Ottakee Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 We are looking for another church right now. We are used to the traditional Baptist church with Sunday School for all ages (nursery to senior citizens) on Sunday morning either before or after the service, an evening service, and then Wednesday night prayer meeting/classes for the kids/youth group etc. Women's and Men's Bible studies are offered on a different night but there is no adult classes on Sunday. It seems like so many churches don't offer Sunday school. They have programs for toddlers-5th grade or so DURING the morning service and then no evening service but youth group then. Wednesday night might have something for a few age groups but not all. It just seems disjointed to have Sunday Service and then bring the teens on Sunday night and drop them off and go home only to go back to get them, and then do the same thing with the younger kids on Wednesday night. Maybe I am missing the reasoning behind this. It is just much different than we are used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicianmom Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I go to a small Lutheran church. We have Sunday School classes for everyone. We don't have Sunday night church, and Wednesday night only during Advent and Lent. The youth group is small and meets once a month. No special kids' programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 We have it between the two services. Parents and tots class for babies-3rd birthday where a parent stays, then grade segregated classes for Pre-k through adults. We have two different options for adult classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I go to a small Lutheran church. We have Sunday School classes for everyone. We don't have Sunday night church, and Wednesday night only during Advent and Lent. The youth group is small and meets once a month. No special kids' programs. This is pretty much our church too, except for not having a youth group since the congregation has so few young people that age. Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We have a small church. We do have Sunday school for each age group before the service. We don't have any nursery age kids so we have an elementary class, middle school, high school and adult class. That's before the service. Then we have children's church during the middle of the service. Nothing Sunday night or Wednesday night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We are looking for another church right now. We are used to the traditional Baptist church with Sunday School for all ages (nursery to senior citizens) on Sunday morning either before or after the service, an evening service, and then Wednesday night prayer meeting/classes for the kids/youth group etc. Women's and Men's Bible studies are offered on a different night but there is no adult classes on Sunday. It seems like so many churches don't offer Sunday school. They have programs for toddlers-5th grade or so DURING the morning service and then no evening service but youth group then. Wednesday night might have something for a few age groups but not all. It just seems disjointed to have Sunday Service and then bring the teens on Sunday night and drop them off and go home only to go back to get them, and then do the same thing with the younger kids on Wednesday night. Maybe I am missing the reasoning behind this. It is just much different than we are used to. My parent's Southern Baptist church is considering doing Sunday school for up to 6th grade during the service. Their current Sunday school (before the service) is horribly attended. They often have 3-5 in 2nd-12th grade show up for traditional Sunday school! They're beginning to talk about other ideas. Youth group on Sunday afternoons is well attended and Wednesday night AWANA is fairly small but has enough attendance to justify still holding it. My Reformed Baptist church has Sunday school for all ages. The youth and adults classes are well-attended, but many of us with younger kids don't attend as regularly. We also have youth group (hugely popular) and ladies' Bible study on Sunday nights and family* Bible studies w/a potluck dinner on Wed./Thurs. *Kids are welcome but most families have their kids hang out in the nursery with the older elementary school kids watching them. The teens attend with their parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleJumper1 Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We attend a non-denominational church. We have Sunday School for all ages before the morning church service. Birth to 4 yr olds can stay in their nursery rooms during service. We just, in the last few weeks, restarted Children's Church (K-5th) during the morning worship/preaching. Parents are welcome to keep their children in church if they prefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewellsmommy Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Yes. We have sunday school for all ages before worship. During worship we offer childcare/nursery for kids under 5/kindergarten. On Wed nights we have adult Bible study and AWANA for preschool through teens. We don't have regular Sunday night service. We have Bible studies for 6-8 weeks at a time like a Beth Moore study or similar. ETA: Our church is a large building, but a small congregation. We have about 40-50 each Sunday morning (that's children and adults). On Wed evenings our pastor usually has 2-6 adults in his Bible study. We have 6 adult workers running the youth/AWANA clubs with 7 