1
A Family not a Building
Aim
To begin to understand that a church is a family, not a
building.
To reflect on the concept of the extended family.
Lesson
Before the lesson enlarge images of church families.
Begin by informing children that over the next six weeks, they are going to be learning about the Church.
What is a church? Invite a volunteer to describe or to draw a church on the blackboard.
No doubt, what will be drawn or described will be a church building. Praise the efforts of the volunteer but tell the class that what has been drawn is a church building, not a church.
To help the children understand this idea, teach them the words and actions to the rhyme:
Here's the Church and here's the steeple.
Open the door and here's all the people.
You may also wish to use the pictures of churches in England, Mexico and Africa to communicate the idea that a Church is a group of people.
Inform the children that a church is also like a family.
Encourage children to talk about their families.
Who are the members of their families? Do any other members of their families live in other parts of the world? What is the best/worst thing about being in a family? What makes a family?
The people in churches throughout the world all believe that God is their Father. They think they are like one big family. They try to love each other like brothers and sisters.
Conclusion
Conclude lesson by informing the children that their class should also be like a family.
Notes
During this topic, it is important to remember that Christianity is a world-wide movement. Currently, the fastest growing churches are in countries such as Brazil, South Korea and sub-Sahara Africa. Within Britain, the expansion of Black churches contrasts sharply to the decline of those churches with a more conventional image.
