Lets talk Sunday School

[Lara in Colo]

This came up in a discussion with my Pastor yesterday and I would like the opinions of you **very** wise women that I respect.

 

What is the role of Sunday School?

It is undoubtly the responsibiliy of the parent to instill the teachings of God and the Bible in the child.

I still think SS should be important., however there a limited exposure time for this to occur (roughly one hour a week)

 

Please tell me what you think the role of SS is.

[Jean in Newcastle]

To teach children Bible stories and concepts at their level.

To reinforce what some parents are teaching at home.

To pick up the pieces for what some parents aren't teaching at home. (Not ideal but sometimes the reality).

 

May I recommend that you look at this curriculum.

[Mimmy]

It's probably not the primary religious instruction for kids of parents on this board, but for many it is. Presenting the gospel/ teaching is very important.

 

The main reason that I have my children in church classes is socialization into Christian culture and the experience of Christian fellowship.

[LMD]

For us, providing the children with godly fellowship. Peers who they can learn with, and godly material they can discuss at their level. I think of it in the same vein as a bible study group for adults.

 

This is why I really like how my church does it. Sunday school for 1 hour before joining the rest of the church for the service.

[dhudson]

Hopefully, to reinforce what children are learning at home but also to teach the basics of Christianity to those who don't hear it home. To provide a place where children hear the word of God and hear that God loves them and wants them in his family.

 

IMHO, it should not be babysitting while parents go to church nor should it be all entertainment. Again, IMHO, it should be a place of learning. We can teach in a fun engaging way but it should still be about Bible education.

 

One of my biggest pet peeves is when parents ask, "Did you have fun?" versus "What did you learn?".

 

After 20 years of being involved in children's ministry, I might be a little intense about this subject, sorry!

[FaithManor]

This came up in a discussion with my Pastor yesterday and I would like the opinions of you **very** wise women that I respect.

 

What is the role of Sunday School?

It is undoubtly the responsibiliy of the parent to instill the teachings of God and the Bible in the child.

I still think SS should be important., however there a limited exposure time for this to occur (roughly one hour a week)

 

Please tell me what you think the role of SS is.

 

 

Well, Sunday School originated not as a time to teach Bible or Theology, but as an offering of tutoring in basic math and reading skills for children living in illiteracy and poverty in England. It literally was Sunday "School" because it was the only day that children who worked in factories during the industrial revolution had off from work. Prior to compulsory education here in the states, it was the primary opportunity that the working poor had for an education for their children as many times either the children worked as many hours or close to as many hours as the parents, or if not, the parents could not afford school books and fees anyway. It was a full day of school and though throughly devoted to academics, religious instruction was definitely intertwined.

 

As compulsory school attendance became the norm, the original goal of Sunday School changed. Many children did not attend as they were receiving their academic instruction, but that meant that for those children whose parents did not attend church, little to no religious education was being imparted to the children. Thus, churches attempted to change the focus. However, attendance was not nearly as high and in many churches, Sunday School was not necessarily the norm after that. With revivalist movement tried to keep the concept alive and the more evangelical types of churches were more likely to regularly host age segregated Sunday School hours either before or after the preaching service.

 

In modern society, I can say that for the most part, I believe most churches do not put much effort into the religious education nature of Sunday School. It is glorified babysitting so that parents can have their adult time unimpeded by the distraction of little ones. I say this because I've done a huge number of Sunday School curriculum reviews for our church and found most to be a lot of fluff n stuff. Very superficial and lots of time wasting involved. Crafts....I'm so sick of the amount of money that is supposed to be spent on crafts...junkie things that no parent wants to store forever, but by the same token, don't want to hurt their child's feelings and throw it in the trash. Snack time, the provision of and clean-up of which again wastes a lot of instructional time. Game time - spew! I'm not against fun, but fun without a purpose is, well, babysitting and we should call it such. The actual instructional time during 45-60 minutes of Sunday School can end up being 15 minutes or less and usually just a story from the Old Testament with only the most superficial points even drawn out, if any teacher lead discussion happens at all, and no Bible memory.

 

I've only seen one Sunday School program in all my adult years that really was effective and where a tremendous effort was made to do more than just keep the kids busy. So, I'm a bit jaded in my perspective because I'm just not finding these kinds of programs out there and most church elders and boards are rather "freaky" about allowing the teachers to design their own.

 

Faith

[Meriwether]

I've only got about 35 minutes with my 3rd graders, but I think that will turn into 45 minutes when Christmas practice is done. We start by practicing the memory verse, have a lesson, try to fit in some practical application activity, record some information in their notebooks each week (memory verse, definitions, Greek and Latin word roots, etc. I bought Eggspert (a quizzing system) that we use the last 5-10 minutes of class to drill what we've learned.