children and 5 youth present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnae Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We have Sunday School for all ages, but the Sunday School classes are held during the main service times (we have two services). There are Sunday School classes for adults during both services, Sunday school classes for preschool - 7th are during first service, and high school Sunday School is during second service. Preschool - 4th grade also has children's church second service, though kids are welcome in the adult service, if that's what the parents prefer. In our family, since we have kids in all age groups, we all go different directions on Sunday mornings. The two younger kids and dh & I attend our respective Sunday School classes while our oldest goes to the main service with the other high schoolers. Then dh & I go to the main service, while our oldest goes to high school Sunday School, and our youngest are in Children's Church. Next year our middle child will join us in the 2nd service, because he will be in 5th grade. It's complicated, but it works, and all age groups get served. Youth groups, AWANA, Men's studies, & women's studies are held on various weeknights (and mornings for the women's studies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We have Sunday School offered DURING service for 6 months through 9th graders. Not all the older ages are offered at all the services. We have a Wednesday evening dinner/programming option too. We go to a relatively large UU church. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Our former (Episcopal) church had Sunday school between the two services for ages 3-adult. Our current (Orthodox) church dismisses children (ages3-high school) after communion for Sunday school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealitychick Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We are members of a contemporary Baptist church. We have Sunday School for kids during the service. That's it. I don't like that aspect; I'd really like to have Sunday School for adults as well. We have "home groups" at night for adults, but that is difficult, if not impossible, for us to attend due to dh's work schedule. I think this is a "trend" in a lot of contemporary churches right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Hmm...I can't say I've experienced that, either (what you are describing, OP). At our church there is Sunday School at 9:30 before service - kids and youth are divided by age and then there are several adult electives. Morning service is at 10:30 and all the teens and adults are together (kids can come, too, if they want) but we have a children's church during service that is EXCELLENT. :) I'm 100% pro-children's ministry. :) We don't have anything on Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights have stuff for everyone - adult electives, youth service, and the kids have Royal Rangers (sort of like boy scouts) and mpact (girls). Something for everyone. :) We are part of a sort of large-ish (? I guess?) Assemblies of God. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 children from 3 - 11, and 12 - 18 have their own sunday school groupings. the younger children are divided into classes by year - usually with two teachers per class. the older ones are divided into one or two year groups depending upon numbers, also generally two teachers per group. that way, lessons can be age appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We're Catholic. No Sunday school in our parishes, for any age. We do have a middle school youth group and a high school youth group at our parish that meets on Saturday afternoons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Non-denom church here. There are Sunday School classes for all ages, after the worship service. There is "junior church" for lower elementary and kids are dismissed to it right before the sermon (so they participate in the singing, prayer, communion, etc). SS classes are divided by grade level, but kids in high school may attend the adult classes if they want to. Content of the adult classes varies. The seniors and ladies class almost always cover a book of the bible; the other adult classes can cover whatever the teacher wants to teach (caveat: all content has to be approved by the elder board). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn121 Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We have two services with Adult, Teen, 2-18 Sunday School during 1st service. During 2nd service there is Adult Sunday School, Jr. High, and High School attend service, 2-6th can stay in service with their parents or go to Children's church.(K-6th start in service for worship and then are dismissed) For the 3rd -6th there is also Children's choir. Sunday school divided as follows, 2&3, 4&5, K&1, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th, Junior HIgh, High School, College and Career (although any adult can attend this) and Adult. We have 4 adult SS options during 1st service and 3 during 2nd. There is nursery for 0-3 during both services. We do not have a Sunday night service. Awana and Youth Group are both on Wednesdays. Age range from 2-18. We do not have events without childcare. Well sometimes the senior citizens will : ) Usually 0-6th grade child care for special events. We are a largish church but not a mega church. ans as I typed this all out I realized how blessed our church family is!! ETA:typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Sunday: Acoustic