Substitute Practicum: I was unable to attend my regular practicum this week as a result of spring break. This week I attended the college group bible study of my home church. It was a great time of community and renewal with those I love and miss a lot. I was able to reconnect with my friends from my home church as well as observe a small group in a different setting. I was not able to attend a regular Sunday school class because I helped out at Springhill camps both weekends I was home. During both these weekends I was able to observe an effectively run youth retreat camp program as well as build positive relationships with staff and youth.
From: Rachael Mulder
Subject: Practicum Report #7
Time Spent This Week: 3 hours (1 hour spent in community, ½ hour spent discussing prayer requests, 1 ½ hours for bible study)
Class this Week:
This week I attended my home church college group’s bible study for my practicum. There were thirteen people in attendance, all who were college age. There were the regular attendees as well as some new faces. It was encouraging to see people in the Bible study inviting their friends and coworkers to learn with us.
We began our Bible study time in fellowship. I was able to catch up with my friends about their lives, and inform them about the great changes going on in mine. We discussed wedding plans, summer plans, car problems and much more. I really enjoyed being able to hold an intelligent conversation with those at my practicum, which was much different than the 2-5 years olds I work with at Exit 59.
After that we moved into prayer requests. It is surprising to me how open our group is. We are very vulnerable and transparent when it comes to prayer requests. Our group also has a great desire to pray for those who surround us in our everyday lives. Many people brought up requests for people other than themselves. It is also encouraging to know that people in that group are lifting these requests up in prayer daily. Our leaders, Paul and Krissy, are also very intentional about praying and following up on those requests.
Then we moved to the Bible study portion of the night. We have been watching a video series called Faith Under Fire. The topic of the night was why God allows pain and suffering. The video itself was fairly elementary and unsatisfactory, but the discussion we had as a group was amazing. We really bounced well off of each other, and when quite deep into our beliefs, experiences, and the Word. Paul did an amazing job guiding the discussion and encouraging everyone to participate. One of the girls who visited our group for the first time even participated in the discussion. She is not a Christian, but had great things to say and it was encouraging to know that she felt comfortable enough in the group to join in discussion. Overall, the time spent in the Bible Study was a great learning experience. I was able to observe an effectively run Bible study that was intentional about creating community and building relationships with college students.
Questions this Week:
#1...How do you encourage newcomers to participate? How do you bridge the gap between those who are new in their faith, have no faith, and those who are deep in their faith?
#2... Do you think that video series are appropriate for a college group Bible study? We have had great discussion from the video series, but sometimes I wonder if a video series is taking the easy way out.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
RE: Question regarding encouraging newcomers: The first step I would take in encouraging newcomers is to make them feel welcome. When they sit down, talk to them and find out who they are. Once class time begins take some time to introduce the student and have the other students introduce themselves. This may be a little awkward, but once they know some people it should get better. Call on them in class when asking a question, or ask them to participate in a dramatization of the Bible story. I believe you can bridge the gap between these kids by treating them all as equals. Be praying for them, but also have them pray for one another. Make sure the topic being discusses can be helpful for all situations.
RE: Questions regarding video series for college groups: I have felt like a video series is an easy way out of teaching a lesson. I think that showing a video sometimes can be very helpful, but once this video series is over, some people may not be interested in an actual teaching. I think if everyone is getting something out of the video series and if you are taking the time to discuss the video it can be very helpful. I think that showing videos can be a great teaching method, but I believe teaching needs to take place too!
ONLY THREE SUNDAYS LEFT in this class before the final printed report is due-- you can make all ten if you don't skip any this coming three weeks ...only time for three more... --coach d
Post a Comment