Several years ago at a CYC weekend, the following question was put to a large group of young people: What single thing has had the greatest spiritual influence in your life?
Twenty-eight of the attendees said “Bible school”. Six more named specific Bible school teachers. Of these thirty-four young people, half of them indicated that the Bible school experience had a bearing on their decision to be baptized. Nineteen other CYCers named a relative or ecclesial member as having the greatest spiritual influence in their lives. Ten of the 19 indicated that this personal relationship had a bearing on their decision to be baptized.
Sunday school hardly got a mention from the CYC members. This probably should not surprise us. It is the special events and the unique relationships in life rather than the routine ones that often make the biggest impression on us. And Sunday school can seem pretty routine. But please read on.
Some things to consider
At the end of last year a ten-point survey was sent out to nearly 100 ecclesias in the United States and Canada. Its purpose was to gather data on the preaching role of our Christadelphian Sunday schools in North America. Response to the survey was gratifying.1The ecclesias that responded represent a total membership of 1,600 brothers and sisters, with more than 500 unbaptized Sunday school children presently under their care and tutelage.
Here are a few results of the survey.
It is conservative to say that over half the current members of the ecclesias in the United States and Canada have come from a Christadelphian Sunday school background. This is not to suggest that there is a predictable cause and effect relationship here. In many cases other factors probably played a role as well. For example, many of these brothers and sisters would have grown up in Christadelphian homes. But the connection between Sunday school membership and eventual ecclesial membership, by baptism into Christ, is too strong to ignore.
When asked what source or sources’2ecclesial baptisms have come from in the past ten years, the following responses were given:
- 11 ecclesias said from Bible seminars;
- 36 ecclesias said from personal witnessing, and
- 33 ecclesias said from the Sunday school.
Under the “Other” category, respondents also identified the This Is Your Bible website (thisisyourbible.com), the use of a Bible correspondence course, and an English Bible reading course for immigrants as ways that new members came to know the Truth and be baptized into Christ.
On one survey that came back, personal witnessing and Sunday school were mentioned in a way that drew attention to a couple of important points. First, Sunday school teachers are personal witnesses to the Truth. Their influence on young people should not be underestimated. And second, when a Sunday school student begins to show spiritual promise, the teacher or someone else who is close to the student needs to be ready to step in and provide personalized instruction — further personal witnessing — that helps turn promise into reality.
Well over 90% of our Sunday school children come from Christadelphian homes. Clearly, the Sunday school tradition is strong amongst us. At the same time, it is instructive to know how children become members of the Sunday school when they do not come from Christadelphian homes.
The survey responses presented recurring themes. The child of a coworker-cumBible seminar participant now attends a Christadelphian Sunday school. The child of a neighbor that is taking personal Bible classes does likewise. Aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas bring young relations with them on Sunday morning. Kids bring other kids to Sunday school; boyfriends bring girlfriends and girlfriends bring boyfriends.
Our children can be missionaries to their friends and neighbors more than they might imagine: “I go to Sunday school every week. How would you like to come with me?” or “We’ve got this neat thing going on at Sunday school next Sunday. I’d like you to come with me.” There are brothers and sisters in our ecclesias today who can thank a once-upon-a-time young person for introducing them to Sunday school or CYC.
Supporting the Sunday school
Whether we think of it this way or not, the Sunday school may be the biggest ongoing preaching program that some ecclesias have. For this reason alone, ecclesial support of Sunday school should have a high priority. It is a manifestation of the missionary spirit that becomes part of us when we know and love the gospel of salvation.
Most ecclesias with school-age children provide the basic things necessary to run a Sunday school: a place to hold it, the funding to equip it, and the volunteers to staff it. These are essential givens. Ecclesias will do even more than this when they view Sunday school as a mission in their midst. The survey responses identified several additional ways that ecclesias support their Sunday schools and invest in the spiritual welfare of their children.
Adult Sunday school classes are well attended. The clear message to the children is that learning the ways of God is a lifelong process to be taken seriously. All the children’s activities are well supported by the ecclesia. Interest is shown in the children, and their efforts are encouraged, aided, and rewarded.
Other services are provided for the children:
- Learning activities are provided for children during midweek Bible class time. In principle this is not unlike the adult Sunday school class. Sunday school is not just for children and Bible class is not just for adults.
- Whole-group learning projects are carried out during the summer. These involve adults and children working together on special projects that go beyond the regular Sunday school curriculum.
- Junior CYC programs complement Senior CYC programs. Ecclesias also host CYC events and make sure their children get to CYC events.
- Supplemental funding is provided to send Sunday school children to Bible school. The opening paragraphs of this article speak to the wisdom of this.
Forging relationships in the Truth
The Truth that we teach our children is not just doctrinal. It is also relational. For our children to become effective members of the ecclesia, they need to grow in interdependence with others who value the Truth. The forging of strong spiritual relationships among the children and between the children and the rest of the ecclesia needs to be part of the Sunday school vision.
To this end, Sunday schools across the brotherhood carry out a lot of extracurricular activities for their children. The surveys showed that the best of these have important characteristics:
- Children and adults work together on a Truth-related project or activity.
- The children are involved in serving others, not just being served or being entertained.
- Entertainment and recreational activities have a spiritual side to them.
The world offers all kinds of fun and games for children to enjoy, but only in a Christadelphian setting will our children find these united with the daily Bible readings or spiritual songs or prayer. Well planned extra-curricular activities honor the biblical foundations on which our relationships are built. They declare to everyone, including any friends that our children may bring along, that our priorities are different and nobler than those of the rest of the world.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One