What about Sunday School?
In the 50′s, Sunday School was known as the entry point for new people and families into many churches. The morning worship replaced that somewhere in the 70′s and small groups took over by the 90′s. So are we finished with Sunday School?
It has been a great place for people of all ages (not just kids) to attend Bible studies designed specifically for their age and interests. It allowed a teacher to shepherd their class with more personal attention than the pastor or corps officer could muster. It always took a lot of work.
So what about SS now?
Mid-week classes have had their affect. Cell groups seem to be an alternative. Do we just let SS go? I’d be interested in some discussion. Thanks in advance.
““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” John 13:34-35 NIV
Forget Sunday School? Never!
But I do think we need to rethink our approach to Sunday School. Is it a program we do, or is it one way we connect with our church community for Christian Education and discipleship? If we see it as the former, I think we’ll continue to struggle with it. If we see it as the latter, we will claim new ground for the Kingdom.
I encourage a read of the book “Simple Church” – not to be confused with simplistic church.
Thank you, too, John. God help us.
I think it comes down to doing whatever works. If traditional Sunday School is bearing fruit, let the fruit grow. The same for small groups. The goal is discipleship making, not adherence to a program. Otherwise, I have no preference and can do either or both. We are doing a combination at the moment with some success.
Thank you, Patrick. Good word.
Thank you for opening this forum Commissioner! Sunday School is looking a whole lot different than when I was a child that’s for sure. It is my experience so far that the mid-week Sunday School or small group bible studies are effective and working today! Studying God’s word in Community will never cease to exist as long as believers are willing to meet to study His word together in community. The Sunday School of yesterday just took a new form for some communities of believers today. His Word still the same! But times have change. Our responsibility is to provide a venue in every Corps where believers (young & old) are sharing and studying His word together in community. I do believe that our bible teachers need more training. We must continue to help built there knowledge by providing them sound biblical training and resources in our Divisions and Territories.
Thank you, Maria. I am with you.
You are welcome! :)
Sunday School is where it’s at!! Enough said – lets get busy and revitalize something that worked!!
Hi Jim, interesting that you ask this time! I have just been watching a doco produced in the States that Sunday School is actually been opted by the Church after being a secular system designed to educate kids who worked in the industrial systems etc. Sunday Schools, and for that matter, youth pastors/groups have been given the responsibility of discipling our kids, when Biblically and pre-industrial era it was parents who discipling their kids to follow Jesus. This has also been part of the crumbling of the family structure.
The doco name eludes me at the moment but once I am home I will post it here.
Shalom!
Neal I have seen similar Documentarys. They are either Revisionist or simply wrong. The First recorded American Sunday School was started by the Park Street Congregational Church in in Boston in 1816 it purpose was teach predominately street kids the bible and lead them to Christ. The obviously may have been other smaller ones that were around sooner but this is believed to be the birth of the Sunday school movement.
I feel SS is still as relevant as it ever was. Even more so now as we are challenged to meet so many differing needs as society has changed. we certainly must be innovative and creative to reach out to people with so many differing needs and church versus non-churches backgrounds. I have recently had to reevaluate my own commitment and even my understanding of “going out and making disciples”. We must be intentional in our ministry to develop the kind of relationships that will lead us to an opportunity to shepherd and disciple. I am afraid that too often we are abandoning our baby on the chuch steps as we feel our parenting is done at the altar. Sunday School may need to be brought back to the very basic bible stories that so many people don’t know. Instead of trying to make the bible apply to life in the world we need to disciple and shepherd people through the bible to live In the Kingdom life now.
One of the challenges that we have had in the last year is kids showing up to Sunday School half asleep because they were up half the night playing video games or surfing the net. It was frustrating to the teachers who had prepared and quite frankly, Sunday School was just dead. Through a lot of prayer and discussion, we decided to do something different. We changed the time of our worship service to 10:30 and we started a Sunday Evening youth Worship Service. We are calling it JAM…Jesus and Me…We have a great game room, so after JAM we let the kids hang out in the game room that is named The Loft….Sunday eveing is called JAM-N-The Loft. The number of elementary and middle school children attending Sunday Evenings has tripled…that the kids are awake and the energy level is contagious. I think that the bottom line is to share Christ with children in any way that works. Teaching children is vital, but kids learn differently in today’s world, and we have to be willing to do what it takes reach them.
Some great concepts. Thanks.
