Greetings to you dearly beloved brothers and sisters! Lately, the circumstances were hostile against the Sunday School ministry and it was unrealistic to host any events for those serving in the Children's Ministry. However, the department regularly had meetings with their committee in order to be ready to organize the conferences and retreats as soon as they would be allowed. That opportunity presented itself on February 5-7. The retreat was hosted at Zephyr Point –Lake Tahoe Conference & Retreat Center. It should be noted that this is a wonderful, convenient and picturesque place on the shores of Lake Tahoe, where a magnificent panorama of the lake surrounded by mountain peaks opens right from the windows. Taking advantage of the free time allotted in the schedule, everyone really enjoyed taking walks out in the open while being filled with gratitude to the Creator for a wonderful weather and a stunning beauty of His creation.
The retreat's program was led by three speakers: Ivan Mileyev, Anatoliy Golodnyak, and Nikolai Kalman. Ivan Vladimirovich talked about the advantages of various styles of teaching God's truths which help in effective transmission of the material. These methods are helpful in having the attention of the students, is engaging, and able to captivate them by their uniqueness and leave a lasting impression in their memories. He also reminded everyone of the qualities and disciplines that every Sunday School teacher must possess and what they must be striving for in order to grow spiritually and be more effective in carrying out their ministry of glorifying the Lord.
Anatoliy Golodnyak was encouraging everyone in the children's ministry to pursue love without which it is impossible to full heartedly dedicate oneself to the Lord, and successfully serve in gaining young souls for Christ. On the basis of Scriptures and vivid examples, he was able to show that the language of love is a special tool that could lead to many great changes in the lives of the children, and to encourage them to love the Lord and their neighbors.
In his session, Nikolai Kalman made a special emphasis on the necessity to fulfill the spiritual, physical, as well as the emotional needs of the children in Sunday School as a whole, as well as of every individual child. He made an emphasis of how important it is to be attentive, sensitive, and patient with their students, as well as to support them in difficult times directing them to the Lord and helping them to invest in the relationships of mutual love and trust.
The attendees also had an opportunity to participate in the open forum of questions and answers, and to share their experience about ministry, and to raise some very relevant questions during the discussion time. Please note that the most important and relevant topic ended up being the issue of the children's involvement in the church service.
On the last day of the retreat, in agreement with the Lord's command, all of the church members participated in the Lord's supper.
This was an unforgettable time of fellowship after which we were reluctant to go home. We hope that if the Lord wills, we will try to organize and have a spring and fall conferences this year as well. We ask you to join us in our prayers for our further growth in the Children's Ministry and a more fruitful ministry of our committee.
Sincerely, the head of the ministry,
Oleg Lakho and the committee.
