Customer Reviews

Following Jesus: More about Young Children and Worship

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I was very excited to hear that Sonja Stewart had published a follow-up to "Young Children and Worship." However, in actually looking through the book when I received it, I was disappointed to see that a certain amount of "Political Correctness" has been introduced, as well as some other elements that distract from the original Gospel accounts. Many of the stories have had a boy and girl added to the cast of characters. While I think I understand Ms. Stewart's intent (to draw young children into the stories in a "you are there" manner), I feel that it is actually a distraction. In some lessons there are more than twenty little wooden people to move around, which is difficult for the storyteller and confusing for the children. And some of the wondering questions, in particular, are hopelessly like something a school counselor leading a group discussion would come up with: (from the lesson entitled "Jesus' Trial") "I wonder why they want to kill Jesus just because they do not agree with him? I wonder how they could have settled their differences besides wanting to hurt or kill? I wonder what other ways Judas could have handled his guilt and sadness besides killing himself? I wonder how Judas could have been helped not to kill himself?" Perhaps I underestimate the wisdom of very young children, but I truly do not think they are yet ready to wrestle with the dynamics of first-century Jewish religious thought or the reasons why someone would end their own life.

Nevertheless, there are some excellent resources in this book, in particular the templates and instructions for making the materials. I just cannot imagine using this book "as is."

This book contains stories from the New Testament that complements the original stories in Young Children in Worship. We converted our "children's church" to Godly Play about 4 years ago and these stories add a bit more spice to the original set. The previous book had a summer built in and these help to go through a year long program. Both of these books have been an invaluable resource. They give you every detail you need to complete and present each story. It has been such a blessing to our church and the spiritual growth of the children..

This is an excellent follow-through to Young Children and Worship. Sonja Stewart continues to build on what was in the original book, and also Godly Play by Jerome Berryman.

This book contains 34 stories from the New Testament about Jesus' life, and also about how some of his Disciples teach us to follow Him too.

Not only does it offer the "words" to use in the presentation of the Biblical stories, but it also provides patterns and instructions for anyone interested in sharing these wonderful stories with children (primarily 3 through 7 or 8 or so).

Note that these stories can also apply to children of God of all ages! The children (or older participants) learn in a multi-sensory way - not only by hearing or seeing, but by being able to participate in the stories and respond to them.

Within the past year, I assumed responsibility for the Childrens' Worship ministry at my Church, and these books have been an invaluable resource. We have also presented these stories in nursing homes with wonderful responses.

After attending Dr. Stewart's training workshop during the Summer of 2001, I purchased several "Following Jesus" books. I integrated many of the Sacred Stories in the Children and Worship program at our Church. The stories were reasonably easy to teach and as each of us learned and internalized the story for presentation, we found that we were spiritually enriched. Not only are the stories beautifully written, they were well received by the children. The stories were true to the scriptural passages &the end result was that the children "got the message!" The "response time" validated that for us. Well done Dr. Stewart!

I loved the stories and materials from the first book. This second one is alright, the stories are fine but the patterns are horrible. I ended up having to re-draw most of the patterns because they have "drop shadows" on them, which makes transferring and cutting them out of wood a pain. The stories are not as in-depth as the first book either, but that's probably due to their scope being more focussed- instead of trying to tell the "big" story and combine lots of the different ways it's told in the bible these just tell the one story from John or Acts...

If you are using Godly Play materials, this book is a MUST. Great stories for 4-6 graders. Very clear directions. If this is your first chance to use Godly Play materials, try this before you need to spend a lot of money for the pieces. There are patterns at the back of the book so that you can make them from oaktag or cut them out of wool.

It was also cheaper than ordering from Godly Play itself.

Following Jesus is a sequel to Young Children in Worship [an inspiring way to draw children into the stories of scripture, the stories of God, enabling them to worship, interact with God, and ponder who He is. The form is a simplified version of the traditional order of worship emphasizing quiet, beauty and awe. After the introductory chapters most of the book tells you how to present specific stories.] The format is the same in this book. Following Jesus, however, includes many more of the stories of Jesus and parables of the kingdom. Both books contain helpful patterns and supply lists. Presenting children with a worshipful approach to God and the scriptures is very exciting!

She asks Sunday school teachers to discuss to discuss The Crucification with 3- 5 year olds. She asks teachers to tell 3-5 year olds that many people wanted Jesus killed and that he was"nailed" to the cross. This is not age appropriate for 3-5 year olds. It is also the type of theology that Mel Gibson follows - a very literal telling of events. There is a more intelligent way to teach Chritianity to pre-schoolers. This is the kind of book I would expect from someone who has memorized most of the passages in the Bible and sadly understands very few of them.