CED Talks: Virtual Teach Ins

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…
Ephesians 4:11-12

The Department of Christian Education of the AME Church is responsible for resourcing this global denomination for faith formation and leadership development throughout the lifespan for faithful and effective discipleship. As the Ephesian Epistle speaks of the variety of gifts and callings, it is through the variety of ministries, which make up the Department of Christian Education that the teaching ministry of the church is carried out.

Those familiar with traditional education will recall the 3 Rs of teaching—Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. The Department of Christian Education is currently focused on its own 3 Rs of Christian Education:

Resourcing—The department seeks to develop and catalogue relevant and effective resources in various media to be used in the various teaching ministries of the church.

Researching—The department seeks to be a research center—collecting, evaluating, and highlighting best practices in the teaching ministries that can be replicated throughout the connection as well as researching and analyzing faith and cultural trends that have importance for faith formation and leadership development in the church and society.

Renewal—The department seeks to find ways to help renew and reinvigorate traditional forms of Christian Education in the church as well as lift up new models. Likewise, we seek to lift up the call to the vocation of teaching through recognizing the excellence and faithfulness of those leaders and volunteers in the ministries of Christian Education who serve as exemplary models of servant leadership as well as helping emerging leaders in their discernment of their calls to the teaching ministry.

We hope that the department’s website will aid us in our goals. We trust that it will be inviting and interactive, serving as a hub for information and resource sharing. We hope that you will be a frequent visitor and an active part of this online teaching and learning community designed to aid in equipping the saints for the work of ministry, for building up of the body of Christ.

Yours in Christ’s service,