The Decline & Fall of Sunday School
The idea of "Sabbath School" dates back to as early as 18th century England. Early efforts were to educate illiterate poor children who worked in factories, choosing Sunday as this was their only day off. Later, the institution's goals were to counter Parochial Schools and the teachings of the Catholic church. In the United States this evolved into child labor laws and the institution of a Public School System, yet churches maintained their Sunday instructional model as a means to educate the young on the faith and as a means to teach Biblical stories. The movement in the U.S. stated it's purpose was, "to organize, evangelize, and civilize." Though it began with a focus on children, Sunday School now includes every age.
Ministry-to-Children states:
Sunday School attendance has seen a slow decline in the last 50 or so years. One factor generally agreed to be a reason for this is the shift away from evangelism and toward discipleship and fellowship over the last half century or so. Studies do indicate that where Sunday Schools are thriving and growing, church membership increases.
Others believe the decline in Sunday School attendance can be attributed to the secularization of society, the prevalence of increased competition with other activities as a result of living increasingly busy lives and basic apathy on issues of faith. So, where does this leave First Christian Church, Paris, KY? In pretty bad shape! While it may be small consolation that we are not alone, it does not alleviate the difficult dilemma in which we currently find ourselves.
It saddens me to know this church hired me to lead ministry efforts with children and youth and my job is becoming irrelevant. It disheartens me to know that our CALL is to educate and pass the faith on to our people and the next generation and we cannot live fully into this call no matter how hard we try because our classrooms remain empty or near empty.When I arrived a little over 2 years ago there were 2 children's classrooms and one youth classroom (the middle and high school youth had already been combined to accommodate dwindling numbers). The Christian Education team voiced their concerns for this pattern and asked for my help. Since my being here one of those children's classroom has closed and the 2 have been consolidated to further account for dwindling numbers. And now, this classroom frequently has only one or two children, or worse, none.
We feared the children were not present because there weren't adequate offerings for adult classes so we formed a new class. We now have 3 fabulous adult Sunday School classes that all offer a variety of compelling studies and are led by incredible teachers and pillars of the faith. Each of these classrooms still have room for more participants.
We are blessed with dedicated teachers who love children and are passionate about their faith. We have access to really good education resources. We have child-friendly classrooms and more than adequate space in which to do this ministry. The one thing we lack is your children. I continually see these kids in worship and many of the young ones attending Worship & Wonder. While these are both excellent faith practices and I thoroughly encourage all our participation in these aspects of our faith life, the purpose of sanctuary worship and Children Worship & Wonder is NOT the same purpose as Sunday School. Both these programs are designed as WORSHIP, not education. AND, I will argue that I'm not completely certain our children are fully paying attention during adult worship–many of the older ones are texting!
I do hope and pray that you, as families, find time together at home to study the text and discuss the stories of God and learn together how to apply Biblical teachings to your daily lives because we have not been given the opportunity to do this with your children for quite some time.
I apologize if these words are difficult for you to read, but they were also difficult for me to write. Sometimes we are called to be a prophetic voice and I have struggled with these words for quite some time.
May God add blessings to our understanding of these words and the heartfelt intent from which they come. I love the children of First Christian Church and the Paris community and long to bring the word of God to each of them. I hope you do as well.
Blessings,
Tracy