Over the past decade or so, many churches have done away with their Sunday school program and have chosen to do a church program or no program at all. But leaving out Sunday school programs leaves adults without conversation and Bible study. He leaves little ones to hear the Word of God in ways that are not meaningful to them, and he rescues children to be able to connect with others of the same age for support in their Christian walk.
But we see churches using what were once Sunday school hours to extend the morning worship service beyond 2 hours. And churches have added various other weekly church programs in place of Sunday school. But by leaving Sunday school, did they harm the church program, or did they harm the body of the church? He should have
Legal Sunday School
Sunday schools used to be the highlight of what the church had to offer. Many children were moved to follow Christ because of the activities of the Sunday school teacher. Many adults have surrendered their lives to the Lord because their ears were opened and their hearts recognized when they heard the truth in Sunday school.
Not All About Numbers
Does the change of Sunday school from church programs hurt? Are church members multiplying without the inclusion of a Sunday school? Maybe it is, but church growth isn’t all about numbers. Sometimes the spiritual life of the Church members suffers when they are let go and change in the Church.
Sunday School Dropped in Low Attendance
How do you feel about the trend of doing away with Sunday school programs and moving to just focusing on children’s church? No matter how you feel about it, there are reasons why this happens. The drop in compliance is significant. Parents and children want extra time to sleep before church. In addition, some people feel that the time spent on extra-long ecclesiastical services is enough time to be committed to the church.
Sunday school abandoned for lack of teachers or money
Another reason why Sunday school programs have been dropped is because of a lack of teaching staff. Requests are made for Sunday school teachers, but the need is often not lacking. And the children do not give great resources on the salary plate, so the financial needs of running the Sunday school program, often falls on church funds. A church may reason that a program it cannot financially support or staff to teach is a program that must be discontinued.
Sunday School Programs and the Health of the Church
Fortunately, I attend a church that still looks to provide Sunday school programs for both children and adults. The adult class offerings generally cover the need for Sunday school materials for all ages. And I believe that one of the reasons my church is healthy and growing is due to its Sunday school program, which is self-sustaining and has a great teaching staff.
Avoiding Sunday School Teacher Burnout
Where I attend Sunday school, teacher burnout is not expected. Substitute teachers will cover the summer months and every August is vacation time. No extra church programs are held in August to give church workers much needed time to recover. Then, when classes begin again in September, the Sunday school teachers begin energetically, inspired, ready to share the gospel with their classrooms full of students.
Ministry Times Affect Attendance
Although dropping Sunday school programs was a church trend in the late 90’s and into this century, it was not a progressive movement. When churches end the time for Bible instruction in Sunday school, the incentive to be a part of any other Bible class or congregational fellowship diminishes. Many people who attend Sunday school on Sunday morning do not attend Bible-study”>study on a weeknight and cannot attend during the typical working hours. Sunday morning hours are therefore often the best times for churches to provide Bible programs for adults and children.
Change Verses Attendance, Growth, Service
If it is your church that has followed the trend of dropping the Sunday school program, you may want to consider what your government has lost in such a move. They need to ask themselves these questions. Are more children motivated to serve the Lord because they have left Sunday school training? Did more young people enter the ministry or become missionaries because of this? Are there more young adults remaining in the church because of a connected feeling? And finally, do more families remain in the church because their needs are ?
The Sunday School is valid; it has been proven over and over through the generations. If your church is holding leadership with the idea of dropping Sunday school or a program, if your church has already dropped the program, I encourage you to reconsider. Sometimes it’s more important to breathe new life into a program than to drop it altogether – it’s better to fix what’s broken than to throw away something new.
