“SUNDAY SCHOOL GROWTH”
“Our Sunday School Teachers, are and will be the fuel that gets us there!”

To build a Sunday school department that has steady growth, a church needs good sound teachers.

There is a vast difference between (normal) teaching and effective teaching.

  • Teaching is the influence the teacher has on the learner. (Do as I say nothing else.)
  • Effective teaching takes place when Christian educators are directly concerned with the teaching to learning process, and decide to fully understand and improve the role of the teacher. (Always looking for a “better way!” Hebrew-logy)

Create the environment for positive Christian learning in the classroom.

  • Create a good atmosphere: Open class with a good joke, or open with a topic that is not directly related to the study of that day. But is interesting to the students, sports, video game, world news, etc.
  • Produce creativity: Make every student a part of what is going on within the class.
  • Assure effective learning: Make clear with every student the point of study, by asking question during your teaching, pay close attention to facial expression, body movement, boredom.
  • Assure effective potential for the cause of Christ: The focus for all Sunday school classes is to build strong individuals that will become Disciples of Christ.

In order to achieve maximum learning, the effective teacher must create in the student a feeling:

    1. That they are accepted and of personal worth to the classes overall function.
    2. That they are free to express themselves in accord with the subject’s text, openly without fear of criticism. This does not mean the teachers or other students agree with everything that the student has expressed.

Who or what is the most important object lesson for any class?

      • The most powerful object to a lesson for any class is not something brought to class and is held up to view. But it is the teacher. In a class as it is in our home, we teach more by what we are and do than what we say! Student are very impressionable, they react to what they see!  When the teacher cares, the student probably will care.
      • Students must love and respect their teacher, before they will love their teacher’s message. Love brings trust! No teacher can penetrate a wall of distrust.
      • A human being remembers 90% of what they see according to psychological studies. “The eyes almost never lie!” Student learns more by participating, than just sitting  and listening
      • Merely teaching facts about a subject without class participation, for hours is not teaching effectively.
      • We must aim for change. Transformation is not accidental or incidental.

The “ripple effect”:

  • A teacher bears great responsibility as a person who leads pupils in either the right or wrong way.
  • This describes the teacher’s ever-widening influence that moves outward like ripples of water when a stone is tossed into a calm pool. “Let’s suppose that you have 3 students who become faithful teachers!” If each had only 3 apiece who did likewise, there would be 12 servants more of the Lord created; but it does not stop there, it continues to multiply. (Remember the parable of the talents in the Bible?)
  • As we look at various avenues of Christian service, we find more scriptural guidance or calling for teachers than for other servants see Deut 6:7. (ALL Churches NEED SIGNS POSTED “GOOD SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS WANTED!!!!)

Let us learn from the MASTER TEACHER on how to grow our Sunday school:

  • Did Jesus do all of His teaching one on one? At times He taught 12, and another time, He sat the people down in companies of fifty. He was servant to all and had compassion on them. He realized the multitude’s need for food, so He fed them as the bread grew in his hand. (A symbolic teaching by Jesus.)
  • He did not do it the same way every time. Jesus varied His teaching according to the circumstance and the type of pupil. He chose his approach carefully. Some times Jesus used simple objects. At other times He used parables or stories to which the people could relate. On one occasion, He used the sand. He always varied his techniques.
  • “A learner is one who ATTENDS with interest to the lesson!”

Jesus kept the attention of his audience with these 4 basic techniques:

  • He spoke with authority:
  • His techniques were varied:
  • He used simple reconcilable objects to show illustrations of his lesson:
  • He taught the lesson according to who he was teaching:

Notice the expressions of the students; these expressions speak 1000 words:

  • This problem arises, due to inadequate preparation by the teacher (not study up to adjust), resulting in a talk until the bell rings session. The students will invent diversions when they become bored, by the endless talking of the teacher.
  • An alert teacher notices the yawns, roving eyes, and whispering, that indicates impending trouble ahead. These warnings mean that the teacher needs to apply a new remedy.
  • When the teacher’s heart is filled with the content of exciting Bible accounts, they will share these truths with a contagious zeal. Be excited about teaching others God’s holy word. It will show up in your classroom.

Quote from a teacher, “ Understanding the art of sound Christian teaching is the axis which moves our churches towards a greater empowerment of people.”
By Elder Derek Sorrells

Let’s started “growing” our Sunday school, by developing great Sunday school teachers.

Here are some tips from John Gregory telling us how to get started.
From his book, “The 7 Laws of Teaching!”