What Sunday School Can Teach Children About God
Sunday School has an important role to play in how the faith of children takes shape.
It's the important business of sowing seeds of faith & tending to them.
This article is written from the perspective of someone who grew up in Sunday School, had Seminary training in "doing it well", and have led many kids programs - and have seen firsthand the benefits of Sunday School when it's done intentionally.
But we might have made Sunday School the surrogate parent when it was only supposed to be a helping hand. We've become blind to the limitations and valid weaknesses of this ministry model - a topic I explored in another post. (linked here)
This article takes a different approach.
While there is a lot that Sunday School cannot do
- I believe it still has something valuable to bring to the table.
In this article we'll explore what that is.
May you find space here to pause, reflect, and abide.
Questions for Reflection / Journaling Prompts, before we begin:
Can you remember a Sunday School lesson in your own childhood?
What emotions are kids experiencing at Sunday School?
Where in a Sunday School program can kids learn about God?
What is the blessing Sunday School gifts to families / parents?
Consider how children can encounter God at Sunday School
A verse to keep in mind as you read on:
“We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.” — Psalm 78:4 (ESV)
The Amazing Role of Sunday School
I am a firm believer in age-specific ministry to and with children.
Sunday School can play a real valuable role in how the faith of kids take shape.
Beyond the program, something deeper is happening in the hearts of kids.
Sunday School can cover the foundational elements of faith with children. It can plant the seeds that grow into a mature faith.
There are obvious structural benefits to Sunday School, but this article will go beyond them.
Such surface-level benefits include:
The typical class runs anything between 20 to 60 mins. That is valuable time.
There is a nice rhythm with a once-a-week program. It becomes normal for kids.
There are different volunteers, each bringing a unique expression of faith.
These all play a role, but what I'm talking about is not merely what's right with the Sunday School program. I want to talk about the way these kids encounter Jesus.
We sometimes underestimate what a Sunday School program can do: sowing the seeds of faith.
What, then, are these seeds that Sunday School faithfully sows and tends to - week in and week out? Why should your children be in Sunday School?
What are we actually expecting Sunday School to accomplish in a child's relationship with God?
Our aim must never be merely to occupy the kids' time so that the parents can attend church unbothered - it's so much more than that.
It's holding space where kids can truly learn something about God, not a watered-down story from the Bible.
It's not just talking to them ABOUT God, but introducing them TO Him.
Like He's in the room...
Because He is.
At the end of this article, some more weaknesses and limitations of Sunday School will be given, for a balanced perspective. But for now, let's get into it:
What Sunday School Can Do:
We've often placed Sunday School under the microscope.
Parents have been led to believe that the Sunday School teacher is merely babysitting.
Pastors have been forced to usher children outside and keep them busy.
The truth is that there a lot happening behind the closed doors of Sunday School. A lot of God-moments that nobody ever talks about or celebrates. A lot of awe, beauty, and wonder.
When kids gather with others, form part of the family and faith, learn about God in a structured way, and practice spiritual disciplines they are tending to the foundations of a lasting faith.
1/4 Sunday School Makes Faith Communal
A very important facet of faith is taught when kids gather with others.
One of the characteristics of the Christian faith that many grownups and young adults struggle with today is that the faith is communal.
Our lives are so not.
In many cultures, our worlds have turned inward and we prefer to connect with others through devices rather than face-to-face.
But Christianity flourishes when it is shared. Faith is not taught, it's caught.
When children attend Sunday School with other kids from a young age, they are learning something subtle:
Faith is not only between me and God. It's also between me and my brothers and sisters in the faith.
I'm going to say something a little controversial, but bear with me... The child who grew up going to Sunday School is less likely to grow up and be an adult who has social anxiety about going to church, or prefers online church over in-person gathering, or sneaks into the service and out again without talking to anyone.
I know life happens and sometimes we all opt for any of the above - I have sometimes. But I have also seen in my own life that faith flourishes when it is communal.
When I can ask for prayer in a difficult season. When I can help someone in need. When I can share a testimony. When I can praise and worship with others.
That's when the "where-2-or-more-gather-in-my-name" verse becomes tangible and I experience something of God through others that I wouldn't have on my own.
This is the undercurrent of what kids can learn while they go to Sunday School.
Apply this strength:
Make time each Sunday for a name game or group activity, giving the kids a few minutes to build relationships and connect with one another. When possible, include a balance of both individual and group activities (e.g. draw on your own VS let's draw on this poster together).
2/4 Sunday School Can Help Kids Feel Like They Belong
Parents cannot make kids feel part of the church family - but Sunday School can.
Imagine the church as a family seated around the table. Sometimes, there is not a place setting for children, there is not a conversation they can partake in, and even the food is not something they can stomach - but they're expected to sit silently through the meal. Not a peep...
What Sunday School does is it creates a kids table, like my extended family does at our massive gatherings. The kids might get a placemat they can color in, they can have their own conversation, and the food is plated on something they won't accidentally break or struggle to eat with.
Age-specific ministry versus kids sitting in church is a debate for another day. I wrote about it here: Should children stay in church or go to Sunday School?
Many kids hate church. They love Jesus but they just absolutely hate the idea of early Sunday mornings, going to a building with lots of people, being taken away from their parents for a long time...
Sunday School can bridge this.
