Olembe-Batchenga, Cameroon. On the 20th of January, the 2018 edition of the Formation of Pastoral Agents for the Teaching of Bible to Children “Let the Children Come to Me” took place in Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, Olembe-Batchenga, Diocese of Obala. This program was inserted into the Pastoral Plan of the Diocese and approved by the Bishop. There were 150 participants from different parishes and institutions within the Diocese.
The theme of this year centred on Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up”. Hanging on this, Martin Ndi Nkoumou, cmf insisted on the role of parents and instructors to first of all meditate the word of God in their hearts in order to be equipped to teach them to the Children.
In a more practical way, they used a Curriculum for Children Bible Ministry designed by the couple Chris and Kathleen Jackson. Mr Chris taught them how to teach the Gospel of Luke to Children using images, stories, ball games and other nice illustrations. It was a very practical and relaxing formation. After this, they separated into 10 groups of about 15 people each and participants took turns as instructors to put into practice what was learnt from the formation program.
In effect, after 8 hours of work comprising conferences, games, workshops and questions, their objective of learning how to teach the Bible to Children in an interesting way was attained. This formation program was given by the Claretian Bible Pastoral Ministry with the Support of Chris Jackson. The Diocese has appointed Fr. Aristide Medou, cmf as the diocesan coordinator of Bible Apostolate.
