It's nice to hear what others are saying about the Workshop Rotation Model ~and~ it helps those who are thinking of getting started. These quotes come unsolicited via email, the Ideas Exchange and over the phone. Our intent in listing them is to share with those thinking about getting started what other churches have experienced. If you have a comment you'd like to add here, email Neil at sundaysoft@ee.net. If you'd like to be listed in the Rotation Contact Directory, please email me for that too.
More Quotes can be found in the "Survey Comments" page at this website. That page includes some of the comments respondents included with a Fall 2001 Rotation Survey. There are some real gems in there too. The survey results are interesting as well.
As I was catching my breath one Sunday morning, a family came running in late, dripping from the storm outside. The mother jokingly said to me, "I was hoping to sleep in this morning and stay out this awful weather. However, my kids dragged me in because they didn’t want to miss Sunday school." I felt like someone had just handed me a check for a million dollars! It was thrilling to know that her children were excited about coming to church. What a blessing it is to have the opportunity to teach and minister to children about God’s love for them. And what a greater blessing that they are receptive and have the desire to learn. --Ashley Parr Henderson, Grace Community, Raleigh NC. Read Ashley's complete article at this website from which this quote was taken.
My church has been rotating for 1 year. I have been teaching for about 14 years. I was never a very good teacher, it was like I had a mental block. I had trouble understanding the deeper part of the lesson, remembering what to do next etc. Then I found rotation and I never want to go back to the old way. Rotation has revolutionized our Sunday school and I have found that I am a great teacher. God is so good. By writing my own lessons I've learned to dig out the deeper meanings and to simplify. That is the problem with canned curriculum --too much to do. The key for us has been simplify and concentrate on the deeper meaning of what God is wanting to teach us through the story. Anyway I could rattle on for days about Rotation, I love it. -Tonya Petty
The workshop rotation model is working very well for us. The adults love teaching, the children are enthusiastic involved learners, the parents rave about how much their children enjoy coming to Sunday School and everyone who takes our tours of the workshops are impressed. Word has spread and now Ministers and CE directors from other churches in town have asked to see it in action. I have had no problem getting teachers and adult workers - many have volunteered.. I am also a volunteer and oversee this program as a lay worker. We do not have a CE Director. I really enjoy working with everyone in the program.
--Alice Caldwell, NJ
"Several weeks ago one of our 5th grade boys was lucky enough to be getting a PlayStation 2 from a relative. Unfortunately the relative lives a distance away, so the family would have to take a drive to go and get it. Family schedules being what they are, a Sunday seemed to be the most likely time to do this. Alec however, told his Mother that they could not leave until after Sunday School, since he did not wish to miss out on B.I.B.L.E. Adventure!" --Jan Snell, House of Hope Presbyterian, Minnesota
Dear Neil,
I am an elder at a 150 member Presbyterian church in Sussex,NJ. Last spring we decided we were boring our children to death.(I already knew that-my kids had been complaining for years.) We decided to explore new options and found the rotation model to be most appealing. In short, over the summer we got two people to volunteer to revamp our rooms to create The Son Shine Theater, The Story Garden , The Creation Station, and Mustard Seeds Cafe. We are still working on HisKing.com, our computer lab. We empowered these small groups with a vision, pictures off of your web site, very little money and free creative reign. What we got is well - WOW! Our church members comments revolve around statements like " I didn't know we had so much talent in this congregation".
This whole change was made possible by the wonderful leadership of our pastor of four years Debbie Bronkema. About three years ago she began to facilitate a change in how our church viewed itself. We are still traveling the path from church of indiviual groups with their own agenda and little support from the whole church, to a church with a more unified vision of our purpose in which a few projects get the support of the whole church. Two years ago, under Debbie's direction we eliminated the church committees - all eight of them, replacing them with four basic ministry groups; Children and Youth, Adult, Administration of Resources and Reaching Out. We are still getting the hang of this new structure. All ministry groups meet on the same night so that issues and projects can be cross addressed. For example, the Reaching Out group was instrumental in advertizing our new Sunday School which we named Pathways to Faith, to the community. They also set up a kick-off party. I could not have done all of that as well as coordinated the change to rotation and completed revamping my room. It was a beautiful coordination of efforts. Our excitement bounced off of and fed each others enthusiasm.
