Comments on: Why Sunday School Is Failing

By: Joshua Raposo

Joshua Raposo — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:09:15 +0000

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.

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:47:54 +0000

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.).

By: Drew

Drew — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:11:20 +0000

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.

By: DavidJones

DavidJones — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:59:03 +0000

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.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:55:21 +0000

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.