Sunday School

The Sunday school has been an important educational and evangelistic ministry for many North American churches for over one hundred years. It has aided many Christians in their knowledge of Scripture, assisted many nonbelievers into faith and helped many churches in their desire to develop Christian community.

History and Growth

Begun in 1780 by Robert Raikes in England, Sunday school was originally a tool to teach poor children how to read and write using the Bible as text. Sunday was chosen because it was the only day these children did not have to work in factories. Through the years Sunday school evolved into a teaching program of the church geared mainly to children.

When Sunday schools were introduced to North American churches in the early nineteenth century, denominational leaders debated as to whether it would interfere with the parents’ responsibility of the faith education of the child at home. In spite of such protests, the Sunday school became established and grew throughout the late nineteenth and into the twentieth century. While theologically liberal churches began to see its decline around 1916, evangelical churches continued to experience growth through the middle of the century. During the early part of the century, the leadership of Sunday schools tended to pass increasingly into the hands of trained theological teachers. With the introduction of many evangelical publishing houses producing Sunday-school curriculum and the birth boom that came at the end of World War II, the Sunday school probably reached its pinnacle of acceptance and growth in North America by midcentury.

By the middle of the 1970s many churches were experiencing declining attendance in Sunday school, and changes began to take place in the format of this ministry. Today many churches have drastically altered its name, time, day, place and methods while still maintaining the purpose of sharing biblical truths in a teaching setting different from that of the worship service. Others have begun to see Sunday schools evolve into small groups or house churches. For many churches, the Sunday school remains a vital component in the overall educational ministry. A wisely thought-through, planned and implemented Sunday school can still provide the church with a tool to promote an understanding of the Christian faith.

Dimensions of an Effective Sunday School

A tool to educate Christians about the truths of the faith. As such the Sunday school should not be seen as an end in itself. Too often the role of the Sunday school becomes confused with the function of education in the church (see Christian Education). The function of educating in the church existed long before the formation of the first Sunday school and will continue long after the last Sunday school closes its doors. However, as a tool for the education of a body of believers, Sunday school can be very effective.

The Sunday school can provide a format for an aspect of education that cannot occur in most worship services where preaching is a main component. Whereas most listeners in a worship service can only hear the proclamation of biblical truth, the Sunday school can provide a teaching setting in which interaction with that truth and with other believers can occur as part of the learning process. The Sunday school also deals with biblical truth with age appropriateness. Learning experiences in different classes or groupings can, when needed, be geared to the learning level of the participant and/or to the participants’ spiritual maturity, something rarely possible when the church gathers as a whole body for learning. In the context of the Sunday school that important link between biblical truth and daily life can be reinforced, that is, how beliefs and values can be lived out during the week.

An opportunity to develop community. It is often difficult, even in the smaller church, for people to develop a real sense of community (or koinōnia) through attendance at a worship service. Community is formed through the interaction of lives in learning, sharing, caring and helping one another through our life experiences. The Sunday school can act as a catalyst for these qualities to occur. Many people have experienced the welcome of a Sunday-school class when moving to a different city and to a large, sometimes overpowering church. Often it is the warmth and acceptance of the members of the class that contributes to people becoming a part of the community.

This development of community must go beyond the mere acquaintance level of relationships. It should become a basis for encouragement and strengthening in the Christian’s life. In 1 Thessalonians Paul states the importance of sharing lives with one another in the context of sharing the gospel; both are important (1 Thes. 2:8, 12). Paul is indicating the importance of the community of believers in order to put the gospel into action (see Church; Community; Fellowship).

An opportunity for cooperative learning. In a society that promotes individualism and competition even in the methodology of its educational institutions, the Sunday school can provide an environment in which people of all ages can learn from one another. In this setting laity can teach laity and even help to overcome dependence upon professionals or formally trained theological teachers. This teaching can be enhanced when learners are working together in a climate of cooperation. And while small-group Bible studies offer a beneficial place for interaction about biblical truth, they can too easily become focused on the caring/sharing component of community at the expense of solid teaching. A healthy Sunday-school ministry will have a strong emphasis on a small-group ministry to encourage a developing of both heart and mind.

An opportunity for outreach. During this generation North American society has been pulling away from the truths of the Christian faith. Greater numbers of unchurched people are unfamiliar with or even distrustful of the local church. The Sunday school can be an entrance into the community of the church for those who initially may be hesitant to visit a church’s worship service. A Sunday-school class can create an environment of warmth and acceptance, which can be difficult to develop in a worship service. Some Sunday-school classes even meet outside the church building in hotels, homes or restaurants and have an attraction to those who are more comfortable meeting with Christians in a neutral environment than in an unfamiliar religious setting. While the huge emphasis on evangelism that Sunday school had in the 1950s and before may be past, the Sunday-school ministry still can be creatively effective in presenting the gospel to a church’s local community.

A supplemental tool for family learning. When Sunday school was being adopted by many churches in America in the early part of the nineteenth century, some denominational leaders feared this program would remove from the parents the responsibility to train their children properly in the home. Unfortunately, there is often a temptation for parents by default or intent to allow the Sunday school to have the major or sole role in the teaching of their children. Leaders in the Sunday school need to see themselves in partnership with parents and other leaders in the church in order to promote education and nurture throughout the life of the church and its members’ lives.

The Sunday school has been and remains a valuable tool to assist the Christian’s pilgrimage of faith and learning. This ministry, however, needs to be viewed as only one part of the teaching ministry of the church. The church will always have a need to educate its people, and the Sunday school can be an important and effective supplement in helping to achieve this goal.

» See also: Christian Education

» See also: Family Goals

» See also: Parenting

» See also: Teaching

Resources and References

E. A. Daniel, Introduction to Christian Education (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1987); K. O. Gangel and W. S. Benson, Christian Education: Its History and Philosophy (Chicago: Moody, 1983); M. Harris, Fashion Me a People (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1989); W. Haystead, The 21st Century Sunday School (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1995); W. R. Willis, 200 Years and Still Counting (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1979).

—James Postlewaite