It’s no secret that “Sunday School” is failing in many churches. Numbers are down, it’s being repackaged and remodeled in many churches, and being discontinued in some churches altogether. But why is Sunday School failing? Here are a few of my ideas on the issue:
1. It’s Boring!
Call me unspiritual if you want, but this is the case with many Sunday School classes. Kids, adults, etc. go in, sit in a chair for 45-60 min, and hear a teacher lecture about the Bible. Yes, it IS the Bible, but couldn’t we gain the same knowledge by reading the Bible or other historical book on our own. Hearing someone bring forth biblical commentary for more than 3 minutes puts us to sleep. We don’t want to hear a classroom lecture, or a sermon before the pastor’s sermon is preached.
2. Too Early!
For many people, Sunday School is just too early. If we get up at 6 AM 5 days a week, we don’t want to get up early on a Sunday to come and sit through a 45 minute lecture (see above). Why sleep in Sunday School when we can sleep in our bed? Right or wrong, most people go to bed later on Saturday night than most other nights. By Sunday morning, we’re exhausted!
3. Not Relevant
Part of this falls in line with the “Boring” category. When the truth of the Bible is not made relevant to our lives, we don’t connect with it. Instead, it becomes Bible Trivia that we could find in a bargain bin at a used bookstore. People want to hear how God’s truth affects their life. People want to know how God’s Word should affect the way they parent, love their spouse, treat their mailman, serve coworkers, drive on the highway, etc. People crave discipleship; not Bible Jeopardy. If Sunday School isn’t relevant, it might be just a waste of time.
4. No Connection With Others
People want interaction and want to be able to connect with one another. We want to be grouped with people who are like us and going through the same experiences in life. That mindset should carry over to Sunday School. People need interaction. They want to discuss the difficult issues with one another. They want to question those who are wiser, seek advice, wrestle with difficult issues. If interaction isn’t taking place, why even show up? We could find the same information online or in the teacher’s notes. If we’re not learning from anyone but the lecturer, how much are we actually learning?
5. People Aren’t Comfortable
This can take many forms. Have you ever attended a Sunday School class in a tie and khakis, and then played a game where you had to move around, get down on the floor, and maybe even get a little sweaty? It’s miserable! Have you ever been in a classroom when the temperature was 85 degrees inside…and 75 degrees outside? I’m sure we’ve all had to sit in our fair share of uncomfortable chairs that still continue to give us back problems and maybe even folded up on us when we sat down. Am I saying we shouldn’t play games? Am I saying we should relax the dress code? Make the room more appealing? Make things more comfortable? Buy better chairs? Am I saying all of that? No…but maybe it’s something we need to think about.
6. No One Is Invited
It’s very simple: many people don’t come to Sunday School because they’re not invited. Unfortunately, we’re often ashamed to invite them…because of the other elements on this list.
7. Lack of Preparation
Ever been to a class where the teacher wasn’t prepared and had to read straight through the teacher’s guide because he/she didn’t have time to look at it on the drive to church? If it’s not obvious enough, it becomes crystal clear when the teacher mispronounces names and starts reading the teacher’s instructions out loud. If teacher’s aren’t preparing until Saturday night or not preparing at all, things will flop! You may be able to say “I’m great at winging it,” but how much can the Holy Spirit lead us if we’re “winging” it every Sunday. A teacher needs to put great value in preparation; not only for the lesson, but with prayer for the students. If you’re not prepared, people will know…and that’s when your teaching becomes boring and irrelevant.
8. No Training
Sadly, we often throw a teacher’s book at someone like a Johan Santana fastball. We want to get it out of our hands as quick as possible. In a nutshell, our thought process is, “No one else wants to do this, so I’ll ask someone who will feel bad about saying ‘no.’” We forget about training people to teach, or even finding qualified people to teach. We just need to find “someone/anyone” who will teach. It doesn’t matter who they are, how good they are, or what they know. “Praise God he/she is taking over and it’s out of my hands!”
9. Poor Curriculum
“Is he really going there?” Yes I am! But as an editor of curriculum, I’m not going to call anyone out. I’m simply going to say it’s important to find the best curriculum we can for our students. We need to avoid looking at what seems to be the hottest and flashiest curriculum out there. We need to focus on what teaches the Word of God, follows our doctrine and system of beliefs, and is relevant.
Tags: Failing, Why Sunday School Fails
July 17th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Perhaps a better title to this post would be, “Why Churches are Failing at Sunday School.” Sunday School (title it what you will) hasn’t failed. It simply needs to be worked. All too often in our churches, SS is treated as a step child ministry. It’s something to fill time in order to get to the “Big Show.” Sadly, churches are neglecting thier congregates by doing so.
July 17th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Hey Pusch, do I tell you how to title your blogs?
That’s actually a great point. If done right, Sunday School wouldn’t be failing. It’s the people/churches behind it that have been failing. We tend to be too literal with the word “School” and make it into something that is undesirable.
July 17th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
I think the first question that should be asked is what is the goal of sunday school? If it is to bring people into the front door of the church then I think that your points are spot on, but if there is more to it than simply filling the pews I think that you may have to look at more underlying causes. I think that if people are not growing through sunday school, it’s because we’ve lost sight of making it relative to the individuals, and forging connections between the members. I’ve learned through helping start the church here that if you focus on these two, people will put up with a lot more. Not that we shouldn’t strive for perfection, but these two will make up for a lot of shortcomings in the other areas.
July 20th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
One thing that’s been at the forefront of our church lately is that God hates it when religion gets in the place of relationship. In other words, when we put stumbling blocks in the way of people coming to Christ or truly experiencing life the way that Christ intended for us, we really, really anger God.
I agree with all of your points above about SS and would add that for some classes Matthew 23:23,24 rings true – “23″Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
We get so focused on some aspects of “church law” (version of the Bible, curriculum, time, teacher, age group, setting) that we neglect the more important matters (is relationship building happening, is service happening, is growth happening, are leaders being molded, etc.).
August 9th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Sometimes I think the typical hour long SS class could easily be condensed into half an hour. A lot of times we just talk for the first 10-15 minutes in hour class.