Sunday school changes everything : your church's best opportunity to reach the next generation for Christ / [print]
by Henrietta C. Mears.
- Ventura, California : Gospel Light, (c)2012.
- 269 pages ; 22 cm.
Foreword by Dr. Thom S. Rainer Part 1: Children's Sunday School Part 2: Youth Sunday School Part 3: Adult Sunday School Part 4: Building Your Sunday School
The Challenge: Reconsider Your Sunday School's Potential -- Preface: Build an Effective Sunday School -- Introduction: Sunday School Is Big Business. 1. Nursery (Ages Birth to 2) -- 2. Preschool (Ages 2 to 3) -- 3. Prekindergarten/Kindergarten (Ages 4 to 5) -- 4. Elementary (Ages 6 to 10) -- 5. Preteen (Ages 10 to 12). 6. Junior High (Ages 12 to 14) -- 7. High School (Ages 14 to 18) -- 8. College (Ages 18 to 25). Adults (Ages 25+). Organization -- Worship -- Curriculum -- Long-Range Planning.
When Dr. Henrietta Mears began her ministry in Hollywood, California, in the 1930s, she was facing several challenges. Sixty percent of children at the time were not attending a church of any sort. Fewer than 15 percent of children who attended Sunday School ever made a decision to follow Jesus. Youth in their early college years were walking away from faith at an unprecedented rate. Church attendance across the United States was experiencing a decline instead of growth. In response to this crisis, Dr. Mears instituted a set of principles that helped grow the Sunday School program at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood from 450 to more than 4,000 in just three years. In this never-before-published resource, you will find her fearless recommendations on how to: Build your church's Christian education program both numerically and spiritually; Use practical methods for training your leaders and teaching students of all stages of life; Implement the five ingredients of successful ministry: Jesus, the Bible, relationships, a comprehensive plan, and life change; Employ 10 standards of good curriculum that will help you answer the question of what to teach. Is your church ready to reach the next generation for Christ? Are you passionate to help people of all ages enter the kingdom of God? The Church is still perfectly suited to carry out the mission that God has given it. This book will show you how.