By Rodney L. Pry

What does the future hold for the Sunday school? For Christian education workers at all levels, this is a question that continually haunts us. We see some Sunday schools that are exciting and growing. We see some Sunday schools that are dead or dying. And we see some Sunday schools that are just holding their own, year after year with the same program and the same average attendance.

Across the nation, over all Sunday school attendance levels have declined about 25% over the past 20 years. But, here in Pennsylvania, most Sunday schools would probably fall into the final category above – just holding their own.

But, a closer look at the first group, the Sunday schools that have exciting and dynamic programs, the schools that are showing steady, sustained growth, can show us all a lot about how we should change our programs to promote growth and achieve a higher level of Christian education and commitment through our programs. That is, if we are willing to listen and make the changes necessary.

Over the past several weeks I have had the opportunity to talk with several persons involved with very successful, growing Sunday schools. I have also had several articles about such schools come across my desk. Taking a little time to combine and study the information about these Sunday schools, I have noted several things that these growing schools have in common and would like to share a few of my observations with you. Please note, this is not intended to be a complete list in any way. These are simply some of the things that "jumped out" at me as I examined these particular Sunday schools and their programs. I hope these few ideas might get you thinking about changes you could make in your program to promote even greater growth.

Most, but not all, of these Sunday schools were large (200 members or more). This meant they had a larger pool of potential teachers and leaders to draw from. But, even though most are now what I would call "large," most started quite small. One man I talked with is from a Sunday school that has over 400 members today, but they are a fairly new church and just 4 years ago they had less than 50 persons in Sunday school each week. You might have a small Sunday school now, but you can grow!

Most, but not all, of these churches employed a full-time or part-time Director of Christian Education. The consensus seems to be that it is necessary to have a person who gives a considerable amount of time each week to coordinating the Sunday school and other Christian education programs of the church. Again, not all of these Sunday schools had a paid person to do this, but where they didn’t they had very active volunteers (individuals or a committee) that gave a considerable amount of time to Sunday school planning, promotion, etc.

All were evangelical. Every one of the Sunday schools I used for this report had a definite sense of the needs of the unchurched and "un-Sunday-schooled" of their community. Most had regular, planned programs of Sunday school visitation or invitation. Many offered classes on personal evangelism and outreach. And, very important, all of these schools made sure that visitors and new members were welcomed into the school and made to feel like they were a part of the Sunday school family. Some even offered special Sunday school classes for the spiritually "young" members of their congregation.

A number of these growing Sunday schools have abandoned traditional Sunday school lesson materials. Many are writing their own lesson curriculum materials. Others are using denominational or independent publishing house materials but are making major changes in the materials to adapt them to the needs of their students.

Most of these Sunday schools have abandoned the single teacher approach for teaching children and youth. Instead, they have gone to the team teaching approach. Two or three persons are recruited to teach a particular class each Sunday for a year (no more). The teachers agree to give a major amount of their time to study, pray and prepare for each week’s lesson. They meet with the other teachers on a regular basis to plan coming lessons. By using team teachers, one teacher can be leading one part of the lesson while the other teacher or teachers are preparing for the next part. The one-year commitment of the team teachers also corrects the historical problem of using and exhausting teachers and leaders.

Many have adopted the "Sesame Street approach" to lesson a presentation. Today’s children and youth are used to the Sesame Street way of having lessons presented – small segments of information, each related to the same lesson topic or theme, presented in rapid succession. A class might begin with a story and move to puppets, videos, music, stories, drama, guest speakers, small group activities, crafts and so on.

Other Sunday schools are making use of the activity/learning center approach to learning. In this method, students work at their own pace and move from station to station within the classroom, working and learning at their own pace. This format relies on the self-motivation of the kids, with activities ranging from listening centers to week-long activities with parents.

All in all, the reports from these active, growing Sunday schools paint a very bright and optimistic picture for the future of Sunday school. The question is, will your Sunday school work to build a Christian education program that will attract the unchurched of your community, while helping all members to deepen their commitment to God, His Word and His work? If won’t be easy, but if you are to have an active, growing Sunday school, do you have any other choice?

(This article appeared in the "Spring, 1993" issue of "The Herald.")