My brother Alan sent me a list of helpful tips that he wrote for the teaching volunteers in his ministry in Colorado. I thought it would be worth passing along to those of us who teach on a regular basis.
The Bible must to central to what we are teaching. While we aim to be interactive and use different mediums we must be based in the Word each time we share. If we don’t do this then we are just sharing funny stories and trying to make ourselves look wise (I have been guilty of this many times)
Be multisensory: We don’t want to just talk a lesson (this is how it has traditionally been done in churches), we want to SHOW them the lesson. We should always ask, “How can I engage different senses as we unpack the Bible?” God-given mandates often use many of the senses (sacrifices, communion, Jesus carrying the cross and dying on it, building altars, hiking up a mountain to meet with God, God’s revelation through creation)
Go for one main point: We are really only able to take ONE thought or nugget of wisdom away from what we learn in the long term.
Give them a challenge to specific action: Challenge students to do something. Often we give a good talk with good info, but we don’t ask them to change their lives at all and to make more room for God during the next week.
Use good questions: Questions evoke learning and discovery while statements close the door on discovery. We want to be a questioning community that engages students and volunteers.
Stories are gold: Personal stories make us very human and reachable and remind them how life and faith intersect. Often you can use small stories of students’ obedience to inspire other students. Take a chance to lift up students and volunteers whenever you can.
Don’t say too much: Sometimes we just keep talking because we don’t know where to end. We should say too little instead of too much.
Leave time for silence: This allows them to think, process questions, and let God speak to them. If we fill all the time then we aren’t leaving time for the Holy Spirit to move in them. We have so little silence in our world today we must provide that time in the Church.