Session: Multicultural Issues

Preparation

• Ask your church office for the multicultural part or ethnic makeup report from the Scan US report for your church. If they do not have this report, ask your pastor or someone on staff assist you in contacting the state convention office for a copy of your church's Scan US report. Ask specifically for a report of the culture groups within a five-mile radius of your church building. This report is free in most states.
  
  
• Set up the marker board or poster board with markers.
  
  
• Ask participants to bring their books or print the article "Multicultural Issues" and make copies for your participants.

Reflect and Practice

1. Open the session with fellowship and prayer.
   
   
2. On the marker board or poster board, list the cultures represented among preschoolers in your church.
   
   
3. Share the Scan US report that will inform your participants about the various cultures represented in the community surrounding your church. List these groups on the marker board or poster board.
   
   
4. As a group, reflect on the information in the article "Multicultural Issues", which will help you minister to these cultures. List actions beside each culture group that will help you reach these groups.
   
   
5. Close the session with prayer for these unreached culture groups near your church building. Remind your participants to read the article(s) for the next session.
   
   
6. If this is your last session, spend a few moments reflecting on the experiences your participants have had with this study. Ask, "What difference has this experience had on the way you teach and minister? What actions can we take to encourage our church family to be more intentional in ministering to preschoolers and their parents?"
   
   
7. Close with a concert of prayer where teachers and leaders verbalize the names of preschoolers in their groups at the same time. Open the prayer time for specific requests and concerns about understanding preschoolers in your church and community.