He began early in his adult life to visit the prisons. He wanted to get an insight into the horrors of prison life and to try to reform prisoners. When he saw that his efforts to reform adult criminals were almost totally unsuccessful, he then turned his attention toward the neglected children of the city. He said, "Vice is preventable if we begin with the child, for idleness is the parent of vice, and ignorance is the cause of idleness; therefore, we must begin with instructing the child." The man of whom I speak was Robert Raikes.

He undertook the task of establishing schools principally for teaching the underprivileged children of the city. At first these schools were for boys, but later they were opened for girls. It was said of him, "Out of compassion and interest to reform the boys who roamed the streets on Sunday, Raikes opened his first Sunday school in the kitchen of a home in Gloucester, England, in July, 1780, and hired a Mrs. Meredith to teach. This date marks the day that worked a miracle on the young people of England and extended throughout the United Kingdom."

The school began serving a secular purpose, then spiritual. William Fox is given credit for bringing the Bible into the Sunday school and making a study of the scriptures its chief purpose. This was the birth of the Sunday School.

When Robert Raikes died in 1811, there were an estimated 400,000 people attending Sunday schools in Great Britain.

This movement spread to America where protestant churches received it with open arms. They saw it as an opportunity to meet both sacred and secular needs. In 1800, according the U.S. Census Bureau of Education, the average American received only 82 days of formal education in his lifetime. The Sunday school could then b6th educate and edify the semi-illiterate. The Sunday school actually led the organized church into pioneer communities. Steven Paxton, for example, a missionary to the Mississippi Valley, personally organized 1,314 schools during his lifetime. He traveled from place to place on his faithful horse whom he named after Robert Raikes. He was eventually responsible for more than 80,000 pupils and teachers being enrolled in Sunday school.

Later D. L. Moody was one of the outstanding Sunday school workers of his day. In less than one year Moody and his assistants organized every county in Illinois, 102 in all, into the movement.

This evangelistic tool for outreach found fertile soil in America. Between 1827 and 1860 most denominations adopted the Sunday school. The movement continued to grow as the value of the Sunday school was discovered.

As the Restoration movement developed, the Lord's church for the most part adopted the Sunday school. At the Fifth Annual Protestant Sunday School Workers Convention, they adopted the idea of the annual lesson commentary. (I can remember hearing the International Sunday School Lesson taught on WSM radio when I was a boy.) The day would come when the Lord's church would follow the Sunday school movement, and we would have our own annual lesson commentary and quarterlies patterned after the protestant churches.

During the first 2/3's of the 20th century Sunday school growth skyrocketed in unprecedented numbers. It just seemed to happen with little or no effort. These first 60 years of the 20th century have been called the "Golden Age of American Sunday Schools." Churches also enjoyed unprecedented growth.

Change in the 60's

As the century moved into the 1960's, growth patterns began to change. In many Sunday schools enrollment began to plateau. Worship attendance stabilized and started to decline. This did not happen in every congregation at the same time. The "great depression" of growth of many Sunday schools and churches had begun. Today, after some 200 years as a growing institution, the Sunday school is in a desperate struggle for its existence. Overall church school attendance in the U.S. dropped some eight million between 1970 and 1980, says the Church Growth Center in Pasadena, California. Our overall growth rate among churches of Christ dropped from 171.43 in 1953 to 0 in 1980.

The Church Growth Center in Pasadena, California, has done extensive research into the difference in a declining Sunday school versus a growing Sunday school. They published a book entitled, Growth: A New Vision for the Sunday School. Before examining their findings, I want to emphasize why the Bible school is important.

1. The Importance of Teaching the Bible Today Is Seen in Many Ways.

• A. Moral values, Biblical values are under severe attack. Bible schools provide correct values for a good life.
• B. The holy state of marriage has been treated as though it were unholy-as divorce rates skyrocket and more than 1,000,000 couples live together without the benefit of marriage. Divorce rates decrease drastically in religious families over non-religious couples.
• C. The blight of crime threatens to engulf our society. The happiness and well-being of everyone is affected by the problem of crime today. We all have much at stake. The late Judge Sam Tatum, a Christian Juvenile Court judge, used to say, "There is one thing that will end delinquency and will end it forever and that is the gospel of Christ." It is a true statement that a child brought up in church is seldom brought up in court.
• D. The teachings of two Jews, Karl Marx and Jesus Christ, are colliding in many parts of the world. Atheistic communism enslaves men and Jesus sets men free. Where there is a void in the heart for the Word of God, there is fertile soil for communist doctrine. Bible schools help keep our nation free.
• E. Bible schools help turn men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God.. .the very purpose of the church and the purpose of the Bible school.
• F. It helps fulfill the part of the Great Commission that teaches the taught to teach others to observe all things that Jesus has commanded (Matt. 28:18-20).

