As I was catching my breath one Sunday morning, a family came running in late, dripping from the storm outside. The mother jokingly said to me, "I was hoping to sleep in this morning and stay out this awful weather. However, my kids dragged me in because they didn’t want to miss Sunday school." I felt like someone had just handed me a check for a million dollars! It was thrilling to know that her children were excited about coming to church. What a blessing it is to have the opportunity to teach and minister to children about God’s love for them. And what a greater blessing that they are receptive and have the desire to learn.

A couple weeks later I observed a child scold a parent because they were out of town the previous weekend and missed the excitement the other children had experienced. I know this sounds a little abnormal, but this is not your typical Sunday morning program.

How can this be happening in my church? Simple, 3 little words - Workshop Rotation Model. If you are tired of buying expensive boxed curriculum, rewriting lessons to fit your Children’s Ministry program and watching children sit comatose as teachers try to make the Gospel come alive, then this is the program for you.

Workshop Rotation Model or WoRM as it is sometimes abbreviated, is a Church School program first developed by Neil MacQueen and Melissa Hansche in 1990 at The Presbyterian Church in Barrington, Illinois. The Model has become a movement as churches across the nation are learning about this creative and innovative way to reach children and teach them God's Word.

Workshop Rotation Model (WoRM) offers four contemporary benefits to my Children’s Ministry program:

Repetition, multi-sensory learning, active learning, and the revitalization of volunteers.

Repetition:

When children attend school they are bombarded with the art of repetition. School educators understand that children do not learn the first go round. So, why should Church School be any different? It is time for us to wise up! Children do not learn to read, write, or tell time by listening to their teacher for an hour. They are constantly drilled, they do multiplication tables, spelling tests, worksheets, etc. Finally they are able to grasp the concept. One of WORM’s underlying philosophies stems directly from this educational principle, repetition. Many types of pre-written, traditional curriculum offer children a different Bible story or theme each weekend. How can we expect our children to "get it" on the first try?

Before working with children I worked with youth and was constantly amazed at how little they knew about the Bible. Even the most basic stories were a mystery to them. Growing up they had not developed the Biblical basis they needed. Maybe their parents forced them to go to Church School under duress or maybe they were instructed to sit quietly and listen to their teacher for an hour. Whatever the case, they had missed the boat. However, with WORM there is no worry that this will happen in your program. Through WORM children are offered an experience where they learn about the same story, theme, or concept for consecutive weeks. I have been amazed at the stories I have heard from parents. Stories of their first graders rehearsing the Ten Commandments, listening to their children recite their rendition of the Lord’s Prayer, explaining to them about the six days of creation, discussing the trials of Jonah and so on. Cliff Layman, an elder and a volunteer in my program, has found that "by the end of the rotation even the youngest child fully understands the Biblical topic and can discuss complex issues related to the lesson." When children are exposed to a certain story for a series of weeks they learn and remember. And the best thing is that they have fun doing it!

Multi-sensory:

As churches seek to reach out to their congregation they adjust their worship styles, adult education classes, and fellowship programs to meet their needs. Why should Church School be any different? Multi-sensory learning is an important part our church and our society because no two children learn alike.

Traditional Church School programs normally are not sensitive to this issue. With WORM, children are able to experience different learning styles. If a child does not learn as effectively by listening to a story, they get the story again in another workshop where they can act out a story using puppets, or design their own art project, or do an exercise in movement. If this does not work, how about a cooking project, or a mission project? WORM has something to offer to all children. Wendy Boyles, who helps write the curriculum for our program, feels that, "As an educator I can be confident that we are reaching all children.

WORM covers every learning style and it is reassuring that through the rotation we will reach all children and they will receive the message." The most amazing thing is that you, as a minister to children, are able to specialize your ministry to benefit your community of children. Every Children's Ministry Program is unique just like every church. You can help your children learn by teaching them in the very ways they learn best!

Active Learning:

WORM is not a program for a church that wants their children to sit silently in Church School as teachers tell them the great stories of the Bible. With WORM you will not normally walk by a classroom and hear silence, you will not normally see children sitting at desks working in workbooks or filling out worksheets. However, you will hear sounds of astonishment, yelling, singing, strange noises and lots of laughter. These are all signs of Active Learning.

Reach out to the children of your church and allow them to be enjoy their Christian education. They will be filled with creativity, a love for learning, and an understanding that they can reap the benefits and learn as much as they desire. Depending on your church’s space allotments and your needs, children can involve themselves in performing puppet shows, making soap with plastic Jonahs, and making lunch for the homeless. Their opportunities are endless! Children are just like adults, most of us learn by doing, not just by seeing. Once children realize that they are part of a program that they are the creators of their own destiny they will begin to desire to receive the basic truths of the Bible and love the learning that they are receiving!

