TRAINING RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
VOLUNTEERS IN THE USE OF
AUDIOVISUAL/MEDIA AIDS
You must provide your religious education
volunteers with specific training in audiovisual media
and equipment. Training and practice will allow your
volunteers to be able to use these important training aids
confidently and successfully. Do not overwhelm your
volunteer teachers by demonstrating a variety of
procedures during one session. Instead, take time to
teach your volunteers one procedure at a time. In this
way, your volunteer teachers can master one skill before
moving on to the next.
COORDINATING LOGISTICS SUPPORT
RPs help those who minister to religious education
by providing needed logistics support services. To be
adequate, religious education programs need support.
Among these logistics support services are the library,
media center, curriculum materials and supplies, records
and reports, budgeting and purchasing, equipment and
facilities, and office support. Coordination means these
support services include the right things, in the right
place, at the right time, in the right quantity, and ready
for appropriate use. In the following paragraphs, let’s
look at some of the ways in which you will become
involved in logistics support services.
Library
We will cover the role of the library in greater detail
in a subsequent chapter in this manual. The religious
education library will differ little from your general
library. For both libraries, tasks such as classifying,
cataloging, labeling, displaying, repairing, filing,
shelving, and circulating materials will be the same.
The major difference, of course, is that your religious
education library will specialize in religion and its
related fields.
Media Center
You should design the media center to involve
media in the life of the religious education volunteers,
teachers, chaplains, lay readers, and members and in the
work within the RMF. Your responsibility will be to
educate persons in the use of media and to provide the
necessary media and media services to support the CRP
in the achievement of its targets and goals.
As an RP assigned to the media center, you will
report and recommend to the command chaplain or
RMF chaplains concerning the following matters:
Evaluation of current and special media
equipment or programs
Problems and shortcomings
Ways to improve activities
Special needs-particularly in the areas of space,
furniture, budget, or policies
Plans for new support services and special
projects
Instruction on media training resources
Your primary role is to provide the support services
necessary for the enhancement of your CRP’s religious
education program.
Curriculum Materials
The area of curriculum materials is as basic to the
life and growth of the various faith groups, chaplains,
and ministers of religious education as breathing is to
the human body. Curriculum materials vary from faith
group to faith group and even within particular faith
groups. The faith group chaplain, the lay reader, or
teachers of religious education normally recommend
curriculum materials. In all cases, it is critical that the
curriculum be chosen wisely.
Curriculum publishers provide ordering forms,
information about their materials, and a listing of items
available with emphasis on new materials and easy
ordering. Publishers announce new items and include
special order blanks and instructions for ordering.
Study the information catalogs and order forms before
you start to order the materials. Remember to order
early. One person should handle all ordering. Seek help
from your supply clerk representative. You must be
accurate and complete in filling out the order forms. Try
to order adequately but not excessively. Always open
and check packages upon receipt and distribute the
material where it is to be used as soon as you can.
Resources
Those items needed to support the religious
education ministries such as supplies, equipment, and
facilities require exact management. RPs are the
suppliers, purchasing agents, distributors, inventory
clerks, and, in some instances, trainers and
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