What Is the Small Sunday School Problem?

It strikes me that the small Sunday School does NOT have a student population challenge.

Small can be good. Public schools complain about class sizes being too large, not too small. Children, generally speaking, thrive in one-on-one interaction with adults. Even the Sunday School that has one three year old, one third grader, and one sixth grader on Sunday morning is not too small for the Gospel to shared enthusiastically and in an age-appropriate manner.

The small Sunday School does NOT have a curriculum challenge.

Even the best curriculum in the world cannot work miracles in overcoming developmental differences among a diverse but small student population, but a curriculum that works effectively to teach thirty or forty Sunday School students can teach three students.

The small Sunday School has a teacher enlistment challenge!

To teach the one three year old, one third grader, and one sixth grader most effectively, you should probably have at least two or three teachers. The high teacher-to-student ratio, often one to one, seems extravagant to some. But, looked at from an educational perspective, it is right and necessary. (For some enlistment assistance check this previous post: http://teachgodschildren.blogspot.com/2011/08/five-steps-for-enlisting-teachers.html.)

The answer?

Make effective, Christ-centered Christian education a priority for your congregation. Impress on parents and congregational leaders the challenging reality that sometimes is does take three teachers (and three sets of teaching materials) to teach three students effectively. Refuse to take shortcuts that will short-change the education of one-third or two-thirds of your students. And know that it really is worth the effort.

Some suggestions:

• Warm up each week with student-teacher conversation. Get used to talking one on one with your student and get him or her used to talking one on one with you.
• Use activities that match your student's preferred learning styles. If he or she like to draw, use drawing as a frequent means of reviewing the Bible account. If he or she likes drama, use it, even if you both have to take several roles.
• Have extra activities in mind to extend the lesson, since one-on-one discussion often takes less time that the teacher guide allows. Look for craft activities that relate to the lesson.
• Allow the teacher (especially if it is you) to flex the lesson schedule. If you prepare this week and have no student to teach, use the lesson next Sunday. Skip next week's lesson, or in the interest of good stewardship drift behind the scope and sequence as needed. Eventually you may be able to skip buying a quarter's worth of the curriculum.
• Give one or two students all the energy and enthusiasm you would give twenty students. No whining about small class sizes.

God promises to bless as you teach His children His Word!

Why Teach the Old Testament?

The arrangement of lessons in Sunday School materials published by Concordia Publishing House incorporates four quarters, 52 lessons, from the Old Testament. Given the duplication of a few key lessons in the New Testament (especially lessons around Christmas and Easter), nearly one-half of our lessons are from the Old Testament.

Why?

It gets us in trouble with some customers, those who would really prefer that we align fully with the three-year lectionary. The Old Testament is not presented chronologically in the lectionary. Readings are usually chosen to connect in some way with the Gospel lesson and theme of a Sunday in the Church Year.

So why?

I see at least three reasons:

• The Old Testament, along with the New, is the historical account of God's relationship with His people, especially the unfolding of His plan for our salvation. Those who wish to understand and appreciate the Bible need to know the Old Testament.
• The lessons in the Old Testament are important, not because they teach about wonderful, faithful people of God, but because they point us to Jesus Christ and the salvation God accomplishes for us through Him. We study these people not as examples of their behavior, bu as examples of those with faith in Christ.
• Every account in the Old Testament can and should be tied to that salvation history and studied to see how it points us to Christ.

We are nearing the end of the current cycle of Old Testament accounts. Next fall we will return to the beginning, to the accounts of the creation of all things and especially the creation of humankind as the crown of creation.

Do you think our current scope and sequence includes enough Old Testament? Too much?

Which Old Testament accounts do you think are missing and should be included?

God's blessing as you teach His children His Old Testament Word!

All in One Room?

Our Sunday School team here at Concordia Publishing House gets occasional requests for "all in one room" Sunday School material. We talked about it again last week. We are generally not inclined to pursue it. It's not that we are insensitive to the needs of small congregations. Small Sunday Schools face many challenges and we want to help.

But we are, first and foremost, sensitive to the needs of children. Preschoolers and sixth graders in the same class just doesn’t work very well. The learning opportunities for one end of the age spectrum or the other will be lost.

We have experimented with models that test the limits of age-appropriateness. Our 2013 summer material offered just two levels: non-readers and readers; it seems to have been well-accepted. Cross Explorations and Growing in Christ can be combined to serve three levels: Early Childhood, grades 1-3, and grades 4-6. These seem to be the “functional minimums” for effective Christian education that uses volunteer teachers in the setting common to most congregations. They are the minimums our Sunday School team would like to strive for.

We have decided to work instead to provide resources (free ones if possible) that can support the small Sunday School in emphasis, volunteer enlistment, and student recruitment. Too often "all in one room" is a last resort of a congregation that is not pursuing the better, but more difficult options of emphasizing Christian education, enlisting volunteers, and reaching out to unenrolled students. The better alternate is to accept the burden of small classes that still provide age-appropriate instruction for children.

What pushes congregations you know toward "all in one room"?

What help do you think congregations need to overcome the barriers to a more robust Sunday School?

God bless you as you teach His children His Word.

God at Work: Changing Lives by Teaching Law and Gospel

(Following up on my last post, check out this new resource from Concordia Publishing House. TN)

YOU can change lives by teaching Law and Gospel!

This collection of 34 articles offers practical direction to help you understand God's Word of Law and Gospel and use it in your teaching, your relationships, and your life. For personal or group use, this book helps you to do the following:

• Learn the difference between Law and Gospel and why every person needs to hear both messages.
• Get better at communicating why we need a Savior, who Jesus is, and what He did for us.
• Teach lessons that move beyond facts to the heart of God and His purpose for our lives.
• Improve your biblical teaching and see it change students' attitudes and behaviors.
• Teach and model repentance, forgiveness, and service to others to show students how to live the Christian life.
• Find out what motivates your students (and you) and engage them.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word.