DEWITT, Ark. -- Gillett United Methodist Church is trying a new approach to children's Sunday school with hands-on experiences from computers to video. The program will move children through four classes each month beginning this summer as they study a particular section of the Bible, starting with Genesis.
"We were looking for a way to enhance our Sunday school program, to make it a complete learning experience that would stay with the students," the church's pastor, the Rev. Steven Copley, told the DeWitt Era-Enterprise.
The church is starting with four stations -- computers, art, storytelling and video. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade will spend a week in each station. Each lesson centers around a major event or series of events in the Bible, Copley said.
Copley plans to add more stations, including cooking, within the year, he said.
The rotation method was developed by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in the early 1990s. Arkansas' Methodist churches began using the program two years ago, Copley said.
More than 50 volunteers helped decorate the four classrooms, including a retro video room that has beanbag chairs, strobe lights and vinyl records hanging from the ceiling. Church members and local businesses donated nearly $6,000 in supplies and cash to the project.





