Running a Race to Rescue Children

Have you ever thought about how being an IOT is like running a relay race? It takes a team to win the race, with every member contributing. Each time you teach a TCE course you are handing off that baton to your students.

Sheri Sylverson, CEF director and IOT, captured this thought in her recent e-mail newsletter for River Valley CEF in Arizona. Sheri's associate director, Dorothy Delano, gave us permission to share these thoughts with you. So…here is our guest blogger, Sheri Sylverson!

As Christians we are to run the race in order to win; and we are definitely in a race...a race against time as we seek to tell children of Jesus Christ and His saving blood. This isn't a sprint or a dash but rather more of a relay. Each of us in our own way is running a leg of this race, carrying our own baton. Each partner in this relay will share in the reward, when we cross the finish line into heaven.

Until that time, though, each person needs to remain faithful to his or her specific spot on the team; whether it is teaching, helping, praying, baking snacks, encouraging, or anything else. We are running together to save precious lives.

TCE 1 is Effective

Teaching Children Effectively, Level 1 is effective, according to the students currently taking the course. Six women work hard every Saturday as they learn new concepts and are challenged to use what they now know in reaching children with the Gospel. Five of the students currently work in a local Good News Club and they are already putting their new skills to use.

Wordless Book Works Wonders

On the first day of Teaching Children Effectively Level 1, the students were taught how to use the Wordless Book. The following week, Cheryl Shaffer taught four children a craft at her church. Somehow the conversation turned to knowing Jesus and Cheryl realized she didn't have anything with her! Not a Bible, a tract, or even the little Wordless Book. She hurried upstairs and got a Bible from the pastor. Thankfully, Cheryl had just presented the Wordless Book to a TCE Level 1 instructor for evaluation the previous Saturday. She clearly presented the Gospel to the children and three of them asked Jesus to be their Savior.

Not only did Cheryl get an "A" on her Wordless Book presentation, she also gets an "A" for Adapting to a tough situation, being Accountable in sharing what she knew, and taking Action when a need presented itself.

Isn’t that a great testimony? Also a great reminder to be faithful in running the race. Are you faithfully handing off that baton to those TCE students so they can continue the race, even when you're out of the picture? Thanks, Sheri, for a great reminder.

Did you know that you, too, can be a guest blogger? You can! Do you have some inspiring thoughts for other IOTs or some stirring testimonies? Just e-mail them to Lynda.Pongracz@cefonline.com. We will take care of editing and formatting for the blog. We look forward to hearing from you! In the meantime, keep running that race!

IOT Deal or No Deal!

Are you coming to the IOT Advanced Training Pre-Conference Seminar at Ridgecrest? We hope so! This two-day event (April 29-30, from 9:00-4:00), presented by the “IOT Game Show Network,” will be jam-packed with helps, encouragement, information, creative ideas, free stuff and FUN! (You know the education folks can’t do anything without having FUN!)

Just to whet your appetite, here are some of the great sessions in store for you:

Day 1 - TCE—What a Deal for Training Teachers!

• What’s In Your Spiritual Briefcase
• Developing Million Dollar Class Sessions
• Enhancing the Art of Effective Demonstrations
• Lively Lingo for Effective Evaluations
• Strategic Scheduling for Inquisitive Instructors
• Maximizing Your Message with Marvelous Methods

Tuesday Evening’s Special Event – the Instructors’ Café Live!
You are invited to a very special evening at the Café! We’ll provide the munchies and other cafe delights. You can just come and kick back, relax, eat, chat and swap ideas with other IOTs and the education staff. Bring along your best TCE ideas for illustrations, introductions and conclusions, promotion, recruiting and follow-up. It will be a great night of fellowship and encouragement!

Day 2 - How to Keep Your TCE Courses out of Jeopardy!

• Asking Yourself The Tough Questions
• Keeping Yourself on Track
• CMI Online – Our Newest Training Venue
• Keeping the Peace - Resolving Conflicts Biblically
• Building a Ministry Team through Coaching and Mentoring
• Commitment in Ministry

Throughout both days we will have lots of “stuff” to give away. Everybody will go home with something—some may go home with a lot of somethings!

So, make plans to join us April 29-30 for this great two-day event just before the International Conference! Click the CEF link in the sidebar and follow the conference link to get all the info you need to register for this session. We’ll be looking for YOU at Ridgecrest!

It's Empty!

Little Philip, born with Down’s syndrome, attended a third-grade Sunday school class with several eight-year-old boys and girls. Typical of that age, the children did not readily accept Philip with his differences. But because of a creative teacher, they began to care about Philip and somewhat accepted him as part of the group.

The Sunday before Easter, the teacher brought a container of plastic eggs that open up. She gave one to each child and told them to go outside on that lovely spring day, find some symbol for new life and put it in their plastic egg. Then they would bring their eggs back inside and share their new-life symbols as each was opened.