Our goal must be to bring the unsaved to Christ and not simply to teach. Unsaved subjects under the sound of the gospel must be brought into a saved relationship with Christ. A personal concern for the eternal destiny of every student must grip the heart of the Bible teacher. His or her objective cannot simply be to teach a Bible class and convey facts without a heart of compassion and concern for those who are lost. Solomon said in Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise." And Daniel 12:3 says, "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." We must grasp the eternal purpose of God from the very beginning and understand that it was the redemption of man. And if we understand that the eternal purpose of Christ was to seek and save that which is lost, then we know the purpose of the Sunday school and the church.

Every Bible school class should not only be a center of sound teaching of the Word of God; it should be a center of evangelism, where men and women, boys and girls are brought and won to Christ. In many instances this can only be done through a personal confrontation on a private basis, perhaps in the home of the person who needs to obey the Gospel of Christ.

One religious group reported that on one Sunday there were 200 people who made a profession of faith and 90% of this resulted from the Sunday school teachers visiting in the home.

Getting people to Bible school is not the same as getting them to Christ. I knew of a man who was not a Christian who said he attended Bible school for sixteen years with his wife and no one spoke to him about obeying the Gospel. Unfortunately, many Bible teachers do not see themselves as soul winners as they should and as they must. We have been wrong in applying scripture relative to winning the lost to only a select group that we have called soul winners and failed to apply the same emphasis to Bible teachers. The fastest growing Bible schools teach teachers that they must be soul winners.

3. World Concern

I see another great task of the Bible teacher -- that is a vision of a lost world. Jesus looked upon a multitude and the scripture says, "...He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith He unto His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest' "(Matt. 9:36-38). His statement also shows His concern for a labour shortage.

Who will inspire young men to preach, to become missionaries, soul winners, elders; and the young women to become elders' wives, preachers' wives, dedicated servants and helpmeets? We can say that the sole responsibility is that of the parents. Parents are getting their concepts as to what it means to be the right kind of parents from the Bible school. The young persons also form their concepts of what the Lord expects from them largely from the Bible school. Therefore, it only stands to reason that the Sunday school has a major responsibility to inspire young people to serve.

A Bible teacher ought to have some knowledge of how well the church is doing in carrying the gospel to the nations of the world and make students aware of this information.

According the World Mission Bank in Dallas, Texas:

• The number of believers in Christ is approximately the same today as it was in 1830, though the population of the world has more than tripled since that date.
• Three million villages in the world are without a single Christian to share the gospel with them.
• Two thousand tribes are without one word of scripture for their languages have never been written down.
• Only five percent of Africa, three percent of Latin America and one percent of Asia have received any Christian teaching.
• Eighty-seven percent of the world's population have heard of, seen, or drank Coca Cola. Sixty-eight percent of the world's population have never heard of the name of Jesus Christ.
• Churches of Christ have under 500 fully supported American missionary families serving outside the United States.
• Ninety-four percent of all gospel preachers in the world minister to nine percent whose mother tongue is English. Six percent minister to the other ninety-one percent of the world's people.
• Of the 200 plus nations of the world, about 132 have received the gospel in some amount; over sixty-eight have been totally neglected.

4. The Sunday School Must Strive to Reach the Unenrolled.

There are hundreds of boys and girls, men and women, who are not enrolled in Bible school. Perhaps half of the boys and girls in your community, and maybe more, are not enrolled in anybody's Bible class.

A. Will they become atheists? Some will. B. Will they become delinquents? Some will. C. Will their marriage end in divorce court? Some will. D. Will these people be dishonest business people and politicians? Some will. E. Will some become communists who will one day try to overthrow this nation and prevent our children and grandchildren from having the freedom of worship that you enjoy today? Some will. F. Will most of them be lost eternally? Yes, most will. G. Would many of them obey the gospel if they were taught? Yes, they would.

Church Growth America Magazine in the March/April 1979 edition, quoting from George Gallop on the "unchurched American" said concerning those who had no religious training a child, "The number of Americans surveyed in 1952 indicated that six percent had received no religious training as a child. In 1965 that percentage had grown to nine percent In 1978 seventeen percent indicated that they had received no religious training." There is little doubt but what this figure rises each year.