No parent can convince a kid that they do belong in the church family.
"I know it feels hard, but you ARE welcome there. I just know it..."
It doesn't land well.
What could work better is when kids feel that something was made FOR THEM.
Apply this strength:
Take photos of the kids or the group one Sunday and print out those photos to put up in your classroom. Put pictures they drew or activities you did together on the walls. The idea is that they see themselves when they walk in and feel "I belong here".
3/4 Sunday School Can Teach Kids About God
Children can learn about God in a structured way.
This sounds basic - and in a sense, I guess it is. Sunday School is primarily built around a teaching model. That's perhaps its greatest flaw, but it is also the greatest strength.
Where else can children learn about God in such a focused way?
Many parents have pulled me aside on a Sunday or over coffee and confessed:
"I feel so ill-equipped to talk to my kids about God. And, to make it worse, they know me. They see me lose my cool, shout at them, and rush, and hurry. I feel like I'm being fake and stepping into weird territory when I try to teach them the principles of faith. They see right through me."
Ideally the church would train parents to disciple their kids at home, but in the meantime, Sunday School can do an excellent job of covering the basics. Ideally, it would be both: parents and Sunday School in tandem.
There's also the added benefit that children sometimes listen better to someone else. When my friends who are parents volunteer in our Sunday School, their own children are the ones having the hardest time focusing on the lesson... The kids will try all sorts of things, either cling to Mom the whole time, or try to interrupt Mom in a way they wouldn't with someone else.
Sunday School can offer a structured once-a-week time gap where kids learn about God. There is usually a carefully chosen curriculum and a program designed to help kids grasp something of the Kingdom in a way that is fun, imaginative, and real.
Apply this strength:
The Bible is a great place to start if you're unsure about what to teach. I don't mean a bible lesson on Noah and the Ark - I mean, a bible lesson on the BIBLE. What is it? Where did it come from? What are the parts? How do I actually use it?
4/4 Sunday School Can Help Kids Practice Spiritual Disciplines
Children can walk out Christianity in a safe environment where it's okay to learn, ask questions, and find your feet.
The last, and perhaps, greatest benefit of Sunday School is the safe space it creates for learning.
Kids next to other kids.
We learn together. We pray awkward prayers out loud. We raise our hands in worship for the first time. We try to voice a question.
We don't laugh at one another or feel ashamed to practice because we're all learning together...
Sunday School can be an amazing little greenhouse where seedlings get everything they need to grow into healthy plants. Toss those seedlings out into the world too soon and the harsh sun of doctrine or the waters of doubt might lead to their early demise - but inside the greenhouse is the perfect growth environment.
Yes - no tree will bear an abundant harvest if it stays in the greenhouse forever. It shouldn't stagnate or stay on "spiritual milk" as Paul writes. But for a season (childhood), the greenhouse can be the appropriate place to be.
Most of what children learn in Sunday School are the spiritual disciplines.
Put in simple terms, the program usually looks like this:
We pray. We have fellowship. We eat together. We sing songs to the Lord. We read the Word. We respond.
Apply this strength:
Try out a new spiritual discipline this week as part of your Sunday School program elements: silence, solitude, generosity, fasting, worship, meditation, service, simplicity, confession, celebration, memorizing Scripture... Choose 1 from this list to introduce on Sunday.
A Sunday School SWOT-analysis
A SWOT-analysis is a tool used in business and problem-solving to help you see something with astounding clarity. This is how it works:
S - What are the strengths?
W - What are the weaknesses?
O - What are the opportunities?
T - What are the threats?
This article has already named some of the strengths and opportunities - like when kids gather with others, form part of the family and faith, learn about God in a structured way, and practice spiritual disciplines.
But - to be fair and balanced - there are also real limitations and weaknesses. There are things that Sunday School cannot do.
*You can perhaps grab a notepad & pen to make your own Sunday School SWOT brain dump, because mine will differ substantially from yours.
S - Some strengths of Sunday School are...
W - Some weaknesses of Sunday School are...
O - Some opportunities of Sunday School are...
T - Some threats to Sunday School are...
Some examples of weaknesses and limitations offered by Sunday School include,
it is primarily focused on top-down teaching (versus modeling),
it cannot replace a parental role as number 1 discipler,
it teaches only a snippet of spiritual disciplines (and spiritual life),
it cannot give individual attention to children.
What now?
Read next: What Sunday School can NOT teach kids
If you're a parent or grandparent reading this, you might want to go deeper with the idea of truly discipling children at home.
If you're leading a kids ministry or Sunday School, you can read about moving it beyond entertainment or how to partner with parents.
Talking about what Sunday School can do might feel a little silly.
But sometimes we need to get back to basics to truly understand why something matters, why Christians have been doing it for centuries, and why it is still the Church's number one method of discipling children.
Prayer
God, I want the next generation to know how amazing You are.
Help me to notice the role of the greenhouse where You let little seeds sprout, develop, and grow.
It is all by Your grace and for Your glory.
You give us ideas, insight, and wisdom to know what each seedling needs in order to flourish.
And me - even though I'm grown up and no longer inside that greenhouse... May I always continue to abide in the Vine, Amen.
P.S. If you enjoyed this article and would like to stay in touch, I want to invite you to join my newsletter by leaving your email below. I send a short reflective email once a month, pondering what God is doing in and through me.
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