Youth
Go Teach
One of the leading producers of visual aids for the Go Teach Sunday school materials, Val Shenton, has retired from her official position.
For more than 34 years, Val guided the production of visual aids for Go Teach and, at a recent occasion to celebrate her immense contribution to its development, past and present staff paid warm tribute to her dedication, skill and guidance.
Among many achievements, she had supervised the transition from hand-drawn illustrations to computer generated graphics.
Although beginning a well-earned retirement, she will not be leaving her life’s work completely. Her encyclopaedic knowledge of Go Teach will still be called upon as she continues to contribute as opportunity arises.
Her responsibilities have been taken up by Nigel Barker, who is widely experienced in graphic design, the print industry and children’s ministry.
With heartfelt gratitude to God for sustaining the ministry in the past, Go Teach looks to him to maintain the growth that has continued throughout its history.
Go Teach had its origins in the ‘Eyegate’ teaching material, which was introduced for use in Sunday schools in 1946 by the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.
The opening lines of the introduction to the original ‘Talking to children through “eyegate” materials’ read: ‘There is much to be said for using “eyegate” as an effective method for teaching children. The truth of God, whether preached from a pulpit or taught in a Sunday school class, may go in at one ear and out of the other.
‘But, if “eyegate” is used, it will go into two ears and two eyes, meet in the middle, and is more likely to stop there’.
These words were followed by hints about how teachers could create their own visual aids. That book pioneered a range of material that increased in frequency and scope so that today, 36 books are published each year for four different age groups, and is now called Go Teach.
As the work grew, leaving teachers to produce their own material was later thought to give them an unnecessary burden when professional help could be provided. Val Shenton came in to help relieve that burden.
Ray Tibbs
