When it comes to your adult education ministries, sometimes it's just as important to help your congregation understand why you offer educational opportunities for adults as it is to advertise what your congregation is doing.

Here's a quick little blurb I have used in a church newsletter for this purpose. (Unfortunately, I no longer have a note that indicates whether I originally wrote it or whether I borrowed/adapted it from somewhere. If you recognize it, please let me know so I may give credit where it's due!) This pretty succinctly states what I believe to be true about adult educational ministries. I encourage you to write your own statement which fits your own congregation and your vision for Christian education.

Until I visited Israel in person, I never truly understood the importance of geography to a better understanding of the biblical narrative. Now, a few years after my trip, what sticks in my mind more than anything is the geography.

It is unfortunate that maps are usually relegated to the back of the Bible, if they are present at all. The best Bibles have at least ten pages of maps and diagrams; my favorite Bible has 19! Why? The history of the land of Israel is a history of tribes and kingdoms and empires—united and divided monarchies, Assyrian and Babylonian, Greek and Roman, and of course one can't forget about all of those "ites" (Ammonites, Moabites, Canaanites...) and many others. To understand a story in its historical context, you simply have to have a basic understanding of where and when a story took place. Here are three simple examples...

I am sure that exciting things happen each week in the Sunday School classes at your church. There’s no reason to keep this excitement a secret! Remember to share the joy of Sunday School with your entire congregation and anyone else who uses your building during the week. Consider having a brainstorming session on this topic with your Sunday School teachers. Here are some ideas to get you started thinking…

Sunday School is often an entry point to a church for visitors. This is especially true for families with children. Although they may be unaware of it, Sunday School teachers play an important role in reaching out to and welcoming visitors.

Here's the final part of our 3-part series on great sources for progressive-friendly Christian education resources.

You can read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series on our website. We'll no doubt run this series again when more progressive-friendly sources are available, but here for now are a few more recommendations for resources worth checking out!

Part two of our 3-part series continues with some additional recommendations for progressive-friendly resources. (In case you missed it, here's part 1.)

There are many wonderful resources that are especially well-suited for progressive churches, but so far there are no catalogs that pull all of these resources together. And, since many of the more progressive companies do not have advertising budgets the size of publishing behemoths like Zondervan or LifeWay, you may never have heard of some of the great sources out there. In this 3-part series, we'll point you to some of these lesser-known alternatives.

The hectic season of Advent has come and gone, and a new year awaits you! The last week of December is a perfect time to review your ministries and look closely at what is working, what is not, and what is coming up next year. Here are ten questions and suggestions for your year-end review. Get out some paper or fire up your word processor, grab a cuppa your favorite warm beverage, and do a bit of reflection. Ask yourself...

Are you getting the most out of your teacher trainings? One way to explore this question is to ask yourself what happens after a teacher training event. How do you take the next logical step...or do you? Here's an example...