Why Did They Come?

Name a student or two who attended your Sunday School class yesterday. Picture them in your mind. Then ask yourself, "Why did he or she come?"

• Was it parental insistence?
• A chance to see a friend?
• Enjoying the craft activity?
• The good feeling of being able to answer the teachers' questions?
• The promise of a snack?
• Thirst for God's Word?

Intrinsic motivation, the love of learning, the thirst for God's Word, is probably a rare thing for your students. This side of heaven our desires are more often corrupted by our sinful nature. That does not mean, though, that the force of the Law is the only motive that will bring your students to class.

If your students love engaging in conversation with each other, it is not Law to give them opportunities to do that before or during the lesson. If your students enjoy craft activities, or singing, or drama, or art, it is not Law to make frequent use of those activities in your class.

Use the tools at your disposal, all of them, to draw in your students to hear God's Word, talk about their faith, and grow as Jesus' disciples.

God will bless you as you teach His children His Word.

Who Is Missing?

You are five weeks into a new quarter of Sunday School. Routines are established. The dust has settled. You know your students pretty well and they know you.

It's time to ask, "Who is missing?"

Are all the students present each week who could be? Who should be? Probably not. Make a short list today, one or two names of students you miss. What would it take to get them to class?

• A personal contact?
• A promise (fulfilled, of course) of an activity they will find interesting?
• Contact from another student?
• An offer of transportation?
• A reminder to parents of the important opportunity that is being missed?
• A nudge from the pastor?

Say a prayer. Choose one thing you can do. Do it today.

God will bless you as you teach His children His Word.

Do You Know Where Your Sunday School Material Comes From?

(Immediate aside: If you use CPH's Sunday School material, you know your material was written by experienced Sunday School teachers, edited by called church workers, and reviewed by theologians all of whom are members of, and proficient in the doctrines of, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. It's a given that the material will be rooted in a conservative view of Scripture and reliance on the Means of Grace for our faith and life. It will be educationally and scripturally sound. You will not have to answer embarrassing questions about the material's content from your Sunday School parents or your pastor or board of education. It is material that definitely will NOT pass "the Temple test," and that's a good thing!)

All too often, I hear Sunday School leaders or directors of Christian education speak openly of the non-Lutheran material they use in their Sunday School, and I wonder, "Do they know where that material comes from?" How can material that avoids or denies the central role of God's Word and Sacraments, the teaching of justification by faith, be useful in a Lutheran Sunday School? The basic message I get is, theology doesn't matter. Let's use material that is trendy and cute!

It makes me sad.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

What Would You Do Differently?

It has been a while since I asked for a response on this blog, but I'm doing so today. The team I lead here at Concordia Publishing House will make some significant decisions this month about what our Sunday School material will look like for the next three years.

For nearly forty consecutive years, CPH Sunday School material has been

• unified (all grades studying the same Bible account),
• dated (written to be taught on a certain Sunday and available for purchase only in the quarter for which it was intended to be used),
• closely graded (developed for groups of children who are nearly the same age), and
• offering full-color student materials.

This is not the cheapest way to produce Sunday School material, nor the least expensive for the customer to purchase and use, but it has been used because it is an excellent way to teach God's Word to His children.

We are, however, faced with a consistent decline in Sunday School students across our church body and erosion of support for Sunday School is many congregations (less priority, lower Sunday School budgets, fewer volunteers).

So, I wonder . . .

What would you do differently? What changes make sense if we are to provide Sunday School resources in a sustainable manner (that is, offering a product valued enough by the customer to be purchased in sufficient quantity at a high enough price so that it returns to the company the dollars invested in its production)?

Undated material? (The material would be less expensive to reprint for future reuse, and possibly usable at any time.)

Broadly graded? (Designed for use by students of a broad range of, or perhaps even any, age.)

Reproducible student material? (The customer pays for local printing of student material, either black and white or color.)

Fully digital? (The customer downloads reproducible material through the Web and prints it locally as needed.)

Other options?

Obviously, we are not looking only to the readers of this blog for answers to these questions, but your input would be particularly valuable at this time. I hope you will take time to share your thoughts.

God bless the preparation of material to teach His children His Word.