We tend to get things done by recruiting task forces to accomplish a specific task. They are empowered by the overseeing ministry group to make decisions and do what ever needs to be done. Task forces are ended when their task is complete. We find people are much more willing to volunteer for a short term task force than and three year long committee.
You are right about a church needing to know how much they love Jesus before they find the energy to change. Our church has become more and more spiritual over the last few years. We have taken on projects far bigger than any of us would have ever guessed 10 years ago. With a small active membership, it takes a lot of love not to burn out. Please pray that we keep on growing in God's love. -- Pam Fielding, First Presbyterian Church of Sussex
We have been using the rotation model for just over a year now. Things are going great and the congregation is amazed at how much the children are learning. In fact, we have no problem recruiting teachers because they say they learn more when they are teaching in the children's classes. --Jana Kinnersley, Milledge Ave Baptist Church, Athens GA
"We are really amazed at how well the rotation model is working for us and love to see the children enjoying Sunday school! We also have been running out of room on our attendance charts and it's only October! Nice thing to see happening. ALSO, we have a 5th grade & up class going for the first time in 2 years - and growing in numbers! Parents are happy about that!"
-- Kia Hunter, 1st Pres. Kenosha WI
I am a fairly "new" user of Workshop Rotation. I visited a church in Kansas City using the format and was very impressed. We were beginning a second hour of Sunday School in an effort to alleviate over-crowded classrooms. "Susanna City" opened in August, 2000 and has been a huge success! The children participating enjoy the variety of learning opportunities. The adult volunteers love the focused class preparation and marked enthusiasm from the children. It has been everything that your website said it was. --Shari Combs, Susanna Wesley UMC, Topeka, KS
Our people and students are still as excited about it now three years later as when we began. --Carol A, Bowman
We are a small church, and last year our average Sunday School attendance for K-12 was14 to 16 students. This year is has been averaging 25 to 30 --still not a large group, but better than last year. And it is still growing as our kids have been starting to bring their friends to S.S. Our Pastor is happy because when he talks to the children after S.S. they can tell him what they are studying and are excited about what they have learned. We recently had our annual Christmas Program and had 32 children in the play. It was the first play we have done in 5 years and it went great. I kept hearing "where did all these kids come from?"
--Beverly Zeitler, Sunday School Superintendant, Community Presbyterian Church, Buckley WA
"All my prayers were answered. We are beginning our third year of WRM, have grown from 20 kids to 50 (just a few years ago we had 1 child in Sunday school) and have hosted 2 workshops for other area churches. I tell the folks who attend our workshops that if we can do it -anyone can. We are all volunteers and share our space with a nursery school. We had a "faith" budget to begin with. WRM (which we call The Good News Workshop) has transformed our whole church family into hungry souls who can't seem to get enough and are learning more about Jesus than they ever knew before!" --Marie K. Presbyterian Church, Milford NJ
Thank you for this site! It has been a blessing for me and my church. My church is small and recruiting teachers has become so much easier since we started using the WoRM curriculum. I am the only full-time stay at home mom of a Sunday schooler in my church and so anything that makes it easier for parents to teach is a great blessing for us all! --Jane Kampion, Chippewa Falls WI
"I cannot imagine going back to a canned curriculum that teaches a story a week. I have seen volunteers learn so much as they coordinate their workshop and they thank us for letting them be a part of this program. We are now doing a modification of the model with our jr hi, and are working on a model for senior high because kids are not going to sit still for BORING after experiencing the workshop model." --Carol S., Geneva UMC, Geneva IL
"I think (Rotation) is the best thing ever to happen to our Education program, but it's not a magic cure for all ills." --Sam, Denver Colorado.
We are really amazed at how well the rotation model is working for us and love to see the children enjoying
Sunday school! We also have been running out of room on our attendance charts and it's only October! Nice thing to see happening. ALSO, we have a 5th grade & up class going for the first time in 2 years - and growing in numbers! Parents are happy about that! --Kia Hunter, 1st Pres. Kenosha