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이후 격려의 회신을 받았습니다.

From:
송은영 [mailto:godsdearchild@hanmail.net]
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 12:46
To: Sally Phoon; kumalael@gc.adventist.org; kohl@gc.adventist.org
Subject: [NEW SENDER] - A Proposal of Children 5-Minute Sermon Program in the Main Worship - Message is from an unknown sender

 

A Proposal of Children 5-Minute Sermon Program in the Main Worship

 

Introduction

 

My name is Song, Eun-young and I am a children teacher at a local church, New Hope Church in Seoul, Korea. I've been in charge of children 5-minute sermon program in the main worship service for 10 years. I provide one or two sermon texts every week on my web folder. Already over five hundred children sermons are collected on my web pages and many children teachers visit my web site to prepare the Sabbath children sermons every week. I wrote monthly devotionals for children three times and an article from my personal experiences in the Korean Church Compass. Two years ago, I published a children 5-minute sermon book titled 'Christ Like Looks, Christ Like Hearts' and distributed about 1,100 copies throughout the world for Korean church members, especially in the Northern Asia Pacific Division district. I got some help from Korean Union Conference and the local ABCs. In the book, I suggested 48 sample sermons for each month and extra 52 sermons for the fifth we! eks and other worship services. In the last part, I introduced some skills or know-how to manage it well in the local churches.

 

I had special chances to visit the five local churches and to show a model sermon in the main worship on Sabbath and conducted 5-minute sermon seminars in the afternoon. Once I dispatched children sermon preachers from my church to another church in Seoul for one month to help them begin the children sermon program easily. Nowadays I provide children sermon video files too in the site, www.egw.org. Sometimes I send materials by post mail and people come to me directly to get some resources. The reasons I write this proposal are for two things, first, to explain the effectiveness of children sermons through my personal experiences and second, to expand the children sermon program nation-widely and to promote this program again all the world-widely.

   

Effectiveness and Importance of 5-Minute Children Sermons

 

Basically children can learn the Bible easily and entertainingly and develope their originality, concentration and imaginative power through children 5-minute sermon program. More than those things, the children sermon program affects greatly not only children but also other church members and the whole church.

 

Children sermon can be a good worship training and sample worship service to the little audience. Usually children are faced with inner conflicts to endure and understand the main worship as they grow up. But children sermon plays an important role for them to accept and adapt to the long worship gradually and smoothly. Children are instructed to have good position in their chairs and to be silent not to any harm the worship atmosphere. But on the contrary, they can participate more positively to the main sermon, because during the children sermon time, they express their opinions confidently and positively. Children sermon engraves joyful worship images on their hearts and adult members don't need to worry them to reluctant to be with their parents and to go outside during all the main worship service. Children's thinking are so simple but clever, smart, original, humorous, and impressive. My church secures the children sermon time even among any important c! hurch ceremonies and children feel the self-esteemed consciousness by respecting their personalities as the main audience. They regard all the main worship service as their time.

 

Time for sermon is only for 5 minutes so I don't want to add any redundant and clumsy words so I usually memorize all the sermon texts with reading and repeating many times. And the sermon styles are so various. Sometimes we have a skit, musical, seeing the art works, physical exercises, journalist reports, ect. In my church, the members are about 70, but most adults are good children sermon preachers. They are well educated during the long years and prepare the stories with brilliant ideas and various materials. My church members welcome to the children sermon time with childlike expectancy. Children sermon teachers had better stand in the place that is seen by everybody not only for children. When several church children play at home, they "Imitate Children Sermon Teachers" and encourage their parents to try it with giving their favorite bible story books.

 

Some members questioned me why I wanted to do the children sermon at that time. They wanted children teachers preach in the children worship only, but my opinion about it is very clear. Timing is so important in everything. I call the time right before the main sermon "Golden Time". At that time the most members gather to the same place and the concentration rate of them is the most high, so if children teachers secure the program at the right time, though it is only 5 minutes, all members can recognize the importance of children and their education as the time goes by. Other children programs take much time and efforts but it is comparatively simple and very effective.

 

But the time is to kept precisely. Korean pastors who don't like the children sermon tell about the over time with the sermon qualities. They want to keep their sermon time. So children teachers should remember the rule of time.

 

 

Suggestions and the Final Appeals

 

My church members didn't have the good insight about the children sermon program at first before 10 years. Especially in the Korean situation, children cannot be recognized important and speak in the holy services. Korean people express our feelings and opinions very carefully in the official meetings. It took five years that most members don't doubt the effectiveness of this program. And after 5 years, they became my co-workers and good idea makers. Now they feel the high pride to be 5 minutes sermon preachers. Now my church children sermon time is filled with good impression, brightness and laughters. But still in the many Korean churches, they don't have the program. So we need to encourage churches to begin the children sermon program strategically.

 

I really want all the world churches to understand the importance of children sermons and run the program, and develop their sermon qualities in case of churches already doing it. I'm sure that the church will be refreshed and brightened in the worship service by this program and every church member can be a good preacher in the main worship and watch the growth of the hope of church at their eyes clearly through children's participation and wonderful responses.


ANSWER LETTER From Sally Lam-Phoon, NSD Children
Director
 

I apologize for this late reply but your message warmed my heart and I am really interested to see that your materials are distributed and shared.  Since I don’t read Korean, it’s hard for me to take a look at your book and visit your website.  However, we have Koreans in China with whom I can share what you have so they can translate it into Chinese and post it on a website for all to use.

 

I will be very busy next month with a lot of travel but if we could meet in April, I’d like to buy some of the materials you have, take a look at them and then look for agents in China who could help us to translate if it is beneficial for the children there.

 

Your concept is a vital one if we want our children to feel that they are a part of our church.  In many churches we do have a children’s story which is similar to your idea of a 5-minute sermon.  If you can give me your phone number, I could call you for a chat and we can arrange to meet up when it’s convenient for you.

 

Again, sorry it has taken me so long but I’ve had an extremely busy schedule that included traveling so I hope you understand.  To begin with, I’m going to share what you have written below in a web newsletter on Sabbath school news from around the world that is put together by the GC.  I pray that some people will benefit from this knowledge that there is a website with Korean materials for children.  Can you send me your website address so we can publish it?

 

Hope to hear back from you soon!

 

Blessings,

 

Shalom!

Sally Lam-Phoon, Director

Children's, Family & Women Ministries

NORTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC DIVISION

      of Seventh-day Adventists

P. O. Box 43

Goyang Ilsan

410-600 South Korea

Tel:  (82)31-9101532

Fax:  (82)31-919-4412

Email:  sallylam@nsdadventist.org