Once a month, boys and girls from the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Junior Sabbath school put what they have learned in their class lessons into action by visiting a nursing home where they have adopted resident grandmas. They seek out persons who need companionship and give them items of encouragement they have made during the Share the Lesson Activity portion of the Power Points lessons.
“I just love the new revised Power Point teacher’s helps from GraceLink,” said their teacher, June Rickard. “They provide several different options you can choose from to make the point. Every week there is at least one of the options I can use to meet the learning needs of our group. And it’s really user friendly.”
Introduced in the late 1990s, this comprehensive curriculum was designed to provide a more contemporary approach to children’s Sabbath school. The curriculum focused on leading our children into a grace-filled grasp of spiritual life, preparing them to be lifelong members of the church. A number of tools were developed, including a new website to provide support materials for teachers and to enable parents and children to access the materials online.
Now, nearly 15 years later, the program has been refreshed. A commitment to the following goals shaped the update:
- Make the product visibly stronger, while losing none of the familiar texture and character.
- Make the program more flexible and current, taking into account our changing world and new forms of social interaction.
- Strengthen the networking aspects, with a renewed emphasis on parents and teachers.
- Create new ways for the entire community to interact and benefit one another.
- Maintain a sharp focus on the largest mission goals of the Church. GraceLink isn’t just about children’s Sabbath school; ultimately it is about leading our children to the foot of the cross and helping them become lifelong Adventists.
Out of this careful process came a number of important changes to meet the needs of our children:
●A New Graphic Approach for PowerPoints: Return to a more traditional graphics style in the illustrations for the Junior-level part of the curriculum.
●A Distinctive Parents’ Page: Reminder to teachers and parents that their gifts of time and effort are recognized as they work with children.
●A More Obvious Biblical Chronology: Graphic symbols identify where the story fits into the biblical chronology.
●A More Intentional Focus on Biblical Prophecy: The distinctive Adventist emphasis on prophecy and the end times has been amplified and enhanced.
●Identification of Fundamental Adventist Beliefs: A new feature identifies which of the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of the church each particular lesson supports.
Information provided by the General Conference Sabbath School Ministries Department.
