Teaching God's Children

The task of teaching God's children His Word is shared. Certainly parents bear the primary responsibility for providing for this Christian education of their children through their personal instruction at home and by bringing their children to the Divine Service, participating in Sunday School, and enrolling their children in a Lutheran school if one is available to them.

And of course, the Lutheran congregation shares this responsibility as it administers the Sacraments, especially Baptism, operates a Sunday School for all ages, and institutes a Lutheran school for the education of the children of the congregation and community.

It is a partnership. It involves mutual accountability. The congregation may at time need to remind parents of their responsibility to take advantage of the Christian education opportunities. And at times, the parents may need to remind the congregation of its responsibility to maintain high standards of instruction and curriculum in the Sunday School and other Christian education agencies.

At the end of the day, at the end of time, I doubt that excuses will serve. We didn't have enough money. I was too busy to volunteer. The material they used in Sunday School was boring. God commands that His children be instructed in His Word (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). And He promises to use such instruction to bless His children (Isaiah 55:10-11).

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Two Things Times Three

Two things I heard today on the radio:

1. Adult obesity is formed through simple, early habits like preschoolers going to bed early (a habit that reduces late night snacking).
2. Retirement plans require retirement planning.

Two things every parent wants for their children:

1. To live a happy, healthy life.
2. To exhibit lifelong faith and have eternal life.

Two things every congregation should build into their vision statement and the fabric of their ministry:

1. Strong faith in youth and adults is formed through lifelong---cradle to grave---participation in worship, study of God's Word, and service to my neighbor.
2. Sunday School is a tool---yes, only one tool among many, but a strong tool---to assist families and individuals grow in faith.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

The Case of the Disappearing Sunday School

It's a great mystery! All across our church, Sunday School students are disappearing. In the past 20 years, Sunday School enrollments have dropped by half (325,000 students preschool through grade 8 in 1994; just 153,000 students in 2014). Where have they gone?

Well, obviously, those 1994 students have grown up, but where are their younger siblings and children?

It is not just a global problem. I'll bet that, for you, it is also a local problem. It's not someone else's Sunday School that is disappearing, it is yours. What can you do?

Don't say, "Oh, well. It's just the way things go. Families are having fewer children." Even if it's true, there are still lots of families and lots of children out there.

Do tend the garden. Things improve when we give them our attention. Start a conversation with your friends in church, with parents, with church leaders, with your pastor. Encourage them to talk about, and advocate for more attention on Sunday School.

Continue to ask God's blessings on the teachers, students, families, and community, so that your Sunday School can be a place God's children are taught His Word!

When Was the Last Time?

When was the last time you heard the pastor say to your congregation (or, Pastor, when was the last time you said to your congregation), "Sunday School is an important tool for teaching your children more about Jesus"? Or "Sunday morning Bible class is an important tool for equipping yourself to live as God's person in the world and an important example to your children about the value of life-long Christian education."

The pastor is your congregation's single most influential advocate for a strong Sunday School. It is worth encouraging him to speak up, regularly, often, about Sunday School.

God bless your congregation as it teaches God's children His Word!

As the Twig Is Bent, So Grows the Tree

A question for the parents in your congregation: "Where do you want your children to be, spiritually speaking, when they are young adults?"

• Worshiping regularly in an orthodox church?
• Growing in God's Word?
• Having daily devoted time?
• Serving others regularly and joyfully?

The follow-up question is obvious: "What are you doing now to fulfill those dreams for your children?"

• Are you bringing them to worship every Sunday? (This is where they will learn to worship.)
• Are you attending Sunday School as a family? (The parents' example is paramount.)
• Do you lead them in devotions daily?
• Does your family serve together to benefit others in your church, neighborhood, and larger community?

Yes, there is a certain amount of Law here, for God's Word shows us how to live our lives in a way that keeps us free from sin and temptation and close to the Means of Grace, God's Word and Sacraments.

As the twig is bent, so grows the tree! Too many parents begin to show concern for their children in the teenage years, as the child begins to grow more independent (as children must) and the parents' influence wanes. Now is the time to build life-long habits of worship, study, and daily devotion.

God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Count the Cost?

"The only things we spend time and money on are things that we believe are worth more than they cost." Those words were written by Seth Godin in his blog, who describes himself as "a writer, speaker and an agent of change"; you can read the whole post here.

Essentially, he says that when we claim things cost too much, we are really saying we don't believe they are worth what is being asked in payment.

In my opinion, Mr. Godin has put his finger on what is looming as a crisis for Christian education in the LCMS. Sunday School is no longer valued as it once was as an institution for teaching the Gospel. Perhaps there other models for Christian education that will flourish, that is, be seen as worth the cost in dollars, staff time, volunteer commitments, and parental investment. I'm not seeing it however.

Your challenge is clear. If you want to build up your Sunday School, you need to strengthen its reputation for value. You need to convince others---your pastor, parents, church leaders, budget-setters---that Sunday School is worth it!

God bless you as you work to make a priority of teaching God's children His Word.

We Don't Need Sunday School?

"Our children go to our Lutheran Day School."
"We go to church as a family every Sunday."
"We have mealtime devotions."
"We read and discuss Bible stories every night with our children before going to bed."
"We don't need to participate in Sunday School do we?"

My coworker Peter said it well, "Can we ever get too much of God's Word?"

Thanks for teaching God's children His Word in Sunday School!