by Dave Delaney
The goal of Sunday School is to accomplish one of the greatest needs in the 21st century– to provide Biblical education to individuals in a particular life stage. Dr. Elmer Towns said that ‘Sunday School is biblical education in action, it is the mortar that holds the bricks together and becomes the foundation of the house.’
Sunday School, like many things in the church, is a tool, not a goal. It is a tool that God has used in amazing ways. It is a tool to systematically, comprehensively, and appropriately teach the Bible to a particular life stage. Sunday School exists to transform lives through effectively teaching God’s Word.
Sunday School lessons usually provide a format for discussion and interaction, while following a set curriculum that covers the Bible and applies it to a particular life stage, then cycles around every few years.
If the only teaching your congregation receives in the course of the week is a forty-five minute sermon, they’re not learning much. There is so much more that you could be teaching them, and Sunday School provides that opportunity.
Sunday School should focus on providing age-appropriate instruction. It is a venue to give Biblical world views in everything from dating to evangelism, from knowing God’s will to interacting with parents and coworkers, all while allowing time for questions and answers. It should provide Biblical education to a particular group of people at a particular life stage.
One Bible college professor was asked by a college student what someone should do in order to become a theologian. He replied, ‘That’s easy. Teach a third-grade Sunday school class.’ Sunday School makes it possible to get age-appropriate Biblical teaching into the life of the church.
Sunday School is a valuable tool for discipling believers. It complements and supplements the sermon, gives age-appropriate knowledge needed for godly living. Accountability, fellowship, community, and mission– these things are all very important, but what gives them their power is the Word of God. Sunday School provides the Biblical education necessary for discipleship.
by Dave Delaney
Sunday School is indeed very important but sadly is one of the most neglected things in many churches. It is important because the members of the class get to know one another in a closer way than in the worship service alone. As the article says, it does this by involving each member in discussion and being able to offer questions and comments, which is not available in most worship services. Good, godly Sunday School teachers that study diligently and pray for God’s guidance in their lessons are some of the most unselfish and unappreciated servants in the church. Pastors and most choir leaders receive payment but most Sunday School teachers do not. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but the point is that a good teacher does what he does solely out of love for God and his class, many times spending many hours preparing his lesson, especially if he teaches out of the Bible only and without aid of a quarterly. If you have a good, godly teacher that stands on the Authorized King James Bible then back him up with your attendance in Sunday School and pray for him. You’ll be glad you did, God will be pleased, and you just might learn something that will help you from God’s inspired, infallible, inerrant, preserved word.