As I mentioned last month, this September will mark the beginning of a new chapter in our ministries to kids and families here at First Pres. Along with more events for families, Club 56, and new social and learning opportunities for parents, we are also introducing a new Sunday school curriculum called “Spark”.

Spark is a lectionary based curriculum that will make it easier for our whole church family to hear and learn about the same story each week and provides great opportunities for all of us to take a more active part in nurturing the faith of our kids.  And maybe what’s most important of all, Spark makes it easy for anyone to be a successful Sunday school teacher! 

Below, you’ll find the answers to a few FAQs regarding our new program. I hope after you see just how easy and fun it can be, you’ll consider volunteering to nurture the faith of our youngest members!

Will I be teaching alone? — No! Each class will have a team of at least three teachers with at least two teaching each week. This way you’ll not only have the support of your team, but you’ll also be able to work out a rotation as a team so you can each attend worship with some regularity.

How often do I need to do it? — That is ultimately up to your team. So long as there are two teachers in the classroom each week, the rotation schedule is up to you and your teammates. 


What if I don’t know anything about the bible!? — No worries! Spark does a great job of preparing teachers for each week’s lesson. Not only does each week come with the written materials to help you prep, it also provides an online portal where you can view the upcoming lesson and watch weekly online prep video for each lesson and age group! So, even if you’ve only got 5 minutes to prepare, you can rest assured you’ll know the basics of that day’s lesson! 

How will I learn to use all this stuff?! — Come to our teacher training on August 24 from 12pm-1:30pm. We’ll cover everything you need to know. From the basic set-up of a Sunday morning to using the online web portal, to new Safe Sanctuary policies, by the end of our short training you’ll feel like a pro! Can’t make our August date? No worries! Just let me know! 

How do I sign up?! — I’m so glad you asked! If you’re interested in teaching next fall the first think you need to do is talk to me or Jan Barton! We’ll be happy to get you the forms you’ll need to fill out as well as answer any additional questions you might have. Our contact info is below.

This is promising to be a great year in Sunday School and I hope you’ll join us! 

Have a great summer!
Jonathan Fell 
Director of Children, Youth, & Families

Contact Info: 
Jonathan - 319.471.5510 or jonathan@1stpres.org
Jan Barton - 541-758-3328 or lewjb@comcast.net