What role does the Sunday School play in this process?

It is my opinion that Sunday School is the finest church growth tool in the toolbox. It addresses both the front door and the back door of the church. However, for optimum effectiveness, Sunday School must incorporate both evangelism and assimilation into its purpose and plan.

Early architects of the Sunday School movement believed there had to be an intentional focus on evangelism. Arthur Flake, a layman who helped shape Southern Baptist Sunday School ministry said, "The supreme business of Christianity is to win the lost to Christ. This is what churches are for.... surely then the Sunday school must relate itself to the winning of the lost to Christ as an ultimate objective."(Building a Standard Sunday School, The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1934.)

More recently Ken Hemphill wrote, "It is my conviction the beginning of the so-called demise of Sunday School can be traced to a time when denominations and local churches failed to use the Sunday School with evangelistic intentionality and purpose. When the design was forgotten, the Sunday School became a maintenance tool rather than a growth tool." (Revitalizing the Sunday Morning Dinosaur, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996)If a church is to grow it must have an insatiable passion for evangelism that begins with the Sunday School.

Growth, resulting from evangelism, is of little value, however, unless we find a way of assimilating new converts into the fabric of the church. In his book, High Expectations, * Thom Rainer writes, "A third group told us that they had given so much attention to the corporate worship service that the Sunday School was relegated to secondary importance. Undoubtedly, the renewed interest in worship has been a blessing to churches and to their growth potential. But when Sunday School is neglected as a consequence, the wide-open front door is often countered by a wide-open back door."

How effective is Sunday School in closing the back door? The most significant lesson learned in a recent church growth study is that assimilation of new Christians is directly related to the way people were evangelized. The study showed that new Christians who immediately became active in Sunday School were five times more likely to remain in church five years later than those who attend worship only.

Sunday School is one of the most effective assimilation methods that the church has. If done correctly (important assumption) it provides discipleship, fellowship, evangelism, and ministry. Sunday School is a place where people become connected to the church and learn to live the life.

"Learning to live the L.I.F.E." is the theme for national Sunday School Day and will be the Sunday School Department's vision statement for the next few years. L.I.F.E. is an acrostic that supports our four-fold theme:

Learning together

Involving all who come

Finding others who need to know

Emerging for ministry

Obviously the mere existence of Sunday School will not produce assimilation. We must produce and use the very best curriculum, emphasizing our doctrinal distinctives. We must train our teachers to effective and knowledgeable. We must plan and organize around our stated purposes. Finally, we must pray that God will add His blessing to these efforts.

The key to a successful church is a successful Sunday School. The keys to a successful Sunday school are relatively simple,

1. Plan your work.

2. Work your plan.

3. Pray for numbers one and two.

 

What is Sunday School?

 

Sunday School is an essential disciple-making strategy of the church. As such, Sunday School has proven its effectiveness by teaching biblical principles and godly living to people at every age and stage of life. However, in order for Sunday School to remain effective in the 21st century, the Church must both reaffirm and retain the essential elements of this disciple-making strategy while also developing flexibility to address the diverse discipling challenges of our fast-paced, pluralistic culture.

Therefore, the Division of Christian Education has written a functional definition of Sunday School. Any Christian Education initiative in the local church that includes all of the following features/characteristics will be considered functionally comparable to Sunday School:

  • The primary purpose is obedient response to the Great Commission: Making disciples who will fulfill the threefold mission of the church —evangelism, worship, and discipleship.
  • The primary strategy is the intentional, systematic, development of leaders who can carry on the work of the ministry in the local church.
  • The primary curriculum is the Bible supported by appropriate teaching resources.
  • The primary process is regular (preferably weekly), systematic teaching of Bible content and doctrine. (See Radiant Life resources.)
  • The primary dynamic is the building of relationships that involve mutual commitment and accountability.
  • The primary structure includes a full range of groups, developed with sensitivity to culture, needs, interests, and/or life stages.
  • The primary oversight is the responsibility of the pastoral staff and church lay leaders in the local church.

             

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Sunday School Leaders Job Descriptions ---      http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0%2C1703%2CA%253D156979%2526M%253D150011%2C00.html 

 

 

 

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