Looking for a new format to revitalize your church’s Sunday School or Vacation Bible School (VBS) programs? How about one that is a hundred percent biblically sound in its teaching and has kids begging to come back for more —even bringing their friends?

The Zion and Bigwoods Lutheran Churches in Oslo, Minnesota, along with the local Catholic parish, recently launched just such a VBS program to overwhelming success. According to Pastor Deborah Hanson, the secret of their success was using Crossways International’s The Parables of Jesus as the core curriculum, and then developing some fun, novel ways for the children to bring the parables vividly to life.  

 
“We began each session with an opening worship time; then we read the parables for each day’s lessons from the Bible and sang songs,” explains Pastor Hanson. The children next rotated through three stations.  At the first station, they revisited the parable stories via Crossways International’s The Parables of Jesus book and accompanying transparencies. At the second station, every student made a prop or costume to be used in a dramatic performance of the parable. Then, at the third station, they worked on a craft based on the meaning of the parable.  

The children loved the hands-on activities — which, in turn, left indelible impressions that should help them remember the lessons of the parables for life.  For example, to re-enact the parable of the Lost Sheep , 20 children wandered down the aisle, “baaing” and bleating to their hearts’ content. Other youngsters donned choir robes to portray the villagers in the parable of the Lost Coin.

 
To illustrate the parable in The Tax Collector and the Pharisee, children used adhesive-backed name tags to represent the traditional Jewish tefillin (a small box containing scriptural parchments that is worn on the forehead) and yarn to mimic the tefillin’s arm straps. But perhaps the most rewarding of their crafts was the hand-decorated and laminated I’m a Good Samaritan book mark, which the children made for themselves as a memento after assembling packets of school supplies to be distributed to needy families by the county Social Services department.  

The program was conducted for approximately two hours a day for four days, Monday through Thursday, with a special parent session held on the final day. Pastor Hanson says of the program’s surge in popularity, “We expected to have 40 children per class, but 62 to 64 kept showing up. Everyone involved was brimming with excitement and enthusiasm. Friends were bringing friends! It was phenomenal! It was heart-warming! We were truly blessed!”  

"Thanks to Crossways International and their wonderful The Parables of Jesus text and transparencies,” she adds, “it was a very inexpensive way to do something very major!” The cost per student, including craft materials, was $3.00.  

The remarkable success of the VBS program sparked a total restructuring of one of these churches’ Christian education program for children, using Crossways materials as their foundation. The result?  Sunday School attendance more than tripled in size.

Sound like something your church might want to try?

Personal references and contact information regarding others' use of The Parables of Jesus can be obtained from us at info@crossways.org or 1-800-257-7308. An enthusiastic person will answer the phone or reply by email immediately!

For more on The Parables of Jesus, click here.

Please contact us with your questions (& pictures!) and tell us about your own experiences with Crossways International's materials and resources.