The Purpose of Crafts in Sunday School

Teachers of Children’s Department Sunday school classes often wonder if they should be using crafts as a regular part of their weekly Sunday school session. The question that many of these teachers seem to be asking is "What is the real purpose of crafts?" Many people see crafts as simply a memento of a pleasurable experience. While this may be true, it is not a valid reason to include crafts into your Sunday school curriculum. Crafts become an asset to your program when they involve each of your students in a project of some sort so that their participation is active rather than merely passive, as is often the case with the shy or quiet student. They are learning to work together with others and will experience the satisfaction of a feeling of accomplishment in the completed project. There is also, however, the stronger justification for the time and money expended on crafts. That is that they are an excellent reinforcement tool if they are related to the theme of your lesson that the students are being taught.

(This article appeared in the "Winter, 1991-92" issue of "The Herald.")