5. Teacher Visitation Improves Teaching. John T. Sizemore in his book, Ministry and Visitation, gives the following five reasons for teacher visitation:

1. Visitation helps the teacher understand the pupil:
a. It reveals the influence of the home.
b. It gives an insight into the religious background.
c. It aids in discovering personal needs.
2. Visitation helps the pupil understand the teacher:
a. It alleviates personality barriers.
b. It provides opportunity for a growing friendship.
3. Visitation helps the teacher secure home co-operation:
a. It establishes confidence in the teacher.
b. It enlists the home as an ally.
4. Visitation helps the teacher make his teaching practical:
a. It simplifies the formulation of the lesson aim.
b. It facilitates an interesting beginning.
c. It insures the choice of right methods.
d. It stimulates appropriate illustrations.
5. Visitation helps the teacher test his teaching.

According to Growth: A New Vision for the Sunday School, "Total Sunday school, church school, and Sabbath school enrollment at American churches have declined from 40,508,568 in 1970 to 32,607,421 in 1980, and twenty-four percent decadal on decline!"

All movements are said to start with an aggressive commitment to the Founder's purpose. The thing that gave birth and life to the Sunday school movement was a vision of unreached multitudes, primarily young people. They describe two kinds of Sunday schools, each having a different purpose. One grows and the other does not.

The following quotes are taken from the book, Growth: A New Vision for the Sunday School:

"Perhaps the major difference between Sunday schools that are growing and the Sunday schools that are not growing is the way they view their purpose. Whether specifically stated, or subtly implied, every Sunday school and church has a 'philosophy of ministry' -- a reason for existence. The purpose for being is nearly always different in declining Sunday schools than in growing ones.

"In most declining Sunday schools the 'reason for being' is exclusively a ministry to existing Christians and nurture to members of existing churches."

"While a concern for the spiritual health, the spiritual growth, and social fellowship 6f Christians within existing Sunday schools is necessary, in declining Sunday schools these concerns have become the entire preoccupation of the classes and the curriculum."

"Growth of inward focused Sunday schools, through reaching unchurched people in the community, is either not mentioned or assumed to be an automatic by-product of nurture."

"The activities in inward focused Sunday schools also reflect an introverted concern toward their own members. Social activities are member-oriented, with little or no effort to find and bring in non-Christians."

"Unfortunately, the belief that Sunday school growth will naturally result from personal growth and spiritual development of existing members is one of the primary reasons many Sunday schools today are declining. Success centered education does not motivate people toward involvement in the church's mission of growth and outreach. Education that concerns itself with only the spiritual nourishment of its own members, contributes to a 'self-service mentality' which effectively seals off the Sunday school from the outside world."

"In many declining Sunday school programs, curriculum, activities and training do not reflect the priority of outreach required by Christ and His church. Further studies show that not only are such inward-focused Sunday schools a deterrent to growth, they often fail to reach the very goal they do have-to develop greater spirituality in Christ-likeness."

These writers express the same conviction that I have held for many years. Why did educational specialists accept a program of Bible study but reject Bible school outreach? Our Bible schools are often the most misdirected programs of the Church, yet they hold the greatest potential for good. There is little hope for our Bible schools becoming evangelistic. We have trained our educational specialists in institutionalism in which the means becomes the end. So, the men trained by educational specialists do not know how to make the Bible schools evangelistic unless they learn it somewhere else. Remember being a "professional" means "white collar" work. Outreach is looked upon as a "blue collar" job. Some educational specialists see outreach as beneath their dignity. If this seems like a hard saying, just look at what we have been doing all these years in most places.

Sunday schools that are growing have an outward focus. I continue to quote: "The purpose of most growing Sunday schools, on the other hand, is quite different. Outward-focused Sunday schools exist to obey Christ's Great Commission, and equip the laity (members, cp) for ministry to the world. While concern for spiritual growth and nurture of existing Christians is a crucial part of all curriculum and activities, it is seen as a means to an end, not an end in itself.. Outward-focused Sunday schools, in contrast to inward-focused Sunday schools, see evangelism and edification as two sides of the same coin: two tasks to achieve one goal. The noted Christian educator H. W. Byrne observes:

'Evangelism is the chief work of the Sunday School. In fact, Christian education cannot be Christian unless it is evangelistic. To fail here is to fail in our primary reason for existence.'"

The Institute for Church Growth asked 280 preachers and church officials of various religious groups the reason for the present decline in Sunday school growth-from 40,508,568 in 1970 to 32,607,421 in 1980. The most often listed reason was "classes are not concerned with reaching/recruiting new people."

"In outward-focused Sunday schools, each class in each depart-ment gives high priority to seeking, reaching, teaching, and disciplining men and women, boys and girls. The focus of the entire organization, events, classes, curriculum, and activities of growth centered outreach-focused Sunday schools is toward one goal: MAKING DISCIPLES. And the result is growth...God gives the increase.

