Department
of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry
Orthodox Church in America
PO Box 675 Syosset, NY 11791
http://yya.oca.org
yyacm@oca.org
Session
7
God
Sends Us Out to Share the Good News
Objectives:
By the end of this session participants will be able to . . .
Useful
Texts for Leader Reflection/Preparation
(Scriptural, Liturgical, Lives of Saints, etc):
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Notes to the Leader
Because of the personal nature of this session, be careful not to judge people’s responses. Avoid statements that belittle, dismiss, or denounce what they are saying.
Materials:
A. Brown, tan, red, and green construction paper, single hole punch, and pieces of yarn for “BLT” sandwiches.
B. Large number of magazines, paper on which to create Christian “advertisements,” art materials to create the ads.
C. Same as above, plus tape/video recorder for groups to record an advertisement “on the air.”
A
& B: Younger Children and Pre-teens
1.
Opening prayer.
2.
Say, “In the very first session we talked about how people always want to
share good news with people.
“There
are also things we share with people because they need to know about them.
For example, our parents told us to look both ways when we cross the street
so that we don’t get hit by a car.
“As
Christians we believe people not only want to hear about Jesus and His Church,
but that they NEED to know about Him.
Say,
“If we are going to share the Good News of Jesus with others, however, we
have to make sure we think it is good news. What are some ways we can share
this good news?” [By telling people what Jesus did; being kind to others,
like Jesus was; helping people in need; etc.] Ask students what they think
is the difference between teaching with words or teaching through our actions.
3.
Why Should I be a Christian?
Discuss
the following questions:
Share
with participants the reason(s) you, the teacher, are a Christian. [Because
I love God and want to love others. Because God created me and knows what
is best for me. If I don’t come to know Jesus and seek Him to be in my life,
I can quickly end up hurting myself emotionally, physically, and spiritually.]
Try to be as honest and specific as possible.
4.
The Christian BLT
Ask
participants if they know what a BLT is. [Bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich]
Tell participants that today they are going to make a Christian BLT sandwich
that will help them to remember what they are supposed to do as Christians.
Say, “While a BLT stands for bacon, lettuce, and tomato a Christian BLT stands
for Believe, Learn, and Tell/Teach. Right BLT on the chalk board vertically
and show participants how the B can stand for bacon or believe, etc.
Hand
out cut pieces of paper for participants to make BLT sandwiches (tan for bread,
brown for bacon, red for tomato, green for lettuce). Instruct participants
to take the different parts of the sandwich and write the following on them:
Put
the “ingredients” between two tan pieces of “bread,” punch a hole in it and
tie them together with yarn. Use the “lettuce” questions as discussion starters.
Divide the “tomato” ideas into
teaching by word and teaching through actions. Discuss how both are necessary
to effectively share the good news about Jesus Christ.
B:
Preteens
Follow
steps 1-3
4.
Advertising the Good News
Pass
our copies of magazines and newspapers. Instruct participants to go through
them and pick out advertisements that they find interesting.
Discuss
the following questions:
Display
finished advertisements in the parish hall or in another visible place.
C:
Teens
1.
& 2. See above.
3.
See #3 above. In addition
to the activity above, give everyone in the class an opportunity to say why
they are a Christian. One way to phrase the question might be: If I was not
already a Christian, I would become one because....”
Be
open to anyone who might say they are only a Christian because their parents
made them or that they think the Bible is a bunch of lies. Reassure them that
all Christians have doubts from time to time and reinforce the reasons why you
think it is important to believe. Be sure to avoid belittling, dismissing, or
attacking them. Sometimes people need to feel that they can say no, before they
want to say yes.
4.
To Believe or Not to Believe
Say,
“We’ve established that we are supposed to share the Gospel with others. We,
however, have to think about what we are saying and how it is important and
valuable if we are going to convince others to believe it.
Give
each participants 3 or 4 index cards. Say, “Write down one thing the Church
believes on each 3x5 card. On the opposite side write down why you think it
would be important for someone to believe this.”
Collect
the cards and read each one out loud without mentioning who wrote the card.
Discuss as a group the benefits of believing this. You may want to discuss the
drawbacks as well, since the Christian life is not always easy.
As
you go through the cards have them discuss how they could say this to others.
5.
See #4 above. Instead of creating print ads, however, have participants split
into their groups or 2's or 3's and write a script for a radio or television
ad. You may want to have tape recorders or video cameras around for them to
record their ads. Listen to their ads during a future class.
Conclusion
for All Sections
“Spreading the Good News about Jesus is not always an easy thing. Sometimes people don’t want to hear about it because they don’t see it as something really important. Sometimes we make it hard for people by not taking it seriously ourselves. The more we try to get close to Jesus and live the way He tells us to in His Church, the more people will see in us, how important it is to believe in Him. But above all, we must remember what Jesus said, ‘Love one another. By this all men will know you are my disciples.’”
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Department
of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry |
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