Do you remember flannel graph ?
I sure do!
I sure do!
I was recently reading a fellow blogger's post, Cranberry Morning, where she was sharing sweet memories of her Grandmother. She recounted her Grandmother’s work in Children’s Evangelism. This brought back memories of my own experiences attending a children’s ministry as a child called, “The Good News Club.” It seems this was also the ministry Judy’s grandmother was involved in.
Small world!
Once a week, I remember, a car load of us children would pile into our preacher’s wife’s car and then we were driven across town to attend the Good News Club. It only lasted an hour. The meeting started with us singing the *Good News song. Next we would have a flannel graph story, then we shared a snack and lastly a prayer together. We all piled again back into the car and were driven home until next weeks meeting.
Doesn’t really sound like it amounted to much, does it?
But surprisingly, here I am almost 50 years later able to recount all the words of that little song. I remember the rather rotund lady that pounded the keys of her piano while we little children, who were all sitting gathered on her floor, belted out the word just as loudly and proudly as we could. I remember exactly where her house was located even though I was so young and it was all of the way across town.
But those where minor details…..
not me!!
It was there in that tiny little house, on flannel graph, that I had learn so many stories of the Bible.
Now fast forward several years later to when I was a young mother with four little children of my own.
My MIL, who is a preacher’s wife, gifted me with a suitcase full of flannel graph!
I couldn’t believe it.
There inside the suitcase were many of the same images of Bible characters I had seen as a child at the ‘Good News Club.’
So, needless to say, my own children and those who attended our Sunday School classes had learn the stories of the Bible from flannel graph just as I had so many years earlier.
I’m not sure if churches use flannel graph anymore. With all of the technology we have today I assume they probably show movies.
Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I think children would still appreciate the old-time flannel graph stories.
It was interactive.
You could call the children up to help place the characters on the board.
You could stop in any part of the story and ask or answer questions. I even let the children tell the story back to me using the flannel graph.
You sure can’t do that with a movie!
I did a little research and found that they do still make flannel graph. It’s a little pricey, but I bet if you’re in an area where they have auctions you might just run across a whole suitcase full like my MIL had given to me.
If you're a young mother, try it!
Here's my song....
* The Good News Song
Good news, Good news, Christ died for you and me
Good new, Good news, If I believe
Good news, Good news, I’m saved eternally
That’s wonderful, EXTRA, Good news!