Refreshing approach Tammy! Being flexible to respond creatively and boldly with innovative God-inspired initiatives. That’s how the pioneering Army (and wider evangelical movement) was blessed by God. As Booth said: “Just do something!” In other words, try anything for Christ’s sake! Thanks for sharing; I have enjoyed all the comments.
Wed are working a similar concept called E58 (Ephesians 5:8). It will be a adrenaline packed kids worship service incorporating small groups. The word action materials will be spread across Performing Arts night, Troops, and E58 so that the lesson is taught and reinforced throughout the week. But where to get inexpensive laser lights?
Interesting responses. My take on this is in the book I’ve written on said subject: “Flight Manuel”
http://joenoland.com/joenoland/Creations.html
The Sunday school movement definitely started as an outreach method for kids whose families were not otherwise connected to the church. As is typical with visionary methods, the church institutionalized it and I think often times lost the whole point (evangelism). Sunday school as discipleship however is a positive thing as well and can work effectively with the right people in leadership and the right vision in place. I favor the small group, “do life together” model because I think it offers more and varied opportunities to live out our faith with one another. That’s just my preference though. If people are meeting Jesus and growing in holiness, the method is secondary.
Well said. Thanks.
I was running Sunday school in Australia for just over 5 years and I found that there were many challenges to overcome but the biggest issue wasn’t the timing or content, it was parents not following up the discipling by modelling correct behaviour at home, .
I really love sunday school and I wouldn’t move away from it. As a school teacher I see the importance of routine in students lives. I think that having Kids come out on a Sunday helps to form a positive routine and positive memory of coming to Church on sunday.
I had to completely change the format of Sunday School every year just to keep up with changing culture but I see a real value in Sunday School on sunday morning. Just my thought.
Hope you are well.
Dave
Thanks, David. The proof is before you.
We offer Sunday school at our Corps and find it to be a valuable teaching time. We divide for part and then close with a combined time. We have SS after the regular service. Lately we have been using the time to offer some additional opportunities such as a Soldiership class and a Spanish speaking class. We are now planning to tie the sermon series in with the Sunday school curriculum so that everyone and all ages will be learning the same principles. We believe Sunday is still a viable opportunity to learn, worship, play, and build the community of faith.
We struggle with Sunday School attendance here. We have struggle for 10 years that I know of. Many places are having that same struggle. As a person who was “sent” to Sunday School now and then to learn morals, I have a deep appreciation for those who come without their parents, and yes they are unruley they can’t be thrown away. Much as it was in my youth it was the getting up and getting dress that is the hardest part of going.
I think in some ways that is part of the problem, The kids getting up and getting down here. As an example many will relate to this: we have a family of 5 boys from 6 to 13, who are here for the night programs, They stay until the doors close (that is a good thing, they would be out on the street otherwise), that can’t play what is going on. But they come everynight to watch. I ask them to come to breakfast and Sunday School (sometimes just Sunday School) they can’t get up that early. They live across the street. So I need to figure out a tie that will excite them enough to get up in the morning. Until then we talk .
We don’t have children sent to church to learn morals anymore. With the Sunday night devotions at Heavenly Hoops, the premise of most of the young adult males there , is everything is right until you get caught and about half have young kids. So why do we need morals is the attitude.
I think with children there is a great desire for affection, boundaries, consistancy, giving those things we can teach a hunger for God. But it is long and hard. Make not happen early Sunday morning, maybe Sunday afternoon and we have to accept that weekday school about Jesus is just as good as Sunday. We will have to work harder to get them into church.
We need to realize we are not a Christ based society anymore. Which we all know but the fact isit means we have to work wise and hard to teach Christ. As American we are not use to that. Our congeration are pretty well handed to us…that is another subject. It is amazing how many Christians are out there who have never read a book of the Bible let alone the whole thing.
We have just re-started our Sunday School! after 8 years without a kids ministry , we did a survey about what to call it… as Grandparents are the ones in our ares who usually bring the kids they wanted it to be “just like it was when they were kids” so we’ve stuck with the traditional Sunday School emphasising the bible stories but mixing it with the fantastic DVD’s and videos available these days. I’m amazed that the kids who may have previously come only once a month with their grandparents, now insist that they can’t miss SS and are there 7 out of 8 weeks! This is a great encouragement as it also means the grandparents are also coming more often!
PS if your graphic copyrighted or can we use it for our SS?
Great! The logo came from the Internet and is not ours.