Rethinking Sunday School: Strategies for Revitalizing Programs and Engaging Today’s Youth
One of the most pressing questions the church is asking today is, “Can Sunday school programs live again?” What is driving this inquiry is churches are finding fewer and fewer young families attending. In their heyday, thriving and growing churches had large Sunday school ministries. My first parish in Detroit showed me images of hundreds of children attending; so many that it led to massive building expansion programs and the birth of a Christian day school. How do we turn back the clock and usher in those glory days again? Due to the complexity of this question, it will aid our discussion by taking a trip back in time. Where did the Sunday school movement begin? And why?
The beginning
It all began in when Robert Raikes and Thomas Stock established a Sunday school for the poor and orphaned. While earlier Sunday schools operated, Raikes and Stock are the movement's creators. Through their efforts, they led pastors and laypeople to establish similar schools throughout England and, in doing so, set into motion the Sunday school ministry. This educational endeavor spread like wildfire; by 1800, 200,000 children were enrolled in English Sunday schools, and by 1850, this number had risen to 2 million.
Its purpose
Sunday schools were popular because they met a need. The schools connected with individuals who found working-class children lacked discipline. A tool to address Sunday instruction classes was developed out of that felt need. These Sunday and evening schools taught the poor about reading, writing, arithmetic, and catechism. Unlike our current recruitment system, this was determined by visits to parents, donor nominations, and individual student applications. Students were expected to attend school four to five hours per week in their early years. These were the only educational opportunities most working-class children would ever receive. While the program received high accolades initially and was celebrated as a success, it later struggled to survive.
Based on historical records, some of the challenges it faced were:
· There was often ecclesiastical pressure not to teach writing on Sunday.
· Debates raged about whether teaching the lower classes was, in fact, an excellent idea; there were worries that such Education would lead them to forget their station in life.
· The Church of England often could not support schools or provide adequate space or funds. [1]
How was Sunday School funded?
These schools were financed by donors who nominated children for enrollment. To gain further and ongoing support, patrons were invited to visit the schools to oversee the children's progress in their lessons. This role would be that of a modern-day superintendent. A novel idea developed: teachers (men and women) were paid. Classes were often held in homes or rented spaces.
Sunday schools caught on rapidly and were compelling because they were simple and served a noble purpose: to educate the poor and disadvantaged. They were a way for children to take their minds off their dire situation and for parents to elevate the whole family socially. Education did not just end with the kids. It was a lifeline to a better life. It often spread to the parents, and like today, the children are actively encouraged to take lessons and books home to share with their parents.
Sunday schools in England became vital methods of creating social interaction for children and parents. This class was rapidly moving away from small, interconnected family settings in rural communities to large, overpopulated, condensed urban centers.
Meanwhile, Sunday school began in America in 1824. Its stated purpose was to “organize, evangelize, and civilize.” The focus was intentionally mission-focused. Over the next 100 years, Sunday school became the primary outreach arm of the church. Sunday school ministry expanded to embrace all ages. Sunday School has become a vital tool for reaching out to the unchurched in the community and introducing them to an authentic relationship with Jesus. Once they became members, Sunday school was an efficient entry into church life. By the end of the 1800s, Sunday school was viewed as the primary prospect for church multiplication. That hope is still alive and well in the twenty-first century.
The decline
Finally, all things have a life cycle. Today’s sad reality is that Sunday school attendance has decreased in the last 50 years. What has been the biggest culprit in the decline? One might argue the shift away from the emphasis on evangelism to more of a program based on learning Bible stories and fellowship. Studies support the notion that church membership is also increasing in places where Sunday Schools are thriving and growing. Church vitality is closely connected to Sunday school ministry health.
The Hope for the Future
With the declining numbers of young people and families on the premises, this idea of Sunday School as a primary opportunity for evangelism is not lost on the church. Thus, the goal of this series’ question, “Can Sunday school live again?” is to explore how we can recreate a movement that meets a need for young children and families. Is that Sunday school or something else? Can Sunday school thrive again and revitalize our churches? Before we conclude the series, we will discover working models, and hopefully, this will spark a return to our evangelistic roots.
[1] http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/sunday/hist1.htm
Originally Published on https://www.becomingbridgebuilders.org/blog
