Article March 15, 1952 Issue

Workshop Fruitage

For a number of years some of our branch churches have been holding what are called Workshop meetings of the Sunday School. The Workshop meeting, which was described in some detail in an article entitled "Workshop Meetings of Teachers and Officers," published in this column under date of January 15, 1949, is informal. There are no prepared papers, but teachers speak freely and spontaneously on the topics presented for discussion. Sometimes in the larger Sunday Schools two or three meetings are held consecutively, each one including teachers of certain age groups. Many churches hold Workshop meetings semiannually, although some have them more frequently. It has been found that the meetings are more interesting and helpful when they are far enough apart so that the teachers have a store of new experiences to share with each other. Usually these meetings are held in addition to the more formal meetings of teachers and officers, where prepared papers are given by those asked to take part in the program.

The article mentioned above was published because of the excellent fruitage reported from the meetings. Since that time many other Sunday Schools have adopted the plan, and reports of fruitage continue to come in. In a number of instances it has been said that as a result of Workshop meetings the teaching has improved and Sunday School attendance has increased. One superintendent reports that the Workshop meetings are "doing wonders" and that the Sunday School enrollment is increasing. Another report states that the Sunday School staff are enthusiastic about the Workshop meetings, which have been held for about three years, and that all have learned much from the sharing of experiences by this means.

A superintendent writes that in one Workshop meeting it was observed from the discussions that some of the pupils did not know where to find the first lessons or where to look for the familiar Bible narratives or the record of the life and works of Christ Jesus. This discussion helped the teachers to be more alert to the use of the books in teaching the lessons.

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