(One of the benefits of creating learning style-based workshops is that your rooms are revitalized around the particular teaching medium used. The Art Workshop doesn't look like a generic classroom. It is filled with art materials. The Drama workshop isn't cluttered with desks and chairs. Each room takes on its own distinctive decor to facilitate and energize the lesson.)

Revitalization of Volunteers:

How many of you have spent countless hours agonizing over your lack of volunteers? I have spent more than I would like to admit. There never seems to be the right answer, the perfect solution. We offer three hours of Church School at my church. That accounts for approximately sixty volunteers a weekend. I do not think that I will ever have the luxury of having too many volunteers. However, WORM has helped!

Volunteers are able to select a room that they find interesting. My goal is to find areas that volunteers can give their gifts and talents. If they love arts and crafts then that room is perfect for them. If they majored in Drama in college but are not using that gift then they have found their perfect match. We have many talented volunteers who have mastered the art of putting popcorn in a bag; the Movie Theater has become the room that they love to teach. If there is a talent that is prevalent in your church you can design your program around these talents. For instance, if you have a clowning troupe in your church then it may be beneficial to implement a clowning rotation in your Church School classes. It is wonderful to give volunteers the opportunity to use their gifts and talents instead of shoving them in a room and asking them to entertain children for an hour. I’m not saying that WORM will solve all of your volunteer problems, however, it will excite and motivate volunteers.

I have seen that the parents and volunteers in my program now enjoy teaching! There is no preparation for them, so they are only expected to show up and teach the children. All of their energy is now focused on building relationships with the children and teaching them about Christ. Cindy Merten, Director of Education at First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Michigan feels that "Workshop Rotation Model is really a whole church ministry disguised as a children’s program, because it involves people of all ages with so many different talents and skills." This is very true! I have had an amazing number of volunteers who are not parents enter our program. The congregation, as a whole, has become more excited about the children of our church. More people have become involved and more people have taken a vested interest in the Christian education of our children. It feels as if the entire congregation has taken the children on as their mission. What could be better?

 

FAITH TREK... The Rotation Model in my church

We decided to name our program "Faith Trek." My goal was to work with children to guide them on their spiritual "trek". What an unbelievable addition this program has been to our Children’s Ministry program. This is an easy process to begin in your own church! Once you convince the governing body of your church to entrust you with this challenge the support of the congregation will soon follow.

I am the Children’s Director at Grace Community Church, a large church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Our program, Faith Trek, has truly been an amazing opportunity for our children and our church. Craig Holladay, one of the pastors at Grace Community is "excited to see children eager about coming to church and eager about learning." We have hundreds of children a weekend flock to learn about Christ and about themselves. Four rooms make up our Faith Trek experience: The Doodle Stop (arts and crafts), HolyWood (movie
theater), Imagination Station (puppets, drama, and music) and The Divine Diner (mission room). Children are excited about the amazing ambiance of the room, the freedom to interact with each other, but most of all they are excited about what they learn!

Teachers are recruited to teach for a four-week "rotation." Normally teachers would have the duty of preparing a different set of curriculum each weekend. The great thing about WORM is that teachers teach the same thing for four weeks. Students rotate by grades through each room. A great benefit for teachers is that they become a pro by the end of their four-week period. If they realize something works well one way, then the next weekend they are able to make the changes needed. By the time the fourth week rolls around they are able to teach with their eyes closed. Before the beginning of their "rotation" their curriculum is sent to them. Volunteers have time to review the curriculum and ask any questions they may have. Many of you have probably used expensive curriculum in the past. With WORM curriculum cost is not an issue. There is no expensive curriculum that has to be purchased.

There are some main line publishers that are writing curriculum that can be purchased. However, many churches, like mine, write their own curriculum. We have a curriculum team that meets once a month to write the curriculum for the upcoming rotation. There are also many wonderful resources on the web. Many churches have put their curriculum on the World Wide Web at www.rotation.org for other churches to use. You can pull up pre-written sessions from other churches. You are then encouraged to share your curriculum. So, the task of writing your own curriculum becomes not as cumbersome as it seems. Churches have teamed up and are now borrowing from each other, helping other programs to succeed.

You, as a teacher and minister of children have the opportunity to change the lives of the children of your church. You have the opportunity to ensure that your children are learning about Christ, the chance to know that they are enjoying Church School and will continue to enjoy it for years. The many hours you will spend preparing your church for this wonderful makeover will bring your children countless hours of learning and enjoyment.

CONTACT:

If you are interested in learning more about WORM please contact Ashley Parr Henderson at Grace Community Church, 6561 Meredien Church, Raleigh, NC or at ahenderson@gracecommchurch.com.

This article was written for rotation.org