 

I think SS is for education.

[Laurie4b]

Sunday school is part of the church's call to make disciples. Parents have primary responsibility for discipling their children, but the church as a whole is about discipleship.

 

Sunday school can be a supplement for parents who are teaching at home. In some cases, it can be more systematic than what most parents could/would do. It can incorporate group experiences outside the family, help the child understand that their family is part of a broader community of worshipers, etc. Our Sunday school program was carefully thought out in terms of what is developmentally appropriate for children, which stories from the Bible are most significant to learn, which Bible memory is most key, etc. Different types of prayer are taught over the years. Repetition is built in over the years for Bible memory. Bible skills are taught year by year, building upon the year before (starting with learning a song with the books of the Bible in order, to being able to find specific books quickly, to being able to find ch/verse, to knowing which genre a book is, and in 5th grade, to doing the beginnings of inductive Bible study.) Our Sunday school (through 5th grade) was crafted on the classical model that these years are a good time for memorization, grasping facts, etc. It is very solid teaching delivered in a very fun ways.

 

I was a kid who was dropped off at Sunday school by parents who didn't believe. I got little tiny snatches of truth but never the big ideas. So I would hope that Sunday school programs are crafted to be helpful to kids like I used to be.

[AK_Mom4]

To teach children Bible stories and concepts at their level.

To reinforce what some parents are teaching at home.

To pick up the pieces for what some parents aren't teaching at home. (Not ideal but sometimes the reality).

 

 

:iagree:

 

Once again, Jean - you've nailed it!

[AimeeM]

We're Catholic. At least in every parish I've attended, there is no "Sunday School" for children. Children sit in Mass with parents. If the children become too fussy (baby crying or toddler restless), there is a "cry room" to sit in to nurse and nobody bats an eyelash at a toddler being walked around the building to get some energy out before returning to Mass :) Most of the families with small children sit in the back, with baggies of cheerios and religous coloring sheets :lol:

When I was little, I remember attending one parish that did Children's Mass. All that was, was a small amount of time (preceeding regular Mass) when the Mass for the day was explained to the children. Children were then expected to sit with their parents during the regular Mass (be it Latin or Sung).

Well, Sunday School originated not as a time to teach Bible or Theology, but as an offering of tutoring in basic math and reading skills for children living in illiteracy and poverty in England. It literally was Sunday "School" because it was the only day that children who worked in factories during the industrial revolution had off from work. Prior to compulsory education here in the states, it was the primary opportunity that the working poor had for an education for their children as many times either the children worked as many hours or close to as many hours as the parents, or if not, the parents could not afford school books and fees anyway. It was a full day of school and though throughly devoted to academics, religious instruction was definitely intertwined.

 

As compulsory school attendance became the norm, the original goal of Sunday School changed. Many children did not attend as they were receiving their academic instruction, but that meant that for those children whose parents did not attend church, little to no religious education was being imparted to the children. Thus, churches attempted to change the focus. However, attendance was not nearly as high and in many churches, Sunday School was not necessarily the norm after that. With revivalist movement tried to keep the concept alive and the more evangelical types of churches were more likely to regularly host age segregated Sunday School hours either before or after the preaching service.

 

In modern society, I can say that for the most part, I believe most churches do not put much effort into the religious education nature of Sunday School. It is glorified babysitting so that parents can have their adult time unimpeded by the distraction of little ones. I say this because I've done a huge number of Sunday School curriculum reviews for our church and found most to be a lot of fluff n stuff. Very superficial and lots of time wasting involved. Crafts....I'm so sick of the amount of money that is supposed to be spent on crafts...junkie things that no parent wants to store forever, but by the same token, don't want to hurt their child's feelings and throw it in the trash. Snack time, the provision of and clean-up of which again wastes a lot of instructional time. Game time - spew! I'm not against fun, but fun without a purpose is, well, babysitting and we should call it such. The actual instructional time during 45-60 minutes of Sunday School can end up being 15 minutes or less and usually just a story from the Old Testament with only the most superficial points even drawn out, if any teacher lead discussion happens at all, and no Bible memory.

 

I've only seen one Sunday School program in all my adult years that really was effective and where a tremendous effort was made to do more than just keep the kids busy. So, I'm a bit jaded in my perspective because I'm just not finding these kinds of programs out there and most church elders and boards are rather "freaky" about allowing the teachers to design their own.

