Sunday School in the Woods

A Sunday School missionary was going to hold a 158 THE ILLUSTRATION service in a schoolhouse to see if he could not get a Sunday School started. He was calling from home to home, trying to get the people interested in the service. He took a short cut through some woods. As he was walking along he came across a boy sitting on a log.

Without saying anything to the boy he sat down on the log beside him. The boy promptly got up and sat down on the end of the log that was the farthest from the missionary. He remained where he was and after a moment or so said to the boy, ‘““We are going to start a Sunday School at the schoolhouse tonight.

Won’t you come up and see what is going on?” The boy said in disgust, “Naw.” Then the missionary said, “We will sing songs and I know you will like to hear them.

Won’t you come?” The boy al- most snarled at him, “Naw.” He made one more attempt. Taking a paper out of his pocket, he said, ““We are going to give out some Sunday School papers like this one here.

There are some fine stories in it. Won’t you please come?” The boy answered as be- fore, “Naw.” Saddened by his inability to interest the boy, the missionary stood up and started off along the path through the woods, with his head bowed in his sadness.

When he had gone several hundred feet he heard the voice of the boy calling him, “Mister, Mister.” He turned around and the boy shouted at him, “Say, Mister, will you be there?” He called back, “Yes, I will be there.” The boy shouted back, “Then I’ll come.

I’ll be there tonight.” The reasons the missionary gave for wanting him to come to that service seemed to furnish only reasons for his not going. But there was something about this man, a wooing of him, an appeal that he could feel but did not understand, a drawing of him to that man that he could not resist.

This drawing power came from that passionate desire to bring this boy to God. His personality broke down all resistance the boy could bring to bear against him. There came a paramount desire that could not be resisted—he wanted to be near that man and hear what he had to say. The effective speaker to children must have that characteristic.

There must be something about him that wins their attention, in- terest, respect to the extent that they will come out again and again to be near him and hear what he has to say. And so you lead them on into His Kingdom or help them to grow up into the full stature of Christian manhood and womanhood. TALKS TO BOYS AND GIRLS 159 IV. Some types of illustrative material suitable for chil- dren’s talks.

1. Nature stories. These stories are drawn from natural life about one. They may be some fact, law, principle in nature.

Some- times they constitute an object lesson, but generally not. Object lessons proper will be treated later in this chapter. The environ- ment of any particular community will determine what these nature stories will be. They are peculiarly adapted for country churches.

In giving them to city children you will have to use only those that can be fully explained, so that they get a clear mental picture of what you are talking about. In the country the children are fa- miliar with the things you use in these nature stories. An example of a nature story where the speaker has no object, merely brings to thew minds something they have all seen or some- thing one can describe so that they virtually see it. This type con- stitutes the great mass of such stories.

This illustration is taken from an environment where there are many castor-bean shrubs growing. They grow to be fifteen feet high in a season and have very large leaves. Every child there has seen them again and again.