groups much like the children will. Assign each small group a special place in the Large-Group room. This space may be defined in lots of creative ways. You may use large poster-board signs with numbers, letters or colors, shapes or creative group names. Some churches use colored fabric cloths on the floor made from fabric, shower curtains, quilts, tablecloths, or butcher paper. Even better, let Group’s Jabber Mat do the job for you. Each colorful 5’x 5’ canvas mat comes with more than a hundred activities built right in—instant solutions if a lesson runs short and you have a few minutes to fill. You’ll need one inexpensive mat for each small group.
3. Provide each participant with a sample copy of the Small-Group Leader Guide page and a copy of a student take-home page for their designated age group. Place these in the pocket of your “Jabber Mat” supply bags or whatever supply container you are using. Place all the supplies needed for their particular age group’s activity in the pocket also.
4. Place name tags and markers near your entryway. Tape each Theme poster to a sheet of white poster board or foam core. (This makes posters stiff so that they’re easier to hold up for your staff to see.)
5. Play the songs from the Sights and Sounds DVD as volunteers arrive. (This sets the mood and gives everyone a chance to preview the awesome music they’ll be hearing during Large-Group Praise & Worship.) Greet each Large- and/or Small-Group Leader with a warm smile. Encourage each volunteer to write his or her name on a name tag. Then ask your volunteers to sit down.
   
   Next, start leading the lesson. As you go along, let the teachers ask questions and fully participate. You’ll find that teachers will enjoy their training and feel ready to go when you bring in the kids during Sunday school.

For more training help, including a complete training script, refer to the Living Inside Out Director’s CD and Make it R.E.A.L.: Group’s Easy Teacher Training & Recruitment DVD.