service at 830 Contemporary at 11 Sunday School for younger kids-middle school during second service discipleship groups for older teens/adults at 10 Celebrate Recovery in the evening in the main sanctuary. (no traditional evening service) Teen discipleship group (intended for teens to hang out afterward and play games on Fri night. Various groups meet throughout the week Awanas/middle school group/high school group/young adult discipleship groups on Wed from 430-9 (different groups=different times) This particular discipleship group often has the teen volunteers who help with the other groups later in the evening. Young adults group on Tuesday Prayer group Friday ETC Our church seems very open to letting small groups of individuals with similar needs to form small groups when it works for them. They may not be labeled Sunday School, but they often function similarly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 At our parish (Eastern Orthodox), we don't have Sunday School because Sunday is all about the Divine Liturgy (some parishes, as Kathryn described above have a short Sunday School once the Eucharist has been served, but none will ever have a separate service during the Liturgy, and rarely before). We, at our parish, instead, have "family night" on Thursdays, with Father Paul teaching the high school age + adults, and a different lady and Father's wife teaching the younger children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Our church is very small, so we only have two Sunday School classes: K-age 12 and age 13-adult. We also have a nursery for ages 4 and under. We don't have a youth group. We have no Sunday night service (although right now we have a new members class that meets on Sunday night). Every other Wednesday night, our church gets together for dinner. Thursday night is a women's Bible study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Our church service IS the Bible study. The sermon is expository teaching, continuing on each week where the last week left off. This has been the case at a variety of churches we've attended, Calvary Chapel, Sovereign Grace, non-denominational. I also would be reluctant to drop my teens off at a youth group. I've never been a fan of youth groups, and I prefer something where the parents are more involved, with the church coming alongside the parents. We are currently looking for a new church, and I'm pretty sure we wouldn't consider one that has an additional "Sunday school" time on Sunday mornings. That might sound kind of funny (!!), but it's just not the style we're used to. Ideally, there'd also be a Sunday night service and a Wednesday night service, but that's just wishful thinking on my part, I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We are currently looking for a new church, and I'm pretty sure we wouldn't consider one that has an additional "Sunday school" time on Sunday mornings. That might sound kind of funny (!!), but it's just not the style we're used to. Ideally, there'd also be a Sunday night service and a Wednesday night service, but that's just wishful thinking on my part, I'm afraid. I don't know if you're married to protestant theology / practice, but if not and you'd be interested in the historical church, see if you have an Eastern Orthodox church in your area. They typically don't have Sunday School and often have several services a week, especially at times like Holy Week. Most weeks, we go Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, sometimes Friday, and Saturday. Just a thought! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celia Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We have Sunday school for about an hour with classes from ages 3 to adult. Then coffee break, then service is about and hour to an hour and a half. In the evening we have a lecture, focussed on gospel proclaimation, and a mid-week Bible study in the evening. We also have a ladies Bible study on a weekly in the morning, and once a month in the evening for the ladies who work during the week. Usually quarterly or so we also have study days or weekends, with a series of classes for adults with kids classes seperately. And we have youth group bi-weekly on friday nights for the younger kids, and weekly on Friday nights for the teens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Thanks for all of the replies. Interesting to see how different churches (and denominations) do things. Not thinking any one way is "right" and the others wrong, just that it is different than we are used to and might not be our preference. Then again dh was pretty happy with the service we attended yesterday and would like to visit more........once again we hit a "special" service---baby dedication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We have service on Sunday morning first with everyone together. Then we break up into 3 groups for Sunday school: children, teens, and adults. We do not have a youth group by choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We have SS for all ages between the second and third services. The kids process out at the last hymn to get an extra 10 minutes or so--their SS lasts from about 10:05 until 11:05. The adults have a few minutes to get coffee and chat, and then have SS (it's a choice, tho--some people just stay at coffee hour the whole time). We also have the preschoolers to about 2nd grade go to a Children's liturgy for the first half of the service, if parents want to do that. That way they get their own bible readings and sermon and