You have to meet people where they are to teach effectively. Volunteers painted splashy murals in the hallways. Curriculum follows the popular Workshop Rotation Model. Each Sunday for six weeks, kids rotate to a different station. Adult teachers called shepherds guide students through the day's lesson.
Stations vary each term, and can even include cooking.
Wagner helped develop the Workshop Rotation Model with other Christian educators and pastors in north suburban Chicago. Since the early '90s, it's been adopted by churches as far away as Venezuela and New Zealand, said Rev. Neil MacQueen, former associate minister for education at the Presbyterian Church of Barrington. Frustrated by erratic attendance, behavior problems and poor retention, MacQueen began teaching Sunday school with computers in 1990. Other churches noticed his success and asked for help. MacQueen was soon giving seminars.