By Eugene J. Nicodemus

Common opinion is that Sunday school is in decline. Increasingly we read of declining attendance, churches eliminating Sunday school, and Sunday school ending for the summer and not starting up again in the fall. Walk into any Christian bookstore and you will find many books showing statistics on the decline of the Sunday school and the lack of biblical knowledge of the American population. Books on how to revitalize your Sunday school are big sellers. The most popular workshops at our annual convention are those that deal with growth and renewal.

Obviously we do have problems in Christian education. Many people are concerned and desire to do something about it. Because of our concerns we have developed a "maintenance mind-set" in our approach. We spend our time with concerns about "oughts" and "shoulds." We "should" fix up our property and more people will come. We "ought" to get a new curriculum that is more effective or more appealing. We "should" get more socially involved in our community to let others know about our church. We "ought" to advertise on radio or TV, then they will come. I am sure you can think of many other things we "should" or "ought" to do. These things will keep us very busy in meetings, discussion and planning. But, will this busy work have any impact on God’s people? Will any lives be changed? Will any troubled souls be comforted? Will God’s love be shared? Will anyone be interested in coming to Sunday school to spend time in these maintenance concerns?

History shows that the Sunday school is most successful when we are "mission minded." When we reach out to people with the message of Jesus Christ. When we embody a first-century Christian spirit, centering our attention on God and His action in the world. When celebrating God’s presence and ministry is our first order of business, all else will fall into place.

Today’s people are increasingly making clear that they desire more spirituality in their life. They are seeking to know the meaning of their life. They are seeking support in time and trouble and for their journey through life. What are we doing to help them? Does our emphasis on the "shoulds" and "oughts" of our maintenance minded approach to Sunday school do anything to share God’s message of love or does it only serve to rearrange the chairs for a continually declining group?

Our maintenance approaches have been showing little fruit. Perhaps it is time to return to a sense of mission and renewed emphasis on sharing God’s love in today’s world.

(This article appeared in the "Summer, 1995" issue of "The Herald.")