 

Faith

[Harriet Vane]

Unfortunately, most parents do not take the time to read the Bible with their kids daily. I think there are more who do pray with their kids, at least at bedtime, but even that is often short, formulaic, or doesn't happen.

 

The reality is that church is often the primary spiritual instruction for children and adults alike.

 

Children have MANY places where they can play, make friends, and eat candy. The church, though, is usually the only place (aside from home) that can teach them the truths of the Bible, worship, and prayer. However, all too often children's church programs focus the majority of the time on playing, socialization, and candy, with marginal time devoted to teaching.

 

Not only should children really, truly LEARN the Bible in its entirety at church, children actually ENJOY learning the Bible when it is challenging and interesting. Most curriculum unfortunately are developmentally totally inappropriate and dumbed-down. I have also had extensive experience teaching children to pray for more than a quick minute at church, and I have found that they enjoy doing so.

 

One very sad thing, though, is that I have, on more than one occasion, faced actual opposition from a senior pastor who felt that children could not learn at a higher level, or should not be expected to learn *well* at church because it would somehow not be fun enough and they wouldn't want to come anymore. I find it terribly saddening when I have encountered this limited perspective. Children love to learn, and are bored when they are not challenged.

 

That one hour a week in Sunday School is precious. Use it well.

[Harriet Vane]

Can I also recommend a wonderful, wonderful resource for children's ministry?

 

Follow Me As I Follow Christ, by Cheryl Dunlop.

 

It's truly the best children's ministry resource I have ever encountered. I use it often when training teachers.

[Hwin]

For children? To get a biblical message to them in a way that they will understand, in place of a regular service which is geared toward adults. (I've never gone to a church that has SS for adults.)

[QueenCat]

At the elementary age:

 

1) Teach the basics of Christianity and the core, basic Bible stories in ways that are meaningful and interesting, via stories, crafts, acting, music, etc.

2) Encourage fellowship with other children, that will hopefully extend beyond the walls of the church.

3) Build relationships with adults outside of the family.

 

 

This is Sunday School, which should not be in the place of worship, with the family. We do Children's Church during the sermon but it is not SS, it is a story along with music, for about 15 minutes, then they go back to the sanctuary. They don't have to leave the sanctuary for this, if their parents wish for them to remain.

Edited November 2, 2011 by CathieC

[KrissiK]

I know this thread is about SS for children, but I think SS is very important for both children and adults. In our church, adult SS is dialogue oriented. There is a teacher who prepares the lesson, but it is not strictly lecture. People are encouraged to discuss, answer questions, etc. I find this to be a very important educational format. Sermons in the church service are fine, but can be easy to tune out. If a person is in a smaller group setting that is interactive, at least for me, I tend to be more on task, thinking about what is being taught and I listen a lot better if I'm able to contribute.

[QueenCat]

I know this thread is about SS for children, but I think SS is very important for both children and adults. In our church, adult SS is dialogue oriented. There is a teacher who prepares the lesson, but it is not strictly lecture. People are encouraged to discuss, answer questions, etc. I find this to be a very important educational format. Sermons in the church service are fine, but can be easy to tune out. If a person is in a smaller group setting that is interactive, at least for me, I tend to be more on task, thinking about what is being taught and I listen a lot better if I'm able to contribute.

 

:iagree:100%. I'm always surprised when I hear of churches that only have SS for children. I miss it so much during the years we teach a class of children. Which is why we only teach every other year. I try to find a mid-week class for myself to make up for it though.

[vonfirmath]

Honestly, at age 4? I am okay with Sunday School being partially babysitting. I get more out of church when I am not trying to corral my kids at the same time.

 

And I know he DOES get Bible story/verse time along with the playing time while away from me. But his attention span would not allow for the entire hour to be Bible time so snack and play time is fine with me as well.

 

Yes, they do crafts. I don't think of the crafts as something to keep forever but, rather, sometimes it helps reinforce the lesson for those who are more kinesthetically oriented. And other times it gives the kids the experience of doing something they may not do at home (finger painting, using scissors to cut, etc -- more glue work. Making large signs together)

 

i WISH our church did AWANAs during Sunday School time... But I guess not all parents would want to do the out of church stuff required for that.

And my son gets AWANAs during other times. And bible stories (Jesus Storybook Bible) nearly everyday. And I try to make sure at least once during the month to get the Bible out for the memory verse and show him the verse in the Bible and what it says around that. To a great extent, teaching my son helps me stay up with the Bible better than what I was doing on my own.

Edited November 2, 2011 by vonfirmath