Bolivian Sunday School Curriculum Project

Imagine being a child in a Bolivian Methodist Church. Worship generally lasts about 3 hours – - – 3 HOURS! You, as a child, do get to slip away during the service and have Sunday School. Well, maybe you could call it Sunday School:

• No Teachers
• No Curriculum
• No Crayons or pencils
• No Paper
• No religious pictures on the walls
• Nothing to take home and show Mom and Dad
• Not even a room to meet in; you just meet outside

That was the situation only a few years ago in the Evangelical Methodist Church of Bolivia. In 2005 a group of teachers, pastors and missionaries got together to try to create a “Bolivian” Sunday School Curriculum for Children. Spanish language curriculum from other countries wouldn’t work. (For an in-depth look at the need to write their own curriculum – click here). They wrote wonderful curriculum, but could only afford to print enough for a very few congreations.

In 2007, the Oklahoma Annual Conference, in Ayllu with the IEMB, started the Bolivian Sunday School Curriculum Project. Oklahoma sends down one or two trained professional Children’s Education Directors or persons trained in Curriculum writing to participate and serve as a resource for the Annual Curriculum Writing and Training Workshop. This week long event usually gathers over 40 pastors, teachers, and Sunday School teachers from all over the country.

By the end of the week, they have laughed and sung and prayed. There are puppets made and mobiles created and a year’s worth of curriculum written for ages 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and 13-15 years. They work hard, often into the wee hours of the morning, reading the scripture text and choosing songs/choruses, activities, crafts, games and prayers for every lesson for 52 Sundays for each of the four age groups. (If you would be interested in attending the Workshop in Cochabamba, Bolivia the first week of January 2013, let David know (tulsadstephenson@yahoo.com )

The teacher and student curriculum is then ‘plain-paper copied’ and printed (at much cheaper rates than U.S. copying). For the (poorer) rural churches, they are sent whatever material that they ask for and need. But usually they don’t even ask for one copy per student, because they are so used to living without. For the urban churches, one copy of all of the material, teachers and students, for eachof the 4 age groups is sent to the church. The Church is expected to print the material at their own cost for the students, or for additional teacher books. But in reality, usually few additional copies are made.

And where does the money come from? The Children. The vast majority of the funding comes from the ”Missions Offering” of local U.S. Vacation Bible Schools: Children giving to Children.

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$250 provides an entire district in Bolivia with curriculum for all 4 age groups, for one quarter. $500 will provide enough for a 1/2 year.

One of our goals is to increase the amount of student and teacher books available to the churches. (Doubling our printing costs.) Another is have District Workshops to teach the teachers how to teach and use this material. (An additional $100 x 14 Districts. We also raise about $3,000 to put on the Workshop each year.

To learn More, Click on:

To sign up your VBS and information on resources for your VBS, -contact David Stephenson at tulsadstephenson@yahoo.com

Gifts and Resources for your VBS: CD’s and websites -Click here

For an in-depth look at the need to write their own curriculum – click here

Stories of previous curriculum writing conferences – click here

Our Goal: Indigenous SS materials for every child – click here