SUNDAY SCHOOL

"'Sunday School'" is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various Christian denominations.
It had its origins when Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England founded a school within the town in 1769.^[1] However the founding of Sunday Schools is more commonly associated with the work of Robert Raikes, editor of the ''Gloucester Journal'', who saw the need to prevent children in the slums descending into crime. By 1831, Sunday School in Great Britain was ministering weekly to 1,250,000 children, approximately 25 percent of the population. A reaction to these schools was the Socialist Sunday Schools movement which began in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century.
Roman Catholic churches and some Protestant churches operate Sunday Schools, though Catholics commonly refer to Sunday School as 'Catechism class'. Sunday Schools, contrary to the name, are virtually never recognized educational institutions; rather than offering formal grades or transcripts, Sunday Schools simply attempt to offer meaningful instruction concerning Christian doctrine and keep little or no record of performance for any given week. Attendance is often tracked as a means of encouraging children to appear regularly (awards are frequently given for reaching attendance milestones).
Sunday School often takes the form of a one hour or longer Bible study which can occur before, during, or after a church service. While many Sunday Schools are focused on providing instruction for children (especially those occurring during service times), adult Sunday School classes are also popular and widespread. (See RCIA.) In some traditions, Sunday School is too strongly associated with children and alternate terms such as "Adult Electives" are used instead of "Adult Sunday School". Some churches only run Sunday School for children concurrently with the adult worship service. In this case there is typically no adult Sunday School. Churches that have children's or youth worship separate from Sunday School, but concurrent with adult worship services, tend to have better attended adult Sunday School programs as parents use the time to learn while they are waiting for their children.
Sunday School teachers are usually lay people who are selected for their job by a church board or committee, normally because of their advanced experience with the Bible—few teachers receive any formal training in education, though many Sunday School teachers have a background in education as a result of their occupations. Some churches, however, do make Sunday School teachers and catechists attend several courses on religion to ensure that they have a mature enough understanding of the faith to educate others. Some Baptist Churches (particularly Southern Baptist Churches) do allow volunteers to teach even without formal educational backgrounds. A profession of faith and a desire to teach is all that is required in such a case.
It is also not uncommon for Roman Catholic priests or Protestant pastors/church ministers to teach such classes themselves.
Hebrew schools also usually operate on Sundays.
Also, in America, some Islamic education is taught on either Saturday or Sunday.

Contents

Sunday School Today

Notable Sunday School Teachers

See also

References

External links

Sunday School Material

Sunday School Today

Today many different expressions of Sunday Schools exist. They range from traditional methods of teaching, using small groups, bible based teaching, familiar songs etc. to the more contemporary. Sunday School is often part of a larger Christian Formation program in many churches.
In 1986 a new kind of Sunday School started out of a ministry of Bill Wilson in the inner city of Brooklyn, New York, United Sates of America, called Sidewalk Sunday School. With little delivery trucks that can be converted to stages, project area's and parks are being served Sunday School programs.
Metro Ministries is now in many major cities in the U.S. and has branches in eight other countries.

Notable Sunday School Teachers

★ Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States and Nobel Prize Laureate

★ Stephen Colbert, American comedian and host of the Colbert Report

★ Alexander Fletcher (Rev.), 'The Children's Friend', nineteenth century pioneer of attracting large audiences of children

★ Margaret Hamilton, American Film Actress ("The Wicked Witch of the West")

★ Johnny Isakson, U.S. Senator of Georgia

★ John Marshall Harlan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States 1877-1911

★ Lewis Miller, Inventor, Businessman, and founder of the Chautauqua Institution

★ Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist and publisher

★ Robert Raikes, English philanthropist and founder of the Sunday School Movement

★ Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

★ Jeff Sessions, U.S. Senator of Alabama

★ Dick Van Dyke, American Television and Film Actor

★ Bill Wilson, Senior Pastor and founder of the largest Sunday School in America (20,000 children each week)

See also

★ Socialist Sunday Schools

★ Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (a form of Catholic religious education)

★ Religious ministry (Christian)

★ Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults

★ Youth Ministry

★ Vacation Bible School

★ Sunday School (Mormonism)

References

1. http://www.gracemagazine.org.uk/articles/historical/raikes.htm

External links

★ Wolverhampton Methodist Churches - The Sunday School Darlington Street

★ Methodist Archives and Research Centre Sources for Women's Studies

★ Robert Raikes and the Sunday School Movement

Sunday School Material

★ God's Hand in Our Lives (CLC) - Sunday School Material

★ Childrens' Ministry Outreach Curriculum - Sunday School Material

★ Sunday School Lesson Plans - Sunday School Teaching Material