Sunday School & Saint Mark Children

10:10 - 11:00 a.m. on the First Floor of the Education Building

Saint Mark Sunday School teachers are experienced and dedicated to the responsibility of sharing God’s love with the children they instruct and lead on Sunday mornings. Age-appropriate curriculum (Seasons of the Spirit) is used in every class as the children learn about the Bible, Christian history, and United Methodist beliefs and practices.

Schedule and Sign-In

The "official" time for Sunday School is 10:10 - 11:10 a.m. on the First Floor of the Education Building. All children are to be "signed in" on the rosters located in the hallway, right outside the Children’s Minister’s and Youth Director’s office door.

However, beginning at 10:00 a.m., early arrivals (children WITH their grown-ups) are urged to participate in Family Sing time in Room 102. At 10:10 a.m., the grown-ups leave to go to their own classes, but the children remain in Room 102 for a general Gathering Time (announcements are made, offering is collected, music and movement pieces are practiced). At 10:20, the children are dismissed by classes to go to their Sunday School rooms with their teachers.

Children's Offering

Please encourage your child to bring an offering to Sunday School each week. This is an excellent way to help your child form a good habit of “giving back” to God. Offerings received in Sunday School classes will go towards our own Outreach and Mission programs. Parents: please help your children understand the importance of contributing to the mission and ministries of their church and bring them to church prepared to make their donations. Remind your children why giving to our Outreach program is important. We help local people with housing, utilities and food as the Outreach funds are available, so the more we give, the more people we can help!

Help Your Child Get the Most from Sunday School

You are vital to your child’s Sunday School experience. Regardless of whether the church provides the very best teaching, the very best programming, and the very best curriculum, it is the PARENT who determines whether the child’s Sunday School experience promotes and strengthens the child’s faith development. Here are some suggestions for how YOU, the parent, can support your child in his or her Christian journey through the Sunday School program at Saint Mark United Methodist Church:

• Be present! Your child benefits from Sunday School instruction only if he or she attends, consistently and on time. Make it a point to be ready to leave the house in plenty of time to arrive by 10:00 a.m. (Sunday School starts at 10:10 a.m.). If we make certain that our children are prompt in their school attendance, we can do the same for Sunday School.
• Encourage your child to develop friendships at Sunday School. Our children attend a variety of schools, throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area. One of the greatest benefits our church provides is an “extended family” of both adult and childhood friends who support positive Christian values.
• Cultivate friendships with your child’s Sunday School teachers. It is easier for you to approach one or two teachers than it is for the teachers to personally contact the parents of every child. Also, the teachers need to know that you support them!
• On the way home from church, ask a few questions about the Bible lesson to see what the child remembers and understands. Talk about how the story illustrates familiar experiences at home, school, or in the neighborhood. A good question is, “What is one way you can do what that story teaches us?”
• When take-home materials are provided, set aside some time each week to talk with your child about them. A few minutes of conversation at home will help reinforce and apply the Bible truths the child has studied.
• Learn the Bible memory verses with your child! Copy each week’s verse onto an index card and set it on your dining table. Say the verse together before each family meal.
• During the week, look for ways to connect a recent Bible verse or story to specific situations. E.g., while watching a TV program or video, ask how a character’s actions compare with those of a person in the Bible story.