When I was working in the public school as a special education teacher, the beginning of school was a busy time.  Before the first student walked in the door, teachers spent days preparing their classrooms.  Every bulletin board in the building had fresh paper, cute borders, and eye catching pictures.  The rooms were spotless from the cleaned desks to the freshly waxed floors.  Somewhere on or around the classroom door  would be the name of each child that would let them know that this was “their” classroom and it was where they belonged.  Classroom materials were neat, organized and eye catching.  There are new glue sticks, pencils and boxes of crayons.

What does it say to a child attending our Bible classes if they come to a classroom where the bulletin board has been up for a year, the paper is faded, borders are coming loose, and pictures are out dated?  What if on the door there was a decoration with names, but those names were kids who have moved up to another class?  What if the desks are dirty with pencil marks and there is clutter all around?  What if the glue sticks are dried out, the crayons are broken, and the pencils have been sharpened down to nubs. I’ll tell you what it might be saying.  “School is more important than Bible class!”  Why wouldn’t they think that if those teachers are putting much more into their classroom & lessons than the Bible class teacher.

I’m sure you’ll agree that we never want to do anything that would minimize the importance of the Bible class.  So here is my first challenge to you.  Take a look at your classroom.  Really critique it.  Think about ways you can make it the most interesting and attractive room than it can be.  And in my next post, I’ll give practical ideas on how to make your Bible class a more functional and more attractive place for your students to learn!