Perhaps you acknowledge that relationships with and among students are important. You might, however, have questions about the implementation of such an objective.
Question About Relationship Building During Class Time
How will we have enough time for the lesson if we incorporate relationship building?
Relationship building and teaching go hand in hand. Jesus, Truth Incarnate, came to earth to dwell among people and foster a relationship between them and the Father. At the same time, as the Word (Jn. 1:1), He constantly pointed people to Truth. We aren’t Jesus so we can’t claim to be Truth as He did (Jn. 14:6). Yet, by the Spirit’s help, we can model alliance with Truth. Purposefully incorporating community building activities doesn’t have to consume a lot of class time. We can foster a relational climate in many other ways that lay the groundwork for students to “be devoted to one another in love” (Rom. 12:10).
You’ll find a list of ways to foster a relational climate in the Bible Teacher’s Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions along with a response to this question:
Why is relationship building in the classroom important?
The handbook looks at 48 other issues related to Bible teaching asking a total of 153 questions.
Teacher Training Resource: Teachers Either Block or Promote Community Worksheet