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Healthy Sunday School–Growing ChurchA New Life Ministries Report The Sunday School & Church GrowthTwenty years ago, many church growth authorities said: "So goes the Sunday school, so goes the church." By that they meant that declines in the Sunday school were generally followed by declines in worship attendance, membership, and financial support. Likewise, growth in the Sunday school resulted in growth in the rest of the church’s program. Some claim that statement is not as true as we move into the new millennium, but substantial evidence in fact indicates that growing churches have healthy Sunday schools. For many churches today the Christian education ministry incorporates a wide range of small group opportunities throughout the week in addition to the Sunday morning activities. New Life Ministries, in partnership with Christian Community, has carefully studied the relationship between Christian education programs and church growth. Some things are very clear:
Statistical DataThe chart below reports the responses made by over 250,000 people in over 1,400 North American congregations when asked by New Life Ministries and Christian Community to indicate their level of agreement with these statements:
Anabaptist churches have excellent curricula and many dedicated teachers. Our growing Anabaptist churches reflect high levels of satisfaction with Christian education as is the case in growing mainline Protestant churches. Yet our overall Anabaptist averages on these items are a little lower than the North American averages. Why? We do have a tendency to be a little more self-critical than mainline Protestants, but that doesn’t explain all of the difference. Many of our Sunday schools are very small which no doubt makes it harder to meet the needs of a wide range of people. Our emphasis on family and consensus may cause some people not to feel comfortable expressing differing viewpoints. But most of all, we may not have thought enough about the Sunday school in terms of hospitality and outreach. Hospitality is important not only to new people but also to those who are already members.
Practical Strategies to Improve Christian Education Outreach1. If you want to have more students, add more leaders first. Having too few class or group leaders can set a growth limit on your program. The more leaders you have for a class or group, the easier it is for those persons to:
And more! Using a team approach for classes and groups provides better leadership and also makes it easier for leaders to be gone when needed. 2. If you want to retain visitors, be sure your classrooms are attractive and comfortable. Many of us become accustomed to metal chairs, rickety tables, and linoleum on the floor. What has become acceptable to us may not be attractive at all to visitors who come. Attractive classrooms may not draw people to your church, but unattractive ones will surely keep them away. 3. If you want young families, be especially careful how toddler and nursery care is handled. You want these rooms to be very attractive and clean. You also want the persons in charge of care to convey confidence and security to visitors. While teenagers often enjoy working in the nursery and may do a good job, be sure that you have an older person present as well. 4. If you want to nurture growth in the Sunday school or other classes and groups, take time periodically to talk as a group about outreach. Encourage people to bring friends to class and to social events. Children are natural evangelists and will do a great job inviting friends if encouraged to do so. Adult classes should consider studying an evangelism related unit once a year. 5. If you want meaningful classes, encourage the church to recruit, train, and honor teachers. Let the Christian education program have first choice of volunteers; provide meaningful training to those who are willing to teach; and show continuing appreciation to those persons. 6. If you want to identify new children and youth, involve everyone in the church in brainstorming the names of potential guests. Take time annually to encourage the whole congregation to identify and reach out to children and youth. 7. If your church has few children and youth, don’t be apologetic about broadly graded classes or about involving youth as helpers with younger classes. If your whole church appreciates children and youth, then many significant relationships will be formed. Broadly graded classes can be effective, and youth can learn by helping children learn. Prepared for Visitors?Use this checklist to help determine how prepared your church is to welcome and involve visitors through your Christian education program. ___ Are teachers prepared to greet new students as they enter the classroom? ___ Are teachers of children comfortable introducing themselves to the parents of visitors? Do teachers know whether or not visiting children should remain in the room until their parents return? ___ Are the rooms all neat, including updated bulletin boards? ___ Are class members encouraged to hang banners, posters, and other results of class activity? ___ Are teachers comfortable introducing visitors to the rest of the class? ___ Do teachers provide opportunity for some sharing to help visitors feel more at home? ___ Is there a procedure to record the name, address, and phone of any visitors to a class or group? ___ Is there a procedure for sharing information about visitors with the church office? ___ Do adult classes have coffee and tea available? ___ Do youth classes have juice and donuts? ___ Are extra copies of curriculum and other study resources available for visitors? ___ Are visitors informed of any coming social events and encouraged to participate? ___ Is there a procedure for follow-up on anyone who visits a Christian education class or event? ___ Do students in the class or group take a part in that follow-up process rather than leaving it all to the teacher or leader? ___ Are the classrooms all attractive, comfortable places to meet? ___ Are there greeters who can direct visitors to the appropriate classes? ___ Are class or group members encouraged to invite friends to the group? ResourcesNew Life Ministries is pleased to offer an outstanding resource for churches seeking to improve their Christian education program and to reach more new people. Reaching Out through Christian Education by Steve Clapp and Jerry O. Cook expands significantly on many of the concepts in this report. Herb Miller called this "an excellent book." Steve and Jerry also collaborated on the Youth Workers Handbook (also available from New Life Ministries) which Youth Guide called "a gold mine" and Lyle Schaller called "the best youth handbook on the market." Beginning in the summer of 2000, New Life Ministries will also be offering a kit titled Revitalizing Christian Education. To order one of these resources, go to the online order form or contact New Life Ministries. ____________________ This report is published by New Life Ministries, a nonprofit corporation, and is mailed without charge to clients and friends Our partner organization, Christian Community, provides much of the content for this publication. Persons receiving this publication may reproduce the contents in local church and regional judicatory bulletins and newsletters. Please request permission for other reproduction from: New Life Ministries, 6404 S Calhoun St,
Fort Wayne, IN 46807 Other New Life Ministries Reports • Other Online Resources Healthy Sunday School–Growing Church • New Life Ministries Report. © 2000
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