Church attendance in America has experienced resurgence of late as churches retool to deal with cultural shifts. Yet in the midst of this retooling, an archaic program like Sunday School is often left to wither on the vine. This article offers tools for a vibrant adult Sunday School program.
Church attendance in America has experienced a revival of late as churches retool and refine their messages to appeal to a changing culture.
Amidst all this retooling a Sunday School program may seem like an anachronism, but Sunday School can still appeal to the adults in the church if done properly.
The following article outlines the tools for an effective adult Sunday School program.
Organize
Any church program conducted as an afterthought is doomed to failure. Success requires passionate organization that plans as far into the future as feasible and wise.
One fatal practice of most Sunday School programs is to run a class as a constant occurrence. This can become grueling for both the students and teachers, who both will see no end in sight.
As a first organizational step, divide the Sunday School year into quarters, four-month blocks, or six-month semesters. When recruiting volunteers, stress that the commitment is only for a single class period, unless they want to recommit the following term. Passionate teachers will recommit, while those who learn they do not have the gift will be able to quit without shame.
Dividing the year into blocks also helps recruit and retain students. New people particularly do not like to come into a class midstream.
Once a schedule is chosen, try to plan a couple of terms in advance and, if possible, have a sense of continuity. Any program conducted as an afterthought is doomed to failure.
Enroll students
Pastors in charge of a Sunday School program often focus on recruiting and retaining solid teachers, but teachers without a class are just sad looking individuals talking to themselves.
As one semester draws to a close, begin to circulate promotional materials for the next term's course offerings. Ask students to sign up and communicate that doing so is a commitment for the entire semester.
Culturally speaking, a signature has the feel of a binding contract, even if, as in this case, there are no punitive repercussions for failure.
Use the carrot rather than the stick approach in enrollment. Make sure students know that the program could not exist without them and the church is relying on their commitment.
Remember School
One of the main flaws of the seeker-sensitive church is its implicit rejection of intellectual rigor. In an effort to attract the uninitiated, those in church leadership have, if not occasionally watered down, at least dumbed down the message of Christianity.
The motivation of this is solid, but as it effectively draws in people unfamiliar with the ways of the church it offers little for those who want to progress beyond a rudimentary understanding of their faith.
If the church's marquee service has been reconfigured to appeal to unchurched groups, Sunday School, particularly adult Sunday School, can remain a place where seasoned Christians can stretch their minds.
Insist that any teacher have a book or curriculum in mind before starting. Only the most seasoned teachers can speak extemporaneously for 45 minutes, the typical length of most Sunday School classes. To do so for 13 weeks straight is a metahuman feat.
Teachers should also insist that all students purchase a book for two reasons. First, as our society becomes less and less well read, the church can provide a bulwark against this trend. Second, students who spend about $10 for a book are more likely to stay with a class than students who have no money invested.
Recruit & Train Teachers
No Sunday School program can exist without teachers, but often recruitment programs are lacking. Pastors in charge of the Sunday School program will often put a lot of effort into a first stage recruitment and then hope for the best.
Once teachers are recruited, they need to be trained and nurtured. In an increasingly busy society, teachers may balk at weekly or even monthly training meetings, so most of the training will need to take place one on one.
Pastors should rotate appearances in different classes to observe teachers in action. Following the observation, the pastor should tell the teacher three good things they did with the class and one thing they can improve on.
For most teachers, the greatest hurdle to overcome will be fear of public speaking. Pastors should encourage teachers in this area, and try to provide environments-such as a classroom where students and teachers are all seated around a table-that are less threatening than typical audience environments.
Decide on a vision
The "vision thing" is much derided, but if a program will be doomed for lack of organization it will not even be born for lack of vision. That some Sunday School programs continue to function without vision is not a positive.
Decide what adult Sunday School is for. Should it be a small group environment? If so, classes should not exceed 12 students.
If a church has a small group program already, then Sunday School cannot serve as a small group program as well without redundancy. In these instances, Sunday School should function as an education environment.
The difference is where small groups focus on relationships first and education second, the Sunday School environment can invert the priorities. Pastors who recognize the value of relationships in discipleship may dismiss this idea out of hand, but they should not be so quick to do so.
Not all aspects of the church can serve all the church's needs. For example, we would not expect a children's program to retool to appeal to adults. In the same way, we should not expect an adult Sunday School program to function like the youth ministry.
A solid education program can be a huge asset to the church, but the leader of said program must decide that is what they want it to be.
Once the vision is decided, the pastor or leadership team needs to get behind it in a public way. Announce before each term what classes will be held and why students should be there.