"The difference between an inward focused and outward focused Sunday school, and in most cases a declining Sunday school and a growing one, is clear. One sees spiritual maturity as an end in itself-the other sees maturity as an essential part of Christian education, but not in itself the end. Rather, spiritual growth of existing Christians is a supporting foundation for redemptive outreach. The goal is making disciples."

Our Bible schools, to a large extent, are as these writers describe-most have an inward focus.

In 1969 a book entitled The Ten Largest Sunday Schools and What Makes Them Grow by Elmer Towns was published. Joe Barnett visited most of them. He writes:

"There's a glaring weakness in the Bible school program in the churches of Christ across the land. The weakness can be simply stated -- we have limited the Bible school program to our own people.

"Our Southern Baptist friends contribute their growth to the Bible school, as stated by one of their writers: 'no...factor more than Sunday school accounts for the growth, effectiveness, and solidarity of the Southern Baptist.'

"These people claim that ninety percent of their converts come through the Bible schooL We claim the same thing. However, we do not mean the same thing. They mean that ninety percent of their people had no contact with the Baptist church until they attended a Sunday school class. We mean that our children are brought up through a Bible school program.

"We are told that on an average Sunday, thirty percent of those in Baptist adult classes are non-memberi It is doubtful that two percent of those attending our classes on Sunday morning are non-members. This weakness must be corrected before our Bible school can, in any sense, be considered evangelistic."

The Church Growth Center in Pasadena, California, reports on interviews with 280 preachers, religious educators and leaders asking their views as to why Sunday schools were declining. The following seven reasons were given. I have commented on each of these:

1. Not Concerned with Outreach. They found that the difference in a Sunday school that was growing and the one that was not growing was their purpose. If their purpose was simply to come together and have Bible study, where the means became the end, then they did not grow. If their purpose was to reach out and bring people into the Sunday schools and bring people to the Lord, according to their undersanding, then those Sunday schools were growing. It is obvious today that our emphasis has been more on Bible study than it has been on reaching people for Christ through the Bible school program. So we would say today that our problem is the same as theirs, and that is, not enough concern with outreach.

2. Classes Not Relevant. Teachers may teach the scripture -- they may teach the lesson -- but they may not have taught the student. Bible lessons need to be relevant. It needs to be contemporary. That is, there needs to be an application made to the lives of people today. It is not enough to just quote a lot of scripture. It is not enough to just teach what some writer has put in a lesson. Teachers must understand the needs of people -- understand what they face in day to day living -- and understand the direction that their lives need to go and relate the scriptures to those needs.

3. No Long Range Planning. This would indicate that no goals were being set That there were no plans to reach out to enlarge, or to accomplish bigger and better and greater things. They were limited in their vision. By being limited in their vision, they did not make any plans on a long range basis.

4. Decreased Priority Given to the Sunday School. This would indicate that the Sunday school probably did not have much promotion and was of poor quality, and there was not much importance placed upon excellence. As a result, in the minds of the people, it was relatively unimportant. This, of course, affects attendance-it would affect a number of things. What is important in the minds of the people is often determined by what they conclude is important to the minds of their preachers and their leaders. If they do not get the impression that the work is important to their leaders, then it is obviously unimportant to them.

5. Declining Teacher Commitment. If the Sunday school is suffering from a decreased priority, then I think we could easily see why there is a decrease in the teachers' commitment to the Sunday school. Many teachers are not really taught-they are caught. They are hemmed up in the hall somewhere and asked to teach a class. They do it out of coercement and not because they are really motivated to want to teach. We might understand, then, why the students are not challenged and not very interested in attending. For the Sunday school to grow, the teachers must believe in it-the teachers must be trained-the teachers must visit and the teachers must be committed to their involvement in the Sunday school.

6. Lack ofEvangelistic Fervor. This, of course, says that Sunday schools lack any real genuine desire to bring others in and to see souls saved. When the evangelistic fervor is gone, we can rest assured that the emphasis is not on "go and make disciples," it is on "teach." When we think simply of teaching, we think of presenting a lesson to students-we do not think of trying to lead others to Christ..even though we might have lost people in attendance, we do not think in terms of preparing people to become soul winners and ultimately perhaps missionaries, preachers, elders, elders' wives, preachers' wives, etc.

7. Low Level of Teaching Competency. This points out that teachers often have not been prepared. They many times have not had an opportunity to go through a training class. They perhaps have not been equipped for what they have been asked to do. They often go into a class on a trial and error basis and after a period of time, perhaps, get some idea about how to be effective. Perhaps never as effective as if they had been well trained for the job.

I think you can see that all these things combined suggest that the Sunday school is certainly going to decline. It is not going to grow if these things prevail.

Perhaps by now you are wanting a plan to move our Bible schools in the right direction. The balance of this issue is devoted to their objective.