prayer time. They come in at Communion to prepare and receive with their parents. It's nice all around, I feel, b/c the parents get a quiet sermon (usually--there's sometimes crying babies or littles who didn't go to the children's chapel, but that's perfectly ok) and prayer time, and the kids get something they can understand. We also have Weds service, and special Lenten Taize music and healing service and SS on Weds in Lent. We have a Sat am bible study and breakfast and "action time" for the men every week except Christmas week, and the ladies have a Beth Moore or other book-type class in chunks every semester or so. Our SS for kids runs during the school year, with adult classes year-round; we feel it's important that the teachers get time to go, too, so they can go in the summer. Also, the teachers teach every other week, so they have time to sit in on a class if they want, during the year. We have about 26 SS (kids) teachers, a DRE, and 6 youth group advisors (and a youth minister). Our Episcopal congregation is about 500 active members. Whew! More than you wanted to know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8circles Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Yes, we have SS for all ages (nursery for littles up to 3). 3-adult SS at 9am, followed by the service at 10:15. During Lent we have a Wed night dinner & study - kids class and adult class. No other services/studies are standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Methodist here..... During the Sunday School hour, we have nursery for 3 & under, 4 year old class, K/1 class, 2/3 class, 4/5 class, Middle school class, High school class, Young adults (18-22ish), Older young adults (22-26ish), and then several options for all other adults. The options for adults vary and are not based on the age of the adults but some tend to attract certain age groups while others are more mixed. We do offer Children's Church, for those in 3rd grade (I think, I know they changed the grade recently) and below, during worship but it is only during the sermon part of the worship, and is NOT required. Kids can stay with their parents if desired but most go to Children's Church. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 It's been awhile since we did. I think the last time we attended a church with Sunday school for all ages was ::thinking, thinking, thinking:: 2004, before we moved to Texas. To be fair, the Assemblies of God churches we attended here were very small. I think age-appropriate Sunday school classes are a good thing, but I wouldn't care for a church that did only children's church during the worship service. I think children need to be in the worship service, so they know what it's all about long before they are adults, KWIM? Of course, then we have to deal with parents not knowing how to parent in the pews... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I don't know if you're married to protestant theology / practice, but if not and you'd be interested in the historical church, see if you have an Eastern Orthodox church in your area. They typically don't have Sunday School and often have several services a week, especially at times like Holy Week. Most weeks, we go Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, sometimes Friday, and Saturday. Just a thought! :) Or visit your local Catholic church. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Or visit your local Catholic church. :D Well.......... guess we don't have to get into that "which came first" debate this fine morning. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Our Lutheran church has Sunday School between the two Sunday morning services, for all ages. There are always several options for the adults to choose from. They also have Thursday night church and "Sunday School" before that. I don't know if they have adult "Sunday School" on Thursday evenings. They also have church on Saturday night, but no Sunday School then. They also have "Children's Church" during the 11am Sunday service, which is popular, but I prefer for my kids to sit in church with me. We attend the 8:30am service for that and other reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I REALLY wish we had a Sunday school program. While getting a sermon is nice, I want someone to dig deeper into Scripture with us on Sundays. Unfortunately, we're not able to go Wednesday nights, so we miss out on the group studies there, but those aren't usually strictly Scripture. If the kids weren't so hooked in with the church, I have a feeling we'd be looking for a new one that has Sunday school and Sunday night service--a bit more what I grew up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Well.......... guess we don't have to get into that "which came first" debate this fine morning. ;) Even if we can't figure out which came first, both are "historic," right? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Oui, oui, Madame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I go to an Anglican church, and kids up through 6th grade are in their own rooms for part of the service, and they all come in after announcements and before Communion. No one HAS to put their kids in the kid area - any are welcome in the service. Kids 7th grade and above come to all of the service. After the liturgy we have adult education and the jr high/high school kids have bible study. Once a month on Sunday evenings they get together for fun games, swimming, and dinner at someone's house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.