Sunday School not a ‘dinosaur of antiquity,’ Rainer says

BRANDON (FBC)—Discrediting ideas of Sunday School as a “dinosaur of antiquity,” Thom Rainer, dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky., encouraged church leaders at the Central Florida Sunday School Conference, May 15, to strive for greatness in ministry.

“It is a sin to be good when God has called us to be great,” Rainer told the 764 attending the conference at First Baptist Church, Brandon. He verified his claim with two biblical superlatives—the “Great” Commandment to love the Lord God and the “Great” Commission to go unto the world.

With urgency, Rainer asked pastors and leaders to be dissatisfied with good churches and Sunday School ministries “mired in mediocrity.”

“In God’s power, for His glory, seek to be great for Him and for His Kingdom,” he said.

Using convicting examples of both healthy and unhealthy churches, Rainer offered insight on achieving a “great” ministry by presenting eight issues faced in 21st Century Sunday School programs. Issues highlighted included evangelistic intentionality, receptivity of the unchurched and doctrine.

Rainer cited research revealing eight out of 10 unchurched persons are willing to visit church but have never been invited. “If there is one thing missing in Sunday Schools across America today, it is evangelistic intentionality,” he said. “Sunday School has not stopped working for churches; churches have stopped working Sunday School.”

“Do not accept the myth that people will not come to Sunday School to learn about God,” he added, revealing statistics that 38 percent of unchurched individuals are either receptive or highly receptive to the Gospel. Thirty-six percent were found to be neutral. “That myth was perpetuated by those who do not invite people to Sunday School.”

Addressing the falsehood of simplifying doctrine to accommodate the unchurched, Rainer said: “Despite the traditional wisdom of the day to dumb down teaching, most persons surveyed indicate an interest in sound biblical teaching.”

Other issues spoken to were awareness, relationships, prayer and seemingly “minor” issues.

Claiming that many hurting churches are unaware of their deteriorating spiritual health, Rainer asked participants to consider how many people their Sunday School classes actively minister to and build relationships with.

“Sunday School is not just an organization that meets on Sunday, but a class which ministers throughout the week. How many you are reaching for Christ is a barometer of health,” he said.

In studying the pattern of Sunday School from the early 1800’s to the mid 1970’s, Rainer found a direct correlation between Sunday School and church growth.

“Historically,” he said, “as Sunday School declined, so did the church. As Sunday School increased, so did the church. Many churches today are healthy because of their Sunday Schools.” And the power of prayer is always evident in a healthy Sunday School, Rainer added.

He gave an example of a small church in rural Florida that tripled its membership from 100 to 350 despite no increase in the area’s population of 600 persons.

“The secret of that church’s growth is that for every five persons they had in Sunday School, one was asked to carry the burden of prayer.” They prayed for lost persons every day by name, noted Rainer.

“God calls us as churches to gather to pray. Maybe what we have lost in our churches is not the right methodology, but the power of prayer in our ministry,” Rainer said.

With many examples of the power of prayer and insights on ministering through attention to detail on church grounds, Rainer challenged attendees to a greatness in all things.

“We can get addicted to good or decide for God’s glory and power to be great, not just living day-by-day, but by making a difference.”

Rainer’s call to greatness in Florida Baptist churches was echoed by Florida Baptist State Convention President Tommy Green, pastor of Brandon’s First Baptist Church.

“I would urge all Florida Baptists to renew their focus on Sunday School, making it a priority within their ministries because it is important for consistent long term church growth,” said Green. “The issues addressed here have given insight into the state of the church at this present hour and what it takes to lift the church to the next level.”

The challenge to exceed a good ministry with greatness resonated throughout the conversations of Sunday School workers attending the conference.

“The idea to pursue not just a good, but great Sunday School program helps me focus on why we do ministry and how we teach the children,” said Andedria Grant, a member of Idlewild Central Baptist Church in Tampa.

Grant added that the call to greatness and tools learned in break-out sessions provided her “a new direction and better approach” for preparing lessons and programs.

The 23 age-specific break-out sessions included a question and answer time for pastors and Rainer. Additional culture-specific lectures in Spanish and French for the 100 language participants attending also were offered.

Describing himself as a one-time “Sunday School skeptic,” Rainer concluded by saying the conferences provided a wake-up call.

“It is easy to be complacent because we do not understand what we could be doing in God’s power–particularly in the area of Sunday School which has been beaten up, battered and declared dead by too many people for too long.”