After running about the church property in wild confusion, the children returned to the classroom and placed their eggs on the table. Surrounded by the children, the teacher began to open them one by one. As each was opened, the class would ooh and ahh over the flower, leaf or butterfly within.

Then one was opened, revealing nothing inside. The children exclaimed, “That’s stupid. That’s not fair. Somebody didn’t do their assignment.”

Philip spoke up, “That’s mine.”

“Philip, you don’t ever do things right!” the children said. “There’s nothing in there!”

“I did so do it right,” Philip insisted. “It’s empty. The tomb was empty!”

Silence followed. From then on Philip became a full member of the class.

Philip died not long afterward from an infection most children would have been able to shrug off. At the funeral this class of eight-year-olds and their Sunday school teacher quietly walked up to the front, but not with flowers. One by one, each child came and placed on the altar an empty plastic egg.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Happy Resurrection Day

from your friends at CMI!

Are You a 212° IOT?

What does it take to impact the lives of your teachers? What does it take to make your TCE class session dynamic? What does it take to keep plugging away at those TCE courses? It takes a 212° instructor of teachers!

Mac Anderson, businessman and founder of the company, Successories, has a Web site called Simpletruths.com. On his site, he take the quotes and other inspirationsl writings that are the basis for his motivational products and puts them into gift books and short video clips. These are mainly for the business world—but many of them have good application for ministries like ours.

Not long ago, Mac Anderson and Sam Parker wrote a gift book titled, 212° …The Extra Degree. The principle explored in this book is as follows (from simpletruths.com):

At 211 degrees...water is hot.
At 212 degrees...it boils.
And with boiling water, comes steam.
And steam can power a locomotive.
And, it’s that one extra degree that...Makes all the difference.

The authors go on to say that one extra degree of effort can make all the difference in our livess as well.

We would undoubtedly agree that the Lord Jesus was a 212° person. He gave His all in every area of His ministry. He gave 212° to His relationship with His disciples; He gave 212° of his time and energy in caring for those in need; He gave 212° to His redemptive work on our behalf.

So, how does this apply to us—His servants? Maybe some of us have been satisfied to give 211°. But one degree short of the boiling point is just tepid water! It accomplishes little. As Mac says, that one extra degree of effort separates the good from the great!

What difference would one extra degree of effort make in your ministry as an IOT? Think of applying one extra degree of service to your students; one extra degree of preparation to your lesson plans; one extra degree of enthusiasm to your teaching; one extra degree of follow-up to your TCE courses.

God tells us in Colossians 3:23-24, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.” God deserves—and expects—212° from us.

What is your ministry temperature today? Need a little more inspiration? Go to http://www.212movie.com/ and watch the short video clip. Then go back to those TCE courses and be a 212° instructor of teachers!

Lead Like Jesus

A few years back, many Christians were wearing bracelets and t-shirts with the letters WWJD on them. Asking, “What Would Jesus Do?” caused many to consider their thoughts, attitudes and actions in light of the example set by the Lord Jesus Christ.

When it comes to teaching TCE courses, maybe we need a new acronym: HWJL: How Would Jesus Lead? In some sense, Jesus was an instructor of teachers. He trained the 12, and other disciples, to continue His work after He would return to the Father.

If we want to lead like Jesus led, what would that look like today? Writer Stan Toler has some excellent thoughts on this subject in his latest leadership newsletter. Toler points out that Jesus was a servant-leader. “His sincere and compassionate interest in others was an investment that resulted in their world-changing achievements.”

Following are three aspects of Jesus’ leadership style, adapted from Toler, that we would do well to emulate in our TCE courses:

1. Jesus accepted people as they were and helped them to become better. Toler points out that a sports team’s victories come from a coach’s investment over many months. The successful coach communicates belief in the team and focuses on fine-tuning the players’ skills.

Are you investing in your TCE students? Do your students know you believe in them? Are you helping them improve their skills as teachers and child evangelists?

2. Jesus understood that God-given abilities are stored in jars of clay. He didn’t give up on people. He didn’t expect too much too soon. He didn’t put them in a box. He gave them guidance, but also freedom to develop according to their own personalities.

How are you doing in this area? Are you patient as your TCE students grow and learn, realizing that not everybody will “get it” the first time around? Do you give your students freedom to be themselves, rather than expecting them to teach like you? Do you give them second chances to succeed? Third chances?

3. Jesus brought out the best in the worst of people. He knew that in order to lift up, you sometimes have to stoop down. He saw the gem beneath the rough surface and patiently polished that gem until it shone with His own reflection.

How is your vision of your TCE students? Are you able to see past the sometimes rough exterior to the gem God has placed within? (Sometimes it takes a lot of searching to find that gem!) Are you gently polishing that gem with your kind and encouraging words? Are your TCE students increasingly reflecting the image of the Lord Jesus Christ as they learn from you?

These are just a few of the leadership principles we see in Jesus—there are many more. But just putting these three into practice will keep us busy for some time! Let’s pray for each other that we will all become IOTs who lead, more and more, like Jesus led.