January 31, 2010
Reported by Li Hsin-ren, Chen Wei-jian
Written by Lydia Ma

With so many families having fewer children nowadays, many Sunday schools or kindergartens are closing due to dwindling enrollments. Churches that were once filled with the sound of children's laughter now face the challenge of transforming children's ministries if they want to reach out to the next generation.

Changhua Presbyterian Church is an old, established church located in the heart of Changhua city. The church began a Saturday children's day camp a few years ago and the number of children registering for the camp increases steadily with every passing year. The church now needs volunteers to direct traffic near the church's entrance because so many parents are dropping their children off to this Saturday camp. What is this church doing right? Why has it been so successful in reaching out to children and drawing them to church?

As of September 2009, the number of students registered in this camp surpassed 500. The camp is essentially a "character education camp," a place where children learn and develop good moral characters and take music or arts classes on the side. Because so many students are registering, the church has decided to transform this "camp" into a "school" recently and has hired 24 arts teachers and 65 character education teachers. Character education classes are taught by church members they range from kindergarten to grade 6. The church started a junior high school program this year and there are currently 19 students registered in that extension program.

According to the director of the church's character education school, Tu Chen- hsiang, there were approximately 80 students when the program began. The number of students has increased by more than 100 every year since then. Tu said some students who attended the Saturday camp kept returning to the church even after they moved on to junior high school. "We discovered that Saturday camps are temporary, but Saturday schools are permanent. We hope this children's ministry will continue for many years to come and we also hope it will help these children to transition into church life little by little," said Tu.

In order to minister to these children, the church has reached out to their parents by offering a few classes for adults. It has also coordinated youth fellowship meetings to start right after arts classes finish so that junior high students can attend youth fellowship if they choose to stay on after class. According to reports, some parents are even attending Sunday services regularly now.

According to the church's pastor, Rev. Li Chih-jen, the church has faced many challenges while transitioning from having a kindergarten to having a weekend children's camp. However, one of the reasons why the church began community outreach specifically targeting children was because church members were generally older adults and the number of children in Sunday schools was dwindling. Another important factor is that there are many regulations dictating how kindergartens must operate, prompting the church to open a character education school instead because its staff will be able to freely teach about Christianity and how it is connected to every moral character being taught.

To help and encourage staff members, Changhua Church also organizes a retreat for them every year. Staff members will also pray together before and after each camp session. "Every member of this church is devoted to this ministry. For example, the men's fellowship helps direct traffic outside the church, and there is also one old lady who comes to church every Saturday morning to pray in the main sanctuary for the children who will fill these pews later in the afternoon," said Rev. Li.

Li also said that church members view this school as a ministry and not a business. He pointed out that, sometimes, churches will see kindergartens as another means to increase revenue and therefore hire professionals who may not be Christians to teach classes and run the school. But Li is adamant that this school must remain one of the church's ministries and he encourages church members to volunteer.

Character building begins at a young age, says pastor Rev. Li began pastoring in Changhua in February 2006 and was surprised to discover that this big church had less than 10 Sunday school students. The problem prompted him to think of ways to revamp or transform Sunday school and he decided to begin character education camps a few months later.

Li emphasized that what society lacks nowadays is moral education, but Jesus is the leading educator in this realm and the Bible provides a good foundation for morality. Not only will Scripture lead children to Christ, it will also instill in them good moral character and correct social values. This is in essence the church's core belief and vision for its character education school.

As for class content, the camp typically includes singing, short lessons on moral character, discussion of life issues, and some music, arts, or language lessons. Character education classes revolve around topics such as obedience, honesty, concentration, etc. and textbooks vary depending on students' age group. Students are required to arrive ten minutes before classes begin, wear a uniform and proper shoes and a name tag, obey every teacher's instructions, and respect fellow classmates.

The church held a convocation for students last Christmas and the number of parents and students who attended this event exceeded 1,000. There were so many people that the church was filled past its maximum capacity. Though there are currently more than 500 students enrolled in Changhua Church's character education school, its goal is to reach out to 1,000 students ultimately.

Taiwan Church News