Sunday Schools

by Kent Annan with Enel Angervil

The Bible has the potential to be the living waters—but sometimes it can just be dry. Many of us can remember a Sunday school teacher who made the millennia-old stories come alive, vividly and relevantly. And at some point a good number of us have probably nodded off during a sermon (this is dangerous ground for me… both my wife and my father are pastors!). 

In Haiti, Sunday schools mirror much of what is wrong with the education system discussed in this newsletter.  There is little opportunity for children to interact and relate the Bible to their inner-lives and to what’s going on in their communities. Instead, it’s rote memorization and repetition. 

Through our Living Words program, dozens of Sunday schools in churches of different denominations around the country are finding ways to make the Bible come alive for both children and adults—and to encourage them in their faith.  Beyond Borders has created booklets in Haitian Creole adapting the ancient lectio divina approach to prayer and Bible study. Following are testimonies from a child and a pastor about how this approach is helping bring Sunday schools to life.

Diane Calixte says: “I’m 12 years old and go to a Baptist church. I like this approach to Bible study a lot. It’s helped me not be so shy and to act better with my little brothers.  We’ve been using it in our Sunday school for three years. And for six months I’ve actually been a Sunday school teacher for younger children and use the booklets when I teach. It’s really helped me in church, in my school, and with my family.” 

Ilvin Obèl says: “I’m pastor of the Church on the Rock. We’ve been using this method in our four Sunday school classes for the past three years. Before we started doing it this way, nobody would talk…because the Sunday school teachers would basically just preach at the people in their classes. It was a really traditional approach. There was no discussion, no questions allowed. Now that we’re learning Scripture and praying together, it’s transformed our church community. We want more and more churches to have the opportunity to use this approach in their Sunday schools.”

Children who use the Living Words approach in Sunday school are also learning agricultural lessons through our network of churches.