What Do Teachers Do?
Guesswork has given way to specifics in the Sunday school of Antioch Baptist Church outside Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Pastor Cris Cannon and the Sunday school director have initiated a one-page teacher's covenant that spells out minimum standards. The nearly two dozen teachers "seemed actually relieved to have all the expectations on paper," Cannon reports. "Before, people weren't quite sure what was expected, and prospective teachers were always wondering, 'Well, what is involved if I take this job?' " The covenant asks teachers to commit themselves to do such things as: • Be able to present the plan of salvation from the New Testament. • Be in the classroom 10 minutes early and start the class promptly. • Give adequate time to the actual lesson, not sidelights, announcements, etc. (number of teaching minutes is designated, depending on age-level). • Attend one church-sponsored teacher training event during the year and read an assigned text. • Attend quarterly teachers' meetings. • Contact absentees monthly. • Recruit and guide a class outreach leader to enroll new students. • Incorporate the plan of salvation frequently and the importance of sharing it with others. The covenant also lists two substitutes upon which the teacher may call; if neither can teach, then the Sunday school director takes over the search. "At the beginning of the church year in September, we held a special service in which the covenant was explained to the whole church and the teachers made their public commitment," says Cannon. "The church was blessed by realizing what teaching actually means, and the teachers were blessed by the support of the people." Did any teachers resist signing on the dotted line? "We didn't lose one person from the staff," the pastor ...
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