Kennon Hofer, CEF local director of Sioux Falls, SD, recently sent us a wonderful testimony from one of his club teachers. Amanda Barton is a mom who teaches a club at Valley Springs Elementary School in Sioux Falls. She wrote to tell of her experiences as a first-year teacher. As you read Amanda’s testimony below, be encouraged in what God can do through those students you train in your TCE courses! You might also want to share her words of wisdom at the end of her testimony with your students.
As a first-year Good News Club teacher at Valley Springs Elementary, I often wondered at the beginning of the year how much of an impact the lessons we teach have on the lives of the children God brings to club. Of course we know it's a good thing to do, but how much are they really getting? Was God really at work here?
Then one week a third-grade girl came to class with her entire Wonder Devotional Book that she got the week before completed. She didn't have any answers filled in, so I told her in order to receive the prize for completing it, she had to have the blanks filled in so I could know for sure that she went through them all.Later in class, we started talking about the armor of God. This young girl shot her hand up in the air and said, "I read about that in the Wonder Book. It's something about being in an army." She was retaining the things she read. She does not attend church, so she is soaking in most of this information for the first time. The next week, she came back with her book completely filled out and got her second book. She is now on book four and continues to learn and apply God's truths to her life.
Another young man is a friend of my son's and came over to our home after club one week. He saw the armor of God puzzle we had on the counter and said, "We learned about that at Good News Club."
Just this week another mom told me how her daughter was sitting in church with her. The pastor was talking about a general concept and the girl whispered to her mom, "We talked about that at Good News Club." Her mom was quite delighted as her daughter is only in kindergarten and very soft-spoken. I praise the Lord for showing me these little realizations that the children are paying attention and are retaining the truths conveyed at Good News Club.
So is it any wonder that when talking about the tongue, James 3 starts out by cautioning believers to not be quick to become teachers because they will be judged more strictly. I had always taken a personal application to this passage, but the first verse continued to ring through my mind as I read the rest of the chapter. James went on to use the comparisons of a bit in a horse's mouth and a rudder on a ship controlling the whole vessel. He further compared the tongue to a spark which can set an entire forest on fire.
Keeping verse one in mind as I continued through the chapter brought me to the realization that the words a teacher conveys to his or her students can likewise set the course of their understanding into the future. It may be one concept, a specific teaching, or a general character trait that you relay to a child that affects their perspective and direction for the future. Wow! No wonder teachers are held to such a high standard.
Teaching children about spiritual matters comes with great responsibility because with the power of God's spirit, they are listening and remembering. Teaching should not be taken lightly, but truly as a privilege from God. A child's entire course of life may be determined by the one lesson, the one year, the one caring heart that you share with them. May we all keep an eternal perspective in the words we use and love we show to others around us, knowing the words we say and the things we do affects the lives of those around us in ways that may last their lifetime.
Well said, Amanda! And thank you Kennon for sharing this testimony with us. We are so grateful for teachers like Amanda, who put their whole heart into their ministry! As Howard Hendricks would say, “may